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Old November 7th, 2007, 03:33 PM
sherri.huck sherri.huck is offline
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cat defecating

hello everybody, I have a dilemma and need some advice. our 8 month old cat is defecating around the house. she has done this since we got her at 10weeks. she was a gift to my daughter from my friend whos cat had kittens. Up until we brought her home she had never used a litter box just some paper to do her business on and I am wondering if this could be the reason?. she is very good at using the box to urinate and sometimes will use it for bigger jobs but not all of the time!! which is confusing and causing me endless amounts of stress. I am very tempted to keep her out during the day whilst at work however we are worried that she will come to some sort of harm ie, roads etc. i have 3 litter boxes dotted around the house which are cleaned as soon as they are soiled but to no avail. i have spoken with my vet who feels its more of a behavoural problem, however before i take the very expensive leap at behavoural therapy i would be grateful for any advice.
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Old November 7th, 2007, 04:05 PM
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Winston Winston is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sherri.huck View Post
hello everybody, I have a dilemma and need some advice. our 8 month old cat is defecating around the house. she has done this since we got her at 10weeks. she was a gift to my daughter from my friend whos cat had kittens. Up until we brought her home she had never used a litter box just some paper to do her business on and I am wondering if this could be the reason?. she is very good at using the box to urinate and sometimes will use it for bigger jobs but not all of the time!! which is confusing and causing me endless amounts of stress. I am very tempted to keep her out during the day whilst at work however we are worried that she will come to some sort of harm ie, roads etc. i have 3 litter boxes dotted around the house which are cleaned as soon as they are soiled but to no avail. i have spoken with my vet who feels its more of a behavoural problem, however before i take the very expensive leap at behavoural therapy i would be grateful for any advice.

Hi Sheri

Welcome to pets.ca...so your cat has been doing this for at least 6 months, have you had it looked over by the vet rather than just speaking to the vet? is this the only cat in the home? Just from experience cats will go outside the box if there is something wrong....

I know you said that there are 3 litterboxes around the home, but is that for 1 or more ? also have you tried a litter change? have you seen the kitty in action? if you have try the next time to pick them up when you see it about to happen and take them to the litterbox and place them in it...it could be alot of things...

Please keep your kitty indoors! There are so many dangers! and if your cat has never been an outdoor kitty is will be a BIG change for them! Rather than leave him out all day perhaps you could keep him seperated in one area of the home so that the mess is limited until you can determine what is wrong...


Cindy
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Old November 7th, 2007, 04:07 PM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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Want kind of litter do you use? You might want to try Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract litter, which was developed for just such situations.

Rather than leaving her outside during the day, what about confining her to one room with the litter box in it? Sounds like her issue could very well stem from not having a litter box as a kitten (why the heck would someone do that, anyway? Very strange). She probably just needs to be trained. I'll see if I can find some links when I get home from work.
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Old November 7th, 2007, 10:32 PM
t.pettet t.pettet is offline
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cat defecating

Have you tried taking her stool and placing it in the litter boxes? this works well for puppies when you take the 'mistake' outside to an area they utilize for bathroom.
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Old November 8th, 2007, 09:32 AM
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You can also try taking her and placing her in the litter box and gently taking her paws and digging a little in the litter, along with putting a piece of the wayward poo, it has always worked for me.
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Old November 8th, 2007, 11:23 AM
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Love4himies Love4himies is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sherri.huck View Post
Up until we brought her home she had never used a litter box just some paper to do her business on and I am wondering if this could be the reason?.
I am currently foster a litter of kittens and one thing I learned is the kittens follows what their momma does. If her momma did not go into a litter box to do her business, the kittens won't know to do it. I did not have a problem with them urninating out of the litter box when they in training, but deficating. Not sure why. They did end up following their momma's lead after a couple of days.

I know it will be difficult to catch her in the act and placing her in the litter box when she has to go but if you can, this may be best. Other wise leave some fresh poo in her box so the scent is in the box. Any areas where she has gone to the bathroom should be cleaned with a cleaner that will get all the scent out. She may be able to smell her previous duties and think that is where she is to go.

Please don't leave her outside, you may come home from work one day and find her missing/injured.
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Old November 8th, 2007, 01:09 PM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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These links are a good overview of some things to do when inappropriate elimination is an issue:

http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/inappro-elim.html
http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/inappro-elim2.html
http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/inappro-elim3.html


Quote:
What if the kitten does not use its litter box?

Should the kitten begin to eliminate in locations other than its litter box, first review the steps above. Is the litter in an area that is appealing and easily accessed by the cat? Is there anything in the area that may be a deterrent? Is the litter box being cleaned often enough? Are there enough litter boxes for the number of cats? To determine the most appealing litter for your cat, offer two or more different litters in the same type of box, side-by-side and see which one, if any, the cat uses most frequently. Next, determine the type of litter box the cat prefers by offering two or more litter box types side-by-side (each with the preferred type of litter). You can determine the cat’s preferred location by offering the preferred litter box with the preferred litter in two or more locations and determining which one, if any, the cat uses more frequently. If litter box problems then persist, additional guidance and perhaps a behavior consultation might be required.
Quote:
What are behavior modification techniques, and how are they used?

They can be described as aversion therapy and attraction therapy. The former repels the cat from the inappropriate location, and the latter encourages the cat to choose an appropriate location.

The purpose of aversion therapy is to make the area of inappropriate urination or defecation undesirable for the cat. There are many ways to do this, but the following steps have proven successful in a high percentage of cases.

1. A product to neutralize the odor of urine or stool should be used in places where inappropriate urination or defecation has occurred. Such products are Nature's Miracle, Odoban, and Simple Solution. If the objectionable location is on carpet, it is necessary to treat the carpet and the pad below because most of the odor will be in the pad. This usually means soaking the carpet with the neutralizing product so it penetrates into the pad. Test an inconspicuous piece of carpet for staining before using any odor neutralizing product.

2. Cover the area(s) with aluminum foil and secure it to the carpet or furniture with masking tape. Aluminum foil is a surface on which most cats will not walk.

3. If the soil in potted plants is being used, place a lemon-scented air freshener at the base of the plant. This will usually repel the cat.

4. A combination of Feliway to discourage inappropriate urination and the use of CatFaeries' flower essenses may help.
The purpose of attraction therapy is to make the litter box more desirable than the inappropriate site. The following are usually successful:

1. Purchase a new litter box; even well-cleaned litter boxes have odor deep in the plastic. It is important not to use a litter box with a hood. Although humans like our privacy, most cats find a hooded litter box undesirable.

2. Purchase non-scented clumping litter. If your cat has not been using this type of litter, it will usually find it more desirable than the clay types. That increases the chances that the new litter box will be used.

3. Place the new litter box near the area of inappropriate urination until it is used for several days, then move it 2-3 feet (0.7-1 m) per day back to the desired location.

4. Keep the existing litter box in the normal location in case the aversion therapy causes your cat to return to it.
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Old November 8th, 2007, 02:56 PM
sherri.huck sherri.huck is offline
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response from sherri.huck

hi guys thank you all for your replies. Firstly i must say that putting angel out in the cold all day would be the very last resort and certainly not a preferred choice!!. She is my daughters pride and joy and believe me I would never be forgiven if anything ever happened to her!!. I have tried many of your suggestions ie, putting the mess in her tray so she can detect the scent, placing her in the tray when about to defecate but she runs off. I have also tried putting paper in the litter box in the hope that she will remember that this was the first material she used. We have also moved the boxes around the house to the areas she has defecated in only to find a mess about a foot away from the tray. Angel is the only cat in our household. when she was spayed i did mention again to her vet that she still had this bad habit but he didnt seem too concerned his response was to suggest that it was more psychological than physical. There are still some of your suggestions i haven't yet tried and will do so. Thanks again.
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Old November 8th, 2007, 03:39 PM
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CearaQC CearaQC is offline
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I don't know if what I'm going to type will have any benefit.

The local minister went out of town a lot and asked me from time to time to visit her cats while she was gone and care for them. In that house, her two cats NEVER EVER used the litter boxes. Had to be careful even entering her home because there were usually kitty snickers right by the door.

The litter boxes were always clean. lol I guess that's because they never got used.

Her house smelled horrid. I hate to talk bad about anyone, but that was a terrible place to go and it was hard to stay more than 10 minutes each time because it smelled bad.

She ended up moving to a city and rented an apartment. I learned not long after she moved, her cats began using the litter boxes with no trouble at all.

The house she was living in locally had no carpets at all, only wood floors or tiles. The apartment was carpeted. I guess her cats didn't like the floor material in the house.

I can only guess your kitty doesn't like the litter, or the box. Keep a watchful eye on kitty and when it starts to squat or get into poo position, move kitty to the box and see what happens. And imitate the digging thing with the front paws.
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