Missing the kitty box! (grrr)

[loribee59]

Last night was the last straw with my old white queen, Ember. She's 11 years old and lately, she'd leave kitty poop either in the family or the living room. But last night, she left her pile of poop on my bed where my head usually is.

That's when, starting this morning I closed off my bedroom when I'm not home.

Re-training Ember worked once when she was much younger, but it didn't work in the last 2 years. I dunno if leaving her messes was a way of being mad at me or this is purely physical where she's not having full control of her bodily functions. She's great at peeing in the box, but it's the pooping OUTSIDE the box I'm having a problem with.

What to do?

 

[Dagna]

You may try a quick vet check just to rule out any medical issues. At 11 years old, she's getting up there in age. She could be having some sort of medical issue that's causing her pain when she uses the box and she's associated the box with the pain. Cats have a seriously weird thought process, what can I say.

If she checks out ok medically, you may need to start paying attention to when & where she's doing it. For instance, I had a cat that seemed to just pee wherever, even though her box was clean and medically, she was fine. Once I started paying attention, I realized she was peeing on clothes or blankets that were left in their basket or on the floor. So to solve the problem, clothes stayed in a laundry bin in a room with the door shut and blankets were put in a storage cube when not in use and doors stay shut now. Haven't had a problem since. If there doesn't seem to be any pattern to it, you may have to start keeping her either crated or locked in a room during the day, when you're gone. Not ideal, but better than washing things every day.

Also, make sure you're cleaning all spots thoroughly, preferably with a cleaner specifically meant for pet stains (try Nature's Miracle). Ultimately, know she's not doing this to make you mad, cats don't really think that way. I would lean more towards a medical condition personally.

 

[loribee59]

What's interesting is that most animals won't pee or poop where they sleep (she likes to sleep on my bed), yet she seems to have forgotten that sacred rule somehow, so I'm wondering she's getting senile?

I keep her box clean and I fed her dry food (all her life), I dunno, but yeah, I'll get her checked out soon.

Oh, this is funny~ she caught on what I was trying to do on my 2nd day of closing her off my bedroom. I chased her all over my bedroom, and at one point she jumped on my bed and hunkered down for a fight. When I lifted her off my bed, she had her claws IN my bed as if to say "noooooooooooooo don't do this to meeeee!" I had to pry her claws off my bed and threw her in the bathroom, she whipped around and streaked into my bedroom once again. ROFL!!!!!

Silly cat!

 

[Dagna]

Oh poor cat! LOL, that's funny though, it's amazing how they always seem to know what you're doing. I know my cats realize if I'm about to lock them in another room for a bit due to cleaning or something. They do the exact same thing.

Anyways, if your kitty is doing this in her sleeping spot, I would definately say something is wrong with her. That's not normal by any means. How often do you clean the litterbox and how many do you have? You may consider getting an additional box and putting it on another end of your house that way if it's because she can't make it to the box, she's got a second option. Try cleaning the box twice a day instead of once if you're only doing it once a day. I know my cats are really picky about their box, if we skip a cleaning we can expect to find something that indicates they aren't happy

 

[loribee59]

I use "Feline Pine" a wood chip litter that is just awesome...really does the job with the odor and I clean her box on a nightly basis. I don't DARE miss out on the cleaning part as I know I'd get it somewhere else in the house! LOL But despite my diligence, she still leaves her 'gifts' out of the box anyways. *shrugs*

As for the 2nd box, I can't think of another place to put it, as I have two roomies and all of the bedrooms are closed to Ember and the roomies share a smaller bathroom on the other end of the house.

 

[Dagna]

Oh I love feline pine, that stuff is awesome. Use it for all my kitties and our rescue uses it as well.

If you can't find a spot, I wouldn't worry about it too much, it was just a thought. I have 1 box for 2 cats, so to be honest, I don't even follow my own suggestions half the time. But I'm the same as you, there's no other spot to put a litter box. Our hall bathroom is too small, no spot in the hallway, no room in the office and I don't particularly want a little box next to my dining room table lol

 

[K9_Trainer]

I agree with a vet check first just in case.

I've only had one problem with my cats peeing in naughty places and that was in the dirty clothes hamper. The solution? I got a hamper with a lid

But you may want to try switching litters or getting a larger box. A covered box may encourage her to go in it as well. Sometimes moving it will help or getting more than one box in the house. Cats are pretty funny creatures sometimes and the oddest solutions are often the ones that work, so just try different things.

 

[stealingheaven]

I know how frustrating it feels, I still haven't found a solution with my cat. I've got 3, all indoor cats, the 2 of them have no problem using the litter tray but the eldest cat just refuses and continues to poop and piddle in two or three regular places in the home. My only solution so far has been an expensive one, I replaced carpet with wooden flooring as it's easier to clean and maintain, what with the cat messing constantly in these three regular areas!.

I'm not suggesting getting a new bed or flooring lol, I just empathise with your situation and I agree with having your kitty checked over by a vet to rule out any medical condition.

 

[skunkfeather]

What did your vet find?