OT - Cat going #2 on carpet

[adventure_woman]

OT, but I was hoping someone might have any suggestions.... So our cat, 7 years old is going #2 on the carpet. He has done this before, about a year or so ago. Took him to the vet. Nothing was wrong. Vet told us to lock him in a room by himself for 10 days, and that should remind him he needs to go in the litter box. Did that and it worked. Fast forward to a month ago. We go camping for 2 weekends in a row. He starts doing it again. We do the same thing. In the meantime, DDs and I leave for Disney. DH lets him out after about 13 days, he goes immediately on the floor again. He puts him BACK in the room, and waits until I get home. I get home, he continues doing #2. It doesn't matter what time of the day it is (will do it when I am in the room), if his litter box is clean, etc. He is a totally indoor cat. I don't want to have an indoor/outdoor cat. We live in the city, so I don't think he would do good just being totally outside.

Anyone have any other ideas? I am going to really really really clean the carpet well again to make sure there is no scent on the carpet and try again. It makes me very sad to think we might have to get rid of him, but that is disgusting.....

 

[maleficentmom]

I read somewhere that they make a special cat litter you can buy at Petsmart that is supposedly great for such situations, something about it is attractive to cats....I would ask there. Maybe someone here will know the name of it.

 

[Lilo&Stitch]

I read somewhere that they make a special cat litter you can buy at Petsmart that is supposedly great for such situations, something about it is attractive to cats....I would ask there. Maybe someone here will know the name of it.

I remember reading the same thing and that it worked for alot of people, except me of course I have talked to my vet and she suggested that it might be the food I feed my cat, so I have recently switched to science diet optimum health, so far so good but it's only been about 10 days

Good luck OP I know how frustrating it is !

 

[furb & dez]

Cat Attract.

 

[minnierocks]

We have had many cats over the years and we had one that had that issue...except for it was my couch! The same spot every time and no matter how long she had been in seclusion. I even followed her around the house after letting her out just to make sure. As soon as my back was turned, she would go on the couch cushion. Unfortunately, we had to get rid of her.

 

[kldmom2000]

Is he a long-haired cat? Just asking because we have 3 cats.... had issues with 2 of them in the past 2 years. Recently, our long-haired cat started doing #2 on the berber carpet in the finished basement room-same exact spot each time. I called the vet and they said that if I looked closely at the excrement, I will probably see a lot of fur/hair.... she was most likely shedding due to the warmer weather (her defecating on the carpet started late-spring) and when she was cleaning herself, would ingest more hair than usual thereby causing painful elimination. She would most likely be scoping out a place of "comfort" to eliminate where she wouldn't be bothered by the other 2 cats.... the fix? We had to give her the hairball ointment daily to help her pass her stool more easily. It was working for quite a while, and then she started doing it again DH had to rip the carpet and padding up so we have a lovely cement floor now and she's done it a couple of times now in that same spot on the cement floor

Our 14 year old short-hair cat was defecating ON OUR BED once in a while because she'd get ambushed by the 2 year old cat near the litter box and to avoid her, she'd also "seek a place of comfort" out and go there.... that's since resolved itself after locking her out of our bedroom for months. She's been allowed back in and has not done it (yet)..

I feel for you and hope that you're able to solve it!! Good luck!

 

[cbg1027]

Try using a different kind of litter.

Make sure there is enough litter in the box - should be at least 3" in depth.

Clean the box weekly (as in take all the litter out and wash the box, then put the litter back in).

Do you have a litter box with a hood/cover? A lot of cats don't like to feel confined in a small space when going to the bathroom....so if you have one of those boxes, try a regular pan type with no cover.

Try changing food (gradually).

PetsMart sells a product called Boundary. Try spraying that where the cat is defecating. He may stop, he may move to a new spot, but it's worth a shot.

Hope something works for you soon.

 

[Order66]

Here are a couple of suggestions:

Is he your only cat? Where I work, we generally recommend 1 box per cat +1. Sometimes in multi-cat households one cat guards and/or harasses another and they quickly learn to go somewhere other than the box to avoid it. Have the boxes in different areas if possible, like one in a basement, one in a bathroom.

Have a second box with another type of litter. If you use clay, have a second box with scoopable. See what the cat prefers. Cats having potty issues (like a UTI or constipation) will often associate the box with their pain and avoid it. Having a different type of box will sometimes help. So will increasing the water consumption. Cats by design don't need a lot of water. Increasing how much they drink can help with both urinary and constipation problems. Get a water fountain, put ice cubes, etc... whatever makes your cat more attracted to drinking water. Add some canned food to his diet if you don't already. Can food is mainly water. Give him some cat laxative (hairball gel) a few times a week. Even short haired cats need help sometimes.

Is he going in the same spot on the carpet? Put a box there. Sometimes a cat has made up his mind to use that spot. Put the box in that spot and slowly move it to where it's more appropriate for you to have. The cat should adjust to the small movements. Not everyone is willing to have a box in the middle of a room, but it often works if you really want to avoid getting rid of the cat.

If the cat just really likes carpet......have a box with a piece of carpet in the bottom. You can get cheap scraps from places to replace as necessary. At least he's now going in a controlled carpeted place.

Cat attract and Feliway plug ins sometimes are helpful in calming undesired cat behaviors.

Hope you find a solution.


regards

 

[zoemurr]

OT, but I was hoping someone might have any suggestions.... So our cat, 7 years old is going #2 on the carpet. He has done this before, about a year or so ago. Took him to the vet. Nothing was wrong. Vet told us to lock him in a room by himself for 10 days, and that should remind him he needs to go in the litter box. Did that and it worked. Fast forward to a month ago. We go camping for 2 weekends in a row. He starts doing it again. We do the same thing. In the meantime, DDs and I leave for Disney. DH lets him out after about 13 days, he goes immediately on the floor again. He puts him BACK in the room, and waits until I get home. I get home, he continues doing #2. It doesn't matter what time of the day it is (will do it when I am in the room), if his litter box is clean, etc. He is a totally indoor cat. I don't want to have an indoor/outdoor cat. We live in the city, so I don't think he would do good just being totally outside.

Anyone have any other ideas? I am going to really really really clean the carpet well again to make sure there is no scent on the carpet and try again. It makes me very sad to think we might have to get rid of him, but that is disgusting.....

Is it always in the same spot? Our 14yr old cat had started going (#1 and #2) repeatedly in the same room. (It is an old carpet that needs to go anyway..) but I was so scared it would start to smell. I was hesitant to block off the room 'cause I didn't want her to start to go on another carpet that wasn't due to be replaced. I can't imagine locking her in a room.. she would cry, scream, and destroy the bottom of the door trying to get out.

Anyway, I finally did just block off that room. I have been making sure the litter box is very clean and we haven't had her pick a different place to go. I also put another litter box upstairs (where she spends most of her time) but she won't use it.

Good luck!

 

[adventure_woman]

OP here - thanks for ALL the suggestions! Now to start trying them all and hopefully one will work!

To answer some questions: He is a long haired cat. We do have another cat, and there are 2 litter boxes. We have just one big piece of carpet (probably 5x5 ) and that is where he has been going. I have sprayed it all down AGAIN, and if that doesn't work I'll get rid of the carpet and see what happens. (Last time he did this, it was in a different area/floor of the house).

Thanks again for all the suggestions. We have to figure something out, as we don't have any place to send him (and I can't take him to the humane society...knowing what would probably happen to him) so he has to SHAPE UP!!

 

[Squirrel!!!]

Are the cat's stools normal? If they are super hard, it can be an issue with having trouble going, and the cat gives up in the litter pan and goes elsewhere.

If the stools are soft, it can be an urgency thing.

Pooping outside the box, while urinating in it, is not super common as a marking behavior. It is more likely related to problems with producing the stool, as in painful bulky stool, or discomfort in hips, knees, back preventing the cat from wanting to "assume" the position.

Please note: I have used the terms "usually" and "not common". There are always exceptions.

But, with your cat's presentation, I would first take xrays of the hips/knees/lower spine to see if there was a skeletal problem like arthritic changes causing a problem, this is after palpating for constipation of course...


Your cat isn't old, just middle aged, but sometimes joints can already be messed up.

If it is not a physical problem, I have had some success using the product, Feliway in spray formulation or diffusor plug in to decrease marking behaviors.

(cheapest place I have found to get it so far, is KV vets on line, unless you can get super saver shipping on Amazon).

Good luck.

 

[shortbun]

My sister put aluminum foil over the spots her cat had chosen and he stopped going there. A few years later, he started doing it again though. She refoiled and it stopped again. She also shampooed the carpet and really fastidiously cleaned the litter boxes. I can't imagine closing a pet in one room alone for 10-13 days...that would be really hard.

 

[Swimalie]

My sister put aluminum foil over the spots her cat had chosen and he stopped going there. A few years later, he started doing it again though. She refoiled and it stopped again. She also shampooed the carpet and really fastidiously cleaned the litter boxes. I can't imagine closing a pet in one room alone for 10-13 days...that would be really hard.

That's what I was going to suggest, too. Our cat started going pee on a throw rug near the front door about 5 years ago. We took him in and he was fine. We switched to Cat Attract litter and that helped. Plus we put foil down on the throw rug. As long as the foil is down, he won't go there. About 6 months ago we put the foil away and no problems so far

We used some Natures-something spray to neutralize the odor on the floor and when we washed the rug.

 

[luvavacation]

Good luck in solving this problem! I am learning something new, too, as I have a cat that does #2 in odd areas, and we can't seem to stop her!

We have figured out that this cat, my eldest DD's cat (we have 3 cats), is an emotional girl. When something upsets her, she goes into a dark corner and defecates. She will also pee on silky things, which is part of what happens when she is upset, but at least your cat isn't doing that.

She has been checked numerous times by the vet, nothing wrong. Confining her to a room did not work, as she would be upset, and defecate in a corner. We do have a few litter boxes.

We have tried the calming plug-ins, the calming cat spray for the cat litter, and the attract cat litter. It all does work, to a point, but we find we do need to use all 3 items. That would be my suggestion for you - all 3 items!

Unfortunately, when she becomes REALLY upset, nothing works, and under my bed or behind the TV or sofa will smell again, and we know she is not happy about something. At least it doesn't happen as often for us now!

And if anyone would have told me, years ago, that a cat would be more emotional than a teenage girl, I would have never believed them. Now I know.

Good luck!

 

[Mouse7116]

We have been battling the same thing for a while and have done what feels like everything. (although I will try the hair ball remedy to see if that helps at all). We have switched the litter box from a regular cat box to an under the bed storage box to give more room for everyone. He (the only male) will defecate just outside the box. Though lots of experimenting and some time outs, we have discovered that he does like the larger space in the storage box, but does not like a lot of litter (you can see the bottom of the box in some places, but if there is too much he won't use it), only likes litter that is like sand and if someone else goes in the certain spot that only he will use he will not use the box and will instead defecate on the floor. He was also fairly odorous and I had read online somewhere that cat food high in corn (corn being in the first 3 ingredients) can cause much stinky so we have switched food as well and that seems to make it better as far as odor goes. We do have multiple cats and multiple boxes, but for some reason he has picked one area and only one area to go. Talk about finicky! Good luck to you!