Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have looked through many of the topics but just cant find one that is just like mine, so I thought I'd post myself! We have had FC for about 1 1/2 years, we think he is about 2 1/2 years old (he was a stray). When he first took him in, he pooped in the bathtub so we got a litterbox and he learned it quickly. We have had no problems at all, even when we adopted his 'brother' Papas--who has never had a single problem using the litterbox--FC was still fine--litterbox-wise--when Papas came to live with us. We even moved about 6 months ago and he has never had a problem. Now, for only about one week he has been pooping--not peeing--outside of the box. And I mean just outside the box, literally inches. He has even did it when we were in the same room. He stands outside the box--which is pretty big--squats, kind of looks back at the box, and just poops. He goes right on the litter mat. And he knows what he's doing, we have told him no and then put him in the litterbox and and told him yes here. He difinitely knows he is not in the box. and he has done it when it is perfectly clean, which it is clean almost all the time. I might add that his poop is normal, so I dont think he is sick. I also might add, we just went to the vet (just over 1 month ago) because he had tapeworm (which I think he got from a kitty that had been staying with us) and both were treated for it (took to the medicine fine, no problems), does it have anything to do with that? Also, they are inside cats, they eat specialty weight control inside cat food, like they always have. Nothing that I think of has changed in the past week. ??? Any ideas?
Thanks!
Mama of FC and Papas

THE ONLY REASON I JOINED THIS SITE IS TO GIVE YOU SOME HELP ON YOUR CAT.THIS IS A HORRIBLE PROBLEM THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 46 YEARS OF OWNING A CAT, I HAVE EVER HAD THIS PROBLEM.

--I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WITH A TWENTY-FIVE POUND 2 YEAR OLD MAINE COON, HOMER. AS HE WOULD ONLY POOP OUTSIDE THE BOX SOMETIMES. I READ ALL OF THE INFORMATION ON THE WEB. I BOUGHT BOOKS. I TRIED IT ALL. I WENT TO THE VET. I FOUND THERE IS NOT A SIMPLE SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM, EACH CAT IS DIFFERENT.

THE ANSWERS I GOT WERE:
1. TRY NEW LITTER, I BOUGHT THE MOST EXPENSIVE LITTER ON THE MARKET THAT PROMISED SUCCESS.
2. TRY 2 LITTER BOXES IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE HOUSE, AS SOME CATS WILL NOT POOP WHERE THEY PEE. SOME CATS WANT THEIR OWN LITTER BOX.
3. MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT USING CLEANSERS OF PERFUMES IN THE LITTER.
4. MAKE SURE YOUR CAT BOX AND WATER/FOOD ARE NOT CLOSE TO EACH OTHER.
NOTHING WORKED. . .
5. MAKE SURE YOUR LITTER BOX IS NOT COVERED.
6. MAKE SURE YOU CAT HAS ESCAPE ROUTES FROM HIS BOX.THEY DO NOT LIKE TO BE CORNERED WHILE THEY ARE DOING THEIR BUSINESS.

--WE FOUND THE ONLY WAY TO BREAK HOMER WAS TO FIRST FIND OUT WHAT TIME OF DAY HE POOPED (AS MOST CATS ONLY POOP ONCE A DAY)THEN LOCK HIM UP IN HIS OWN ROOM WITH NO TYPE OF CARPET OR MAT, WHICH WAS AT NIGHT. IT WORKED PERFECTLY. GOOD LUCK AND MAY GOD HELP YOU.

I FORGOT TO ADD TO MY PREVIOUS LETTER THAT HOMER WAS PERFECTLY LITTER BOX TRAINED CAT UNTIL HE WAS 19 MONTHS OLD AND JUST DECIDED NOT TO USE HIS LITTER BOX FOR POOPING ONE DAY OUT OF THE BLUE. NOTHING HAD CHANGED IN HIS LIFE. IT STARTED OUT ONCE A WEEK AND I IGNORED IT, BUT IT WILL BECOME A MAJOR PROBLEM IF YOU DO NOT RESOLVE IT SOON.

Hi,

This MAY be related to the tapeworm problem. Sometimes one de-worming isn't enough to take care of the problem. There is also the possibility of reinfestation.

Tapeworms come from an animal swallowing fleas. This is why it is so easy for a cat to become infested again. Look for tapeworms when you clean the litterbox---they look like grains of rice, kind of. You can also have a fecal done to rule out the possibility of other parasites. Tapeworm eggs are often not seen on a fecal exam. Your cats also need to be treated for fleas, but only use something from the vet to be safe.

There is also a possibility that there is another medical reason for your cat pooping outside of the box, but I would look into the more likely chance of parasites before anything else.

Regards,
PHKitkat