Question:
For the past few weeks, one of our cats has been pooping in the cat bed. Last night we found out that the culprit is Artemis ("Mr. No-Tail ) He'd never done this until just recently. Can anyone give me advice on how to get him to stop? The main problem is that he's only ever done it in front of us once, but by the time I'd gotten to the cat bed to smack his bum he'd taken off, so I couldn't discipline him. A loud "NO!" won't work either cause he's mostly deaf.


Answer:
Potential Reasons for Inappropriate Elimination:
-medical condition
-dirty littlerbox
-covered or inappropriate size litterbox
- unacceptable litter type ie. clumping, non-clumping, crystals etc.
-abrupt change in litterbox location
-aversion to scented litter
-anxiety/fear
-negative association to litter box ie. it's beside the clothes dryer (too loud)
-punishment by owner
-increase in owner's absence from cat
-tension or aggression between other cats
-inadequate number of litterboxes for multicat home
-geriatric-related problems
Hope this helps...it's just your cats way of telling you something is upsetting him


Answer:
Hi Suzoo...
Thanks for the list. I can rule out dirty litterbox as it had been cleaned about half an hour before we caught him. We've also had the same litterboxes in the same location for over a year now, and have been using the same litter brand for the same amount of time. The boxes are located in a quiet corner of the living room, so it's not very loud/busy. My boyfriend and I haven't changed our schedules either, so that can be ruled out. All the cats get along fairly well....they only *really* fight every once in a while....but for the most part it's just play fighting. Although, now that I think about it, Artemis and Crackerjack have been fighting a bit more recently, but again.....they mostly just ignore each other rather than fight.
We have two litter boxes for 5 cats, so maybe that's the reason. Do you think we should get another? Again, we've had 5 cats since October, but this is very recent problem.
Do you know what kind of medical problems could be associated with this, and what I should look for? Artemis is about a year old, pretty active, and seems like a happy cat. His behavior/moods haven't changed since we got him last August. He is a little overweight, so he's on a diet at the moment. He's being fed Nutrience Low Calorie.
Thanks again for your help!


Answer:
It actually may be the # of litterboxes you are using...some cat behaviourists suggest 1 box for each cat but that's not usually convenient...I'd suggest adding at least 1 more and put it in another location...if it's a covered litterbox, make sure the opening is facing the entrance of the room so if Artemis is using the box...nobody can sneak up and startle him, making him nervous to use that box. In your first post, you said that you never can catch him in the act to smack his butt...you should NEVER punish the cat in any way for eliminating outside the LB. He won't make the connection that you're only displeased with his choice of location. So he'll assume that whenever he has to eliminate, he'll be punished. This only adds to the anxiety he's already feeling.
I'm not a vet but indescriminate litter box use could signal diabetes, kidney disease or LUTD (lower urinary tract disease)...though I've only seen this when the cat is urinating not defecating outside the box...I could be wrong though.


Answer:
Thanks again, suzoo. Artemis is actually due for his shots next month, so if the problem persists, I'll bring it up to our vet and see what she thinks.


Answer:
I think that another 1 or 2 litter boxes would probably do the trick. I only have two cats but one of them refuses to poop in one of the litter boxes. He only pees in it.


Answer:
Any updates?


Answer:
Well, we haven't gotten another litter box yet, but Artemis also hasn't pooped in the cats bed since Thursday....so that's good. If he starts up again, I'll get another litter box, and then if that doesn't help, I'll talk to the vet about it. Silly cats


Answer:
Thats great news hopefully he won't do that anymore,,,,,,maybe he just wasn;'t feeling good


Answer:
Hi: new member here
I have a cat that does something like yours but his problem is he is unable to get rid of the stool from his anus so he'll walk around the house and it eventualy drops either on the floor or in his bed behind the couch ect. If you could catch him in the act of going to the bathroom maybe you could figure out if he leaves the box with the stool still half way out. I give him laxatone to help lubracate the bowl tract. He just is not able to push some all the way out. I have never took him to the vet for the prob because it's not all the time. But if you could catch him and see if the stool looks hard/dark then he may need a small amount of fiber or oil in his food.
Hope this helped.