How to get a cat to stop going on the rug

[Anonymous]

This past winter, we adopted two 10yo cats from a family. They are litter-box trained. One uses the litter box religiously. One uses the litter box and also poops on the rug. We bought a second litter box and put it where he likes to poop, in case he wanted his very own litter box. Sometimes he uses it and other times he walks right by it to poop on a different spot on the rug. I thought he was doing this out of angst or fear, but he’s really opened up and become a cuddly cat. Today he came to me for pets, I was petting him for a few minutes, and then he got up, made a beeline for the closet, walked past both litter boxes, and crouched right outside the closet doors and started pooping on the rug. WTH? Why is he doing this, and how can we get him to use the litter box every time?

[Anonymous]

is it a rug you can throw out? he is returning to the place he smells that he's previously been.

[Anonymous]

Have you taken him to the vet?

How often do you scoop the boxes?

Can you move one box to another location? The boxes may need to be in separate rooms. I’ve had 3 cats share one box w/o issue. Two of those cats plus a new one? Changed everything; 3 boxes in 3 different rooms were needed.

Have you tried changing litter? (My cat wouldn’t poop on pellets, so I switched one box back to clay clumping litter and her issues disappeared.)

any chance the other cat has used the box area to harass him? Some will bombard each other as they exit the box, which causes stress and box usage issues.

[Anonymous]

There's an orange scented spray that some cats dislike that you can try. Our late cat would pee on rugs and the spray helped.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your suggestions. A few notes: I’m using rug and carpet interchangeably. I shouldn’t, because I’m referring to wall-to-wall carpet. Which means we can spot clean it only. We’ve been spot cleaning with Natures Miracle, and then later I spray with orange spray to deter future accidents. I don’t know if the orange spray is working, but it’s also impossible to spray the entire carpet (I think? Maybe there’s a pet-friendly citrus carpet deodorizer that we can spray or vacuum everywhere? Kind of like people used in the ‘80s?).

We have moved his litter box to locations where he likes to go. He uses his litter box daily, but he also decides to go on the carpet. Last night he deliberately walked by both litter boxes to go in front of a closet. I had actually cleaned his litter box midday, so he had a clean litter box to use. But he chose to go elsewhere, even while I was watching him. (I didn’t intervene because this is the first time I witnessed it, and I wasn’t positive he was about to poop.)

Is the other cat bullying him as he goes? I don’t think so. They tend to ignore each other and hang out on different floors of the house.

[Anonymous]

he could be ill and trying to let you know.
incidentally, when my cat is angry she poops in the wrong place

[Anonymous]

Prozac!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Prozac!!

Second this. I know someone who adopted 2 kitty brothers and one had a peeing problem and she nearly made him an outdoor cat but before she did, she tried kitty prozac. Worked!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for adopting these 2 kitties! I’m sure they’re very happy that you adopted them together.

[Anonymous]

Feliway. Enzyme spray on the spots.