Cat pooping on floor

Question
Hi. I have a 4 year old persian cat who is very loving. We bought him in when
we lived in England and has moved back to the states with us. We have had
no incidents of him pooping until recently. He likes to go out in the mornings
and if we aren't awake when he wants, he has started bawling seriously
obnoxiously. Then we started finding his poo on the living room rug. I have
been able to put him out in the laundry room, which has been fine until  now,
when it is too wet for him to go out. But he did it in the laundry room near
his litterbox. This is becoming a serious problem.

We did change litter to one he'd used before but changed back to no avail.
Please help!

Answer
Jacqui,

Your cat must see a vet to rule out medical causes for inappropriate elimination. Some of the top reasons that cats go to the bathroom outside the box are:

A dirty litter box. This can be remedied by dumping the contents of the box, washing the litter pan thoroughly with dish soap and hot water. You will want to rinse the soap away completely and then add about a tablespoon of bleach to the box. The bleach is to disinfect the litter box and should be completely rinsed away with hot tap water. Once the box is completely clean it will need to be dried completely as litter will stick to the wet places and make the box uninviting.

Too few litter boxes. This is an easy problem to fix, simply add one or two more litter boxes for this cat. Normally I recommend one litter box per cat plus one to avoid issues, but since there is already an issue I would go a little overboard with the quantity of litter boxes and slowly cut down. Several litter boxes also allows you a chance to experiment with different litter types and find out what your cat prefers.

A problem with the litter type. Some cats find certain textures uncomfortable. This applies to all kinds of litters as I have fostered cats who have taken a dislike to different types of litter. Ultimately in combined experience I am sure that I have had to try every form of kitty litter on the market at some point. I find that different brands although created similarly in terms of purpose are not equal in scent, weight, or feel which can cause problems. The brand that you were using in England may have the same name in North America, but be a slightly different product. Your cat may be trying to tell you that the litter has changed in some way and he is now uncomfortable with it. Generally cats do well with a simple, inexpensive non scented clumping kitty litter, but do your research, certain brand names clump better than others, some are finer or courser than others. Your cat will be the only one to be able to tell you what his preferences are.

Household changes. Cats hate change. Things like new homes, people, pets or household items can trigger enough anxiety for your cat to miss the box in an effort to communicate their upset. Home renovations can cause cats to be more sensitive than usual and can result in a cat who is making mistakes outside the box until the stress is alleviated.

Moving. This goes along with cats hating change. A new home means new territory and new stresses. Your cat may even need help to overcome the anxiety. My first line of defense in this department is a homeopathic remedy called Bach's Rescue Remedy. You can buy Rescue Remedy at many health food/natural health stores. What Rescue Remedy does is use flower essences to help calm an animal who is anxious or stressed. I would strongly suggest that you look at consulting with a holistic veterinarian to see if there are other remedies in combination with Rescue Remedy or instead of it that may be more helpful to your cat. I have some great experiences of homeopathy working wonders with my own cats as well as foster kitties. My oldest cat recently had issues with her kidneys that saw her hospitalised for close to a week. When we got the urine cultures back we found that she didn't have any type of bacterial infection. The interesting part of this is the fact that she received IV fluids, a low protein diet and homeopathic remedies to help her come through this time. At one point it looked very much like our friendship might be cut short, but my vet offers homeopathy and a couple of days later my cat's kidney values were well within the normal range. I am not toting homeopathy as a miracle cure, but I do think that it has a place as a complement to conventional medicine. There is also the option of using anti anxiety drugs, but these are not without side effects or risks and are best discussed with your vet. Other issues that fall into this category are things like adding new people or pets to the household, this can be very anxiety provoking.

Change in schedule. Given that you recently moved it could be a matter of that your cat is not understanding the change in time zone, environment or the times that you normally share together. Cats don't understand jet lag so you may have to look at what your vet feels would be the best way to help him cope until he has adjusted to the new time zone.

Threats from other animals (indoors or out). If a cat is feeling threatened they will often react by missing the litter box. The challenge with this issue is to find out what the threat is and make it less upsetting to your cat. For instance, if your cat is upset by the dog coming in to investigate his litter box while he is using it try a baby gate. If your cat is upset by an animal outside of your home things like keeping your kitty inside and applying a temporary frosted film to your windows may help. This will require some detective work and patience on your part, but it can be sucessfully changed for the better.

Health issues. Things like bladder or bowel problems, parasites and other health problems can cause a cat to become unreliable about eliminating in the litter box. This will require the advice of your vet to cope with. Your vet has the ability to find out if your kitty is constipated or has stones in his urinary tract and he/she is able to treat your kitty and offer advice to get him back on track.

Discomfort related to the litter box. Your kitty may be trying to tell you that getting in and out of the litter box is uncomfortable due to the size, shape, location and things like hoods or excessive traffic. Cats like people prefer to be comfortable while they use the toilet. Just like humans cats do not like to have an audience or things like a cramped space to do their business.

I really think that although it seems obvious this bears mentioning. DO NOT hit, yell at or rub your cat's face in his mistakes, it is inhumane, the cat will not understand and in the case of rubbing their face in urine or excrement it is disgusting and pointless. Your cat is not doing this out of spite, he is trying to communicate that there is a problem somewhere along the line. I would suggest that you clean any areas that he has made mistakes in with an enzymatic cleaner to eliminate the possibility of your cat going back to the scene of the crime because he can smell past mistakes. Speaking of smell, things like scented litter may cause issues with inappropriate elimination simply because scents irritate some cats just the same as they do people. Like I mentioned before adding a couple of litter boxes and experimenting with different litter types may be helpful. You may find that the litter you are/were using was not to his liking for one reason or another. The nice thing about multiple litter boxes is that not only do you get to find out what litter type your cat prefers in a fairly short period of time, but you will likely notice that your cat wants to urinate in one box and defecate in the other. Because you are experiencing some issues surrounding the litter box I think that at the moment 3-4 litter boxes (at least one placed strategically where the accidents are normally found) are not unreasonable. You will likely find that your cat will come around if no medical reasons are the cause of these issues. Good luck, be sure to see your vet soon as the longer a behavior like this continues the harder it is to change. I hope that these recommendations offer a bit of useful information and insight. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again.