pooping outside litter box

Question
I have two 2 year old male cats. I took them for a friend because she was moving. They have lived with me for 5 months now. Everything was fine until 5 days ago when one of them started pooping outside his litter box. He only poops in the basement though, and we keep their litter box upstairs in the kitchen. Two days ago I purchased another litter box and put it in the basement where he has been pooping. He urinated in it but was pooping right outside of it this morning. My mom caught him as he was in the middle and put him in his litter box to finish, but he got out and finished all over the carpet. I don't know what to do? My parents want to get rid of him, but who would want a cat that poops all over the place. Can you please help me? I don't want to get rid of him.

Answer
Jessica,

Something happened 5 days ago to cause his pooping inappropriately.  He may have developed a physical problem, so a visit to the vet to check this out would be an excellent idea.

He may have developed a behavioral problem, in which case you will need to figure out what happened 5 days ago.

Also, you should clean up the area where he poops with an enzyme based cleaner specifically for pet stains and pet odors (available at most pet supermarkets or farm stores).

You can also try reading the article linked by:

http://www.netcat.org/housesoiling.html

An excellent article written by a vet who has also bred cats.

Good luck and best regards... Norm.