cat poops outside his litter box

by Christine Wolf
(Florida)

My cat is now 14 and has for a long time pooped in her litterbox and then run out so fast that sometimes she isn't quite done and I find the ends of the bowel movement downstairs on the dining room carpet, etc.

I changed her litter to a more earth friendly one and she always pees in it. But now she has started pooping on the bathroom floor, not always, but sometimes. Sometimes she poops in the covered litter box. Sometimes the litterbox is fresh and she poops on the floor, sometimes the litterbox is not fresh and she poops in it. That doesn't seem to make a difference. Sometimes she poops downstairs on my living room carpet! I've tried every combination of litter, noted fresh or added to litter, I just can't figure out why she poops on the floor. Often it is right in front of my toilet!

I never yell at her or punish her, but she always runs away as soon as she poops. I believe I have an anal retentive cat! Help! Thanks so much, Christine

Answer by KAte
Hi
well yes it could be that she is afraid of the litter trays or where they are placed and so does not feel that she can use them for her longer bowel movements. Sometimes changing the location of the tray to a more quite safe area helps.

the other possibility of course is that she is actually using her poop as a scent marker and this can be caused by several things.

i have a web page about this which may be of further help. it also has a method of trying to retrain your cat to use the litter tray again my allowing them time to relax in a smaller area for a while with it.

here is the page

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-poo.html

best wishes Kate

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