Cat problem...
By Bev1986
@Bev1986 (1425)
United States
March 2, 2008 5:10pm CST
We agreed to watch a friend's cat while they moved, which was 3 weeks ago.... we still have her. I have a feeling we're going to end up keeping her because their daughter told my daughter that they aren't allowed pets in their new apartment Confused Ummm, shouldn't they have asked before they moved in????No biggee... we love cats! Already have two, and a dog, and we really didn't think one more would make much of a difference.
Well.... this cat will not use the litter box for #2.
Our litter boxes are in the basement. We always leave the basement door open so they can come and go as they need to. Our friends brought her little box so that she'd be familiar with it.... I make sure that sucker is totally clean all the time. She'll pee in it, but will not poop. She goes beside the box, she goes behind our furnace, she goes all over the basement! Grrr!!!At first, we weren't sure it was her! We thought maybe one of our cats was jealous and was pooping to show she was upset. Nope, ours are fine. It's the new cat.
So, I call my friend and tell her. "Oh yeah" she tells me, "she did that at home too." Again, don't you think you should have told us that before we agreed to take her!!! So... she's not just doing it at our house because of the move, she did it there too!We shut her in a room in the basement with the litter box yesterday afternoon just to see if she'd go in it.... nope! She went right beside it! Thank goodness she has never gone upstairs at all... just in the basement.
Sooooo, my friends are away for the weekend, but I'll be calling them tomorrow to find out if they are coming to get their cat, or what.
She is such a sweetheart and the girls love her.... so if they say they can't have her, I would love to keep her! But what the heck am I going to do about this pooping problem????
Anyone have any remedies to get her to stop pooping on the floor? Even though I clean up the mess as soon as I find it, and put down some clorox on the spot she went (we have cement floors down there), it is still starting to smell!We just got the whole basement fixed up with my exercise equipment and all my sewing stuff. We put charcoal all around the basement to help with the musty smell and it really made a big difference. We could NEVER smell cat poop before. Our cats use the litter pan and I keep it cleaned out.
So, what can I do? Any suggestions????
7 people like this
11 responses
@Sissygrl (10912)
• Canada
2 Mar 08
I would say the only thing you can do is try to trian her to poop in the box. When you see the poop on the flor stick her nose close to it and say NO dont poop on the floor, and then stick her directly into the litter box and say POOP IN THERE! lol. I do not know if that will work for sure.. but you could give it a try.. i dont know WHY on earth that cat wouldnt poop in the box if it pees in there..
My mom has a cat that would squat and sometimes MISS the box, now she has a HUGE and i mean HUGE litter box that she fills up and keeps VERY clean so it never smells. i laughed so hard when i first seen it. its MASSIVE!! There is no way that the cat should miss now!
2 people like this
@zydecokitten (451)
• United States
3 Mar 08
NEVER, EVER PUT THE CAT IN THE LITTER BOX AND TELL HIM TO USE IT, NEVER POKE THE NOSE OF A CAT IN THE LITTER BOX. EVER! That is the worse thing you could possibly do for the cat.
2 people like this
@zydecokitten (451)
• United States
3 Mar 08
ps, what putting a cat in the box and saying "no" does is send the reverse message. You are telling the cat NOT to pee in the box. Their memory while good on things when you you hurt thier feelings is different than telling them "no" in the box. They avoid the box due to pain and quirks.
2 people like this
@jbrooks (264)
• United States
3 Mar 08
i would get her checked out to make sure that there is nothing wrong with her. so you can rule that out if she comes back healthy. i would try to get a new box and see if there was a certain liter that your friend was using. maybe if she gets the scent or feel of her liter then you can train her to use the box so she can do her business where she should
@kgwat70 (13388)
• United States
3 Mar 08
I definitely agree that the cat should be checked by a vet to see if the cat is having any health issues which is causing it to miss the litter box. It could be health related. Also getting a new or bigger litter box may help as well. I love cats myself but it would probably drive me crazy if the cat was doing that as well in my home.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160665)
• United States
2 Mar 08
I would wonder if she has worms or a blocked gland or something. A good vet check up would be in order. I think your friend is someone who stinks, more than the litter box. My opinions.
2 people like this
@enchantedleppard (1541)
• United States
2 Mar 08
Oh gosh I am so sorry that you are going through this. We had the same problem with our little guy when we got him.. we got another box and moved it and eventually he got the gist.. I just think he wasn't too familiar with his surroundings and wasnt sure if he was going to leave again. I would suggest calling the vet for suggestions on what you can do. Hope it gets better!
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
3 Mar 08
Oh my goodness you do have your hands full with this kitty. It could be that she might be upset with now finding herself with other cats and a dog...since she was the only cat at your friend's house? As for the Clorox cleaning...no! Do not use Clorox, that is probably the worse thing to use in cleaning. One of my pet rescuer friends said never use Clorox, one cause it can be very toxic to pets, and two, there's something about Clorox that will actually exaggerate the smell of pet odors, including pet poop. Try cleaning up the poop mess with just plain baking soda which is a neutralizer in smells.
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
3 Mar 08
Mmmm...instead of cinnamon, lemon would be better or even white vinegar
1 person likes this
@jellyjam74 (205)
• Canada
3 Mar 08
here is what i would suggest about your litter box issue. it will require some effort on your part though, but it worked with my cat. keep the cat confined to a small area (i.e. a small bedroom or bathroom) with things it is familiar with when you are not home. when the cat first wakes up in the morning, or immediately after meals (and you do have to feed meals, not free feed) take her to the litter box right away and put her in it. use her paws to "dig" in the litter to simulate covering the "mess". you have to be consistent with this. it is also very important to keep the litter box clean. i did this with my cat when i first got her, and after only a few days, she was using the litter box consistently and has only had a couple of "accidents" in about 5 mths.. hope this helps...
2 people like this
@Bev1986 (1425)
• United States
3 Mar 08
Thanks for the suggestion, however, she knows how to use the box... she pees in it just fine. I think she's either mad about something or has a health problem. I'm going to call my friend today and find out what vet she takes her to. Thanks!
1 person likes this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
3 Mar 08
put it outside! or rub nose in it and then put her in the box only way I woudld know how to make it go in the box. One reason I dont have cats they can stink up the house. also Daughter is allergic to them.
and When I did have a cat it always went outside
1 person likes this
@Bev1986 (1425)
• United States
3 Mar 08
Well my house never smelled before I got her... and it doesn't smell now, just the basement does. I clean out the boxes every single day and there has never been an odor before.
I really don't want to make her an outside cat because too many neighbors have cats outside and I don't want to the run the risk of something happening to her. But thanks for your reply.
@coolseeds (3919)
• United States
3 Mar 08
When I had this problem in the past it worked. When you find fecal matter outside of the box, put it in the little cat's litter box. It might trigger some internal instinct that it is supposed to go there.
If the cat doesn't get used to its box... I am sure it will do just fine outside.
It is unfortunate how low some people will go to dump off their problems on someone else. Sorry this has happened to you.
1 person likes this
@siberhusky (9)
• United States
3 Mar 08
I'm sorry to hear about your cat's problems. This is why I'm not having anymore cats after the ones I have go to heaven. lol I'm afraid the most likely cause of what's happening is that the cat developed a behavior problem. Sickness could be a cause as well, however no matter what got this cat started to do this, it's very likely this is now learned behavior. (sometimes constipation will make the cat think the box is out to get her so she'll stop using the box for number 2 - my step mother in law has a cat like that. Her cat has always done what you're describing and he's healthy, just a little nutty in the head that's all lol So, if you can live with this problem and love the cat, I'm afraid you might have to get used to it. Once a cat learns to do things outside the box, it's kind of a lost cause to get it back in the box again. Seems like your friend got tired of cleaning up after the cat.
The person who said to keep the cat confined and take it to the box regularly (fed on a regular schedule as well) might be onto something. The cat has to be retrained (if that's even possible) to accept the sky isn't going to fall if she poops in the box.
@cortjo73 (6498)
• United States
3 Mar 08
It sounds to me like you got taken for a ride by your friends. The reason they didn't disclose the fact that their cat poos outside of the box is because they probably figured you wouldn't want to take care of their cat if you knew that little problem. And, I think they don't want the cat anymore because of this problem so, I have a sneaky suspicion that you have just unknowingly adopted a new member of your family. I don't know how to stop this behavior. The only time I have that problem with one of my cats is if I forget to clean the litter for a day.
My best suggestion would be to confirm with your friend that the cat is yours now and then take it to a doctor to make sure it is ok. And then, perhaps see a pet behavior trainer.
I am sorry that I don't have any other helpful suggestions.
1 person likes this
@cortjo73 (6498)
• United States
3 Mar 08
My pleasure! I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful.
If I can say one good thing about your friends, it sounds like if they gave her to you without being honest about it, at least they were smart and responsible enough to have given their cat to someone who seems caring and kind hearted. I don't agree with what it sounds like they did and I would reconsider my friendship with someone who is willing to pull a stunt like that...if that is indeed what they did. But, at least she is in a good home now.
Hopefully nothing is actually physically wrong with her and whatever is going on with her is a behavioral thing that can be changed.
Good luck!
1 person likes this
