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Need litter box help!
HI ladies...it's been a while since I've been on the boards but need some help. I have 6 cats of my own and 3 fosters. One of my cats has been pooping outside the litter box. It is mostly diarrhea/soft stool. Finally after weeks I caught the kitty who was doing it. It is my FIV+ foster. I took a stool sample to the vet and they said they could not find anything wrong. We only have carpet in two small bedrooms and that is where he is pooping. It seems he is still peeing in the litter box though. I clean it up with an enzymatic cleaner and scoop twice a day. Just yesterday, I caught my other foster pooping on the carpet too. I'm not sure if since she sees Miller doing it she has started to also. My thought is to put both of them in my master bathroom with Cat Attract litter to retrain them to poop in the litter box. My question is, how long do I keep them in the bathroom? I hate to switch all the litter to Cat Attract because it's so expensive. I have 4 litter boxes in the house and one on the screen porch.
Re: Need litter box help!
FF
I agree, we have 2 cats and have 3 litter boxes, one on each floor of the house. I've noticed that they seem to use one box more for pee and the other has more poop in it.
I haven't used Cat Attract but as I understand, you can just put some of it on top of your regular litter so that is a way to decrease the amount you use.
Pooping is often stress related and some animals also get diarrhea when stressed as well. Have you already tried the stress relievers like Feliway and Rescue Remedy? Does this kitty have space of his own, or at least a space away from any of the other cats that could be causing him stress? I would try to get to the bottom of why he is pooping/what is stressing him out as well as retraining him.
As far as how long to keep them in the bathroom... I haven't been in that situation but I would guess until they were using the box properly for whatever length of time made you feel confident they had it down. That doesn't really answer your question lol... hopefully someone else with experience doing this will chime in.
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Martin Luther King Jr.
None of the cats seem stressed though. They all get along well and play with each other. I have 3 large cat condos for them as well as window perches. I know it sounds like a lot of cats (and it is) but there is plenty of room for them to get away if one cat is aggravating another.
When I caught Stella pooping on the carpet she was the only cat in the room so she could have easily just taken a few steps to the other direction and gone in the litterbox. They seem to poop within a couple feet of the box.
I have not had Feliway pluged in in a couple weeks so last night I realized that and plugged in two diffusers in the rooms they are inappropriately pooping.
Have you cleaned the boxes recently? Is there enough litter in them? S poops outside the box if it isn't up to her standards.
You could also try Feliway spray where the pooping is happening. Also, Dr. Elsey's makes a litter attractant that is a cheaper alternative to CA litter.
5 cats. 1 baby.