Cat pooping outside the box

[Anonymous]

A few weeks ago we took a nine-day trip out of town. In our absence, we had a cat sitter come twice a day.

Since we got back, one of the cats has been pooping outside the box, downstairs pretty far from his litter box. I don't think he does it every time he poops, but there have been three episodes. Fortunately it's on a parquet floor so it's easy to clean up. (Not totally sure how to eliminate any residual odor so that he can't smell it any more, however. I saw him making a scooping motion with his paw over the spot after I'd cleaned it up, so I think he can still smell "something".)

We have two cats and I keep the boxes scooped, so it's not that. I think he might be indicating his displeasure at our absence.

Any ideas about how to get him back on track, or should I just hope he'll get over it eventually and return to his normal habits?

[Anonymous]

How many litter boxes do you have? A good rule of thumb is one litter box per cat +1.

Cats are sensitive to smell, so make sure you're keeping the litter box very clean. Scooping it is good but emptying it every few weeks and completely cleaning it out is better.

Good luck, OP!

[Anonymous]

In my long experience as a cat lady, this means that the cat sitter was NOT cleaning the litter box every day. Cats do this if their litter box is dirty, especially if they are used to having a clean toilet.

We once paid my ds's friend to cat sit and this happened. Long, complicated story, but the friend eventually admitted he hadn't cleaned the litter box for a week and only did it right before we returned. It took our cat a few weeks to get back to normal. That is the only time she ever had accidents outside her litter box.

And now I always ask a friend to drop by periodically just to check on things when we are gone for longer than a few days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many litter boxes do you have? A good rule of thumb is one litter box per cat +1.

Cats are sensitive to smell, so make sure you're keeping the litter box very clean. Scooping it is good but emptying it every few weeks and completely cleaning it out is better.

Good luck, OP!

Two boxes for two cats but for some reason they tend to use one of the boxes more than another. (One box usually needs "lots of scooping" the other one not much scooping.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In my long experience as a cat lady, this means that the cat sitter was NOT cleaning the litter box every day. Cats do this if their litter box is dirty, especially if they are used to having a clean toilet.

Hmmmm, I thought the sitter did scoop the box but perhaps not.

[Anonymous]

Don't let the paranoia pp get in your head. Even with a clean litterbox, cats will protest. Be thankful it's on the easy-to-clean floor and not your bed!

Just keep the schedule as close to normal as you can and give your cat extra attention. They'll settle back down. Might take a couple weeks; some cats are easier than others.

[Anonymous]

Could be the cat is just getting back at you. More likely there is a physical litter box problem. As others suggested, you need a box per cat. Also make sure your box is big enough. Many cats like to poop in one spot and pee in another. And if they are large cats, they can't turn around and get comfortable enough to do this.

[Anonymous]

Switching to a dome box was life changing. With grass matt in front.

[Anonymous]

It's a cat thing. She'll get over it.

[Anonymous]

My cat does this the entire time we are away. Started when they were 15 years old. Even with a good cat sitter that comes frequently, my cat will poop all over the floor and even furniture while we are gone. I think she is anxious/upset being left. We now have to limit where she can go when we are away so she doesn’t destroy furniture/carpets. I’ve thought about boarding her instead, but that would likely upset her more c

[Anonymous]

Ugh, I moved one of the litter boxes downstairs to where he had been pooping, and he still pooped on the floor a few feet away from it. Really at my wit's end now.

[Anonymous]

I think there is a special litter - maybe called Cat Attract? It worked for my late cat for a while.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think there is a special litter - maybe called Cat Attract? It worked for my late cat for a while.

Thanks - I hadn't heard of that!

[Anonymous]

I personally do not think a cat would intentionally poop outside their litter box simply to show their dismay that their owners left them alone.

I am not a vet or even close to it - but I just don’t think cats are spiteful in that manner since by nature they love unconditionally. 😻

My two now deceased kitties both used to do this - one started doing it and then the other began doing this too.
I tried everything under the moon + sun trust me but I never figured out why they did this.

Lucky for you you have parquet flooring.
I have carpet and it’s been a few years since the last one passed and I am still saving up $ to pay for all brand-new carpeting …..

[Anonymous]

My 15 yeae old cat has done this a few times in recent months. Nevrr did it before. He also was nervous, not sleeping and crying a lot. He has a thyroid condition. I guess this behavior is part of that. I also read that cats can get dementia and he seems like that too.