Is your cat leaving those little landmines all over the house? It might be easy to tolerate kitty when she uses her pee to make the invisible spray pints aimed at leaving the “I was here” silent messages. However, tolerating misplaced cat poop is a whole other thing.
Reasons why your cat will poop out of place:
1. The litterbox is not in the right place
Your cat could be throwing her landmines all over the place because you haven’t placed the litter box at the right place. Even though getting the right placement for the litter tray is a common sense issue, it may be a problem for many pet bearers.
You wouldn’t dare to bite any meal while sitting anywhere close to the loo. Well, it applies to kitty too. The reason your cat won’t poop in the litter box could be because it is close to its food and water bowls. Start thinking about placing the litter box in the hallway, utility room, or the storeroom away from kitty. However, be sure not to hide the cat poop litter box in an awkward place just to ensure that kitty doesn’t feel trapped.
2. The litter tray isn’t clean
Cats are clean animals. They also like their poop litter boxes kept clean. Your cat will definitely develop reluctance if you force them to drop their feces in a dirty poop litter box. You must ensure that the litter box is kept nice and clean.
You need to spare an hour or two for the litter tray cleaning operation every day. This simple rule must be applied as a tool of trade when dealing with kitty: “If it smells bad for me, it smells bad for kitty”. Your cat will always look for an alternative place to dispose its shit if its routine toilet isn’t hygienic.
3. The litter box isn’t appropriate
Kittens are individuals. They will only drop their poop in an appropriate place. You don’t want to give a small tray to a large cat. Comparatively, short and elderly cats will require a short-sided tray to initiate the process. Contrary conditions will give your cat a reason to poop outside the litter box.
It’s also a good idea to have more than one tray for each cat. Placing double trays in different locations gives your cat two places to choose from rather than outside the litter box. This may also increase your level of awareness on your cat’s preferences.
4. Is it an outdoor cat?
Outdoor cats are free animals. Therefore, they wouldn’t mind pooping out of the litter box. However, they may not mind if you bought them a litter box. You must be prepared to face your outdoor cat as it’ll continue to cause you problems peeing and pooping around your compound. You needn’t imagine that just because kitty is used to dropping her thing in the garden, she will quickly adopt to the beautiful litter box you placed in that corner.
5. Your cat could be facing medical issues
Is your cat suddenly pooping outside the litter box? You must be aware that litter box evasion is strongly linked to medical challenges in cats. There is a tendency that you took too long to notice that the kitty was sick.
You probably misinterpreted your feline’s new house soiling behavior with some sort of attitudinal change! Well, you are wrong. This is one of the clear ways that your cat will adopt as a calling card for medical assistance. A senior cat which suddenly chooses to poop outside the litter box could be suffering from either of these medical conditions:
- Kidney disease
- Degenerative joint disease
- Diabetes
- Joint thickening
- Cancer
- Thyroid ailments
- Decreased vision
- Blindness
- Urinary tract infections
- Spondylosis deforms
6. Aging body
Is your old cat pooping outside the litter box? Then its age is an essential factor to consider. There is a tendency that the old cat is sending a message that it has classified using the litter box among the difficult tasks it has to endure.
Your cat starts classifying its litter box as a Space of Doom once it reaches its senior years. it is at this moment that its body becomes itchy and stiff. The activity that was once considered as an easy hop thing becomes labor intensive and painful experience when signor wants to do his private business.
7. Stress from the environment
Environmental stress could be the reason why your senior cat is not pooping in the litter box. This, coupled with medical challenges are just enough to make your cat to develop the behavior of peeing and pooping out of the litter box. Issues such as household changes increase the levels of stress in old cats as their adaptability with unfamiliar situations starts to dwindle as they age.
You must never consider senior cat’s move to pee or urinate on the floor as an act of spite or vengeance. There’s a great likelihood that the physical manifestation is just a reaction to the physical stresses it’s experiencing from the environment.
Cat pees in litter box but poops on floor
You should be aware that inappropriate and/inconsistent elimination of pee and poop among cats is considered as a behavioral rather than a medical issue. Therefore, you must check with your vet to eliminate the possibilities that your cat’s reason for peeing out of the litter box is not anything medical.
You must resort to a self-questioning session if the vet rules out medical issues just to ensure that you have a deeper explanation. These are some of the questions you need to ask yourself:
- Has your cat been engaged in any abnormal activity?
- Is there a possibility that your cat was left boarded or at home the few days you were away?
- Did you place the litterbox in a busy location?
- Did anything happen near the litter box area that made your cat reluctant to visit again?
- Could there be a person, pet or another cat preventing her from approaching the litter box?
- Did you change the litter box from a hooded shape to an open material?
- Have made alterations on the brand of litter box you’ve been using recently?
- Could there be something appealing about the spot he has chosen to use?
To this end, you need to know that your cat dislikes any form of alteration on their day-to-day routine and will always show that they’re dissatisfied. Changes in the litter box may be one of the greatest reasons your cat won’t pee in litter box but will poop.
You probably know that the conventional thumb rule; one litter box for every cat plus one. This formula will come in handy if you want to ensure that each feline has a place to go just in case another kitten has decided to occupy the territory.
You also need to be hygienic when dealing with cat litter boxes. Be sure to clean them more often with soap and water. This will deter your cat from pooping next to the litter box just because the tool is preoccupied with shit. These cautionary measures may also come in handy in case your kitten is pooping out of the litter box:
- Scoop kitty’s shit daily
- Offer one type of litter in one and the other kind in another just to audit what your cats prefer
- The crystal type of litterboxes isn’t recommended. It’ll make a hissing sound which’ll make kitty weary of approaching it the next time it wants to do its business.
- Put the litter box in a quiet area with low traffic to allow the cat enjoy its peace.
- Ensure that no other pet or person gives your cat a hard time when using the litter box.
- Experiment to get knowledge about your cat’s preferences and ensure that he’s accommodated in a situation that makes him satisfied.
- Never use ammonia-containing cleaners when handling your cat’s mess; it’s another disaster you’re causing.
Cat pees in litter box but poops on floor:
I know how frustrating it is to deal with inappropriate urination with kitty. You’re probably thinking of rehoming your cat after solving many urinary cases with him. Just before you go down this road, please be aware that there’s hope. You don’t only need to know how to deal with urinary issues in kitties, but also how to prevent them. The following steps could come in handy just in case your cats won’t pee in the litter box:
- Make the litter boxes as clean and desirable as you can
- Ensure that the litter boxes are placed in a quiet and accessibla location
- Avail a box on each level of the house
- Ensure that the box is easier for the seniors to climb
- Find the shape, color or material that your cat likes
- Make your home a happy place for kitty
Conclusion
Dealing with kitty’s mess can be a daunting task. However, you must always check your cat’s environment or medical condition before giving up. Old age could also contribute to the advancement of poor toileting traits in cats.
