cat pooping outside litterbox

Question
I have a male ragdoll cat that I brought home when he was 8 months old.  I've had him for a few months and he won't poop in the litterbox. He used the litterbox at first, but would occasionally go outside the box. Now he won't go in it at all, except to pee. I have 3 litterboxes (one self-cleaning) and am using two different litters. The boxes are on different levels of the house. I try to clean the litterboxes as soon as they are used. I have 2 other cats - one I've had for 2 years (he's an indoor/outdoor cat -my ragdolls stay inside)and a female ragdoll (5 mths. old) that I brought home at the same time as him. He poops in the vicinity of the boxes, but a few feet away.  I clean the spots immediately, but don't know what to do. His poop looks normal. What can I do?

Answer
Lynn,

I would contact a RagDoll site that has email and ask them the question also. I am not well-versed in pedigreed cats and it is a slight possibility that it may be a breed-specific behavior that I am not aware of.

Have you tried puppy-pee pads (puppy training pads...the ones used for puppy potty training, or the human kind they put under older people in their beds when they are incontinent)? If the cat goes on them and not in the litter box it may be an emotional issue with the litter box. He may have been jumped by another cat playing, or startled, when he was pooping in the litter box. He may now associate the litter box with a negative experience and is avoiding it.

I had a cat that would NOT use the litter box anytime in his life! He hated the feel of litter under his feet and only would go on newspaper or puppy pee pads. That is not a common occurrence, but it does happen.

Sometimes having a big litter box will help. Something like a low-sided plastic storage container. There are some cats who will not poop in a too-small litter box because they think they will get their paws 'dirty', but will pee in it.

Also, you may want to try some children's play sand that you can get at Home Depot or similar building supply store. For some reason, maybe the feel of it, attracts cats. If he does use it the litter box with sand in it, then you can gradually add litter to it as he gets used to it.

Personally I haven't needed to try it, but there is a product called "Cat Attract" that you can use in the litter box that seems to work well for some people with litter box avoidance issues.

There can be the possibility of the cat being upset with you, the home, any changes, etc. causing his behavior. Since I cannot put all the information in this reply, I am including some links to good articles about improper elimination. They will have further information that you should find helpful in dealing with the cat's behavior.
(copy and paste or type the whole links into your address bar)

http://www.catsinternational.org/articles/housesoiling/unabridged_litterbox_1.ht...

http://cats.about.com/cs/behavioralissues/a/outsidebox_two.htm

http://www.geocities.com/heartland/pointe/9352/litterboxhelp.html

http://www.apbc.org.uk/article10.htm

And though sometimes you can do and try everything to find out the problem, sometimes only the cat knows for sure why he behaves in a certain manner (like avoiding the litter box to poop)! But usually, with time and patience, and some helpful information you can eventually figure it out.

I hope this gives you some ideas and food-for-thought about the possiblities of why your cat is not pooping in the litter box.

Tabbi