Pooping outside of the litter box...

[ChillyVixen]

Edited:

Thank you for your responses. However, if I chose to let my cat outside, it shouldn't make or break me for being a bad kitty parent. I love my cat and I do what I think is best for him. I was merely inquiring about how to deal with one problem, and not be chastisied for something I choose to do different then what you would choose to do. Have a great weekend.

[Traci]

How old is he?

When exactly did you adopt him, and did you get him to your OWN vet immediately after adoption? You shouldn't depend on any shelter/humane society to ensure kitty is in excellent health, it is always advisable to see your own vet on the day of adoption for a complete health exam etc.

In appropriate elimination usually occurs due to stress or illness. What are you feeding him? What stresses are in the environment? Do you yell at or harshly reprimand kitty for this? If so, you need to stop that NOW. Cats respond to our frustration, but they do NOT do things to spite us. This is his way of telling you he is unhappy about something, or that he is coming down with an illness, or that his litterbox isn't kept clean, doesn't like the litter you're using, or that it isn't placed in a private, quiet location, or that there are or have been sudden changes in his environment, etc.

Stop letting him outside. Please read Indoors ONLY, in it's entirety and start acclimating him indoors only.

Make an appointment with your vet right away. If your vet determines he is healthy, then you need to focus on kitty's environment and what stresses are occuring and address them. By keeping him indoors only, and providing him an interesting safe environment, he will be safer, happier, healthier, but you have to be committed to making his environment interesting and spend quality time with him. Another thing you can do right away is place another litterbox in the home, make sure it is located in a private quiet area, not near appliances, heavy foot traffic, etc. Keep the boxes scooped daily, and thoroughly cleaned and rinsed once a week.

[ChillyVixen]

He's just about a year old.

We did take him to the vet the day after we adopted him (back in January). He had that Upper Resperitory Infection, and we spent quite a bit of time and money taking care of all his problems. Just about 2 months ago our vet gave him a clean bill of health! (YAY!!!!!)

He gets fed MaxCat food. And I think the only thing he could possibly be unhappy about is not being able to go outside. His litter box gets cleaned once (maybe twice) a day. We've tried several different types of litter, all with the same result. His litter box is under a side counter in the kitchen (which we rarely use). We play with him quite a bit, and he has plenty of toys to keep him occupied while we are away.

As for the Indoors Only article, I'm going to have to politely disagree. I've had perfectly happy, healthy, indoor/outdoor cats my entire life. I see no problem in letting him outside for a little romp while we are home and checking in on him every so often.

Thank you for all your advice. I will look into seeing what else we can do around the house to please our little Prince Booger.

[Tambrey]

As for the Indoors Only article, I'm going to have to politely disagree. I've had perfectly happy, healthy, indoor/outdoor cats my entire life. I see no problem in letting him outside for a little romp while we are home and checking in on him every so often.

And just how would you feel if during one of those moments where you were NOT with him, some other animal got into the yard and injured him....or he got into something out there that you were not aware of and got hurt...or like what happened to one of my dogs one, a neighbor fed him a piece of poisoned meat (thankfully another neighbor saw it happen and tore my privacy fence down to get my dog out and to her own vet and called me and the police)...and you came out to find your Booger injured, or worse....
It only takes a few seconds for something life threatening to happen to our animals when they are outside unattended....

I am not sure where you live (rural/city), but my mom will not even let her dachshunds outside alone to go potty in their own secure yard right off of the back door because of the hawks and eagles that have taken up residence in her evergreens nearby...a little house pet like a cat or small dog is a meal to those big raptors!!

[Traci]

"All of his problems". What exactly were they? An upper respiratory infection doesn't take months to resolve, unless there is something else going on, what was it? Was it a viral infection, or herpesvirus, or?

Checking in on a cat every so often on a cat allowed outdoors is not a garantee nothing will happen. It only takes one split second for a cat to chase a butterfly out of the yard, and into the street. It only takes one split second for a dog or other animal to attack, or a callous human (or animal shelter officer) to harm, steal or displace your beloved pet. It only takes one split second for a cat to chew on a toxic plant or get into some other toxic substance. And if you use a collar and lead and tie him to something, it only takes one split second for a cat to strangle. We live in different times and our pets are no longer safe outdoors, irregardless of how you think they are. Checking once in awhile is certainly NOT enough to ensure his safety.

By allowing him outdoors, you are encouraging him to bring his outdoor behaviors into the indoor environment, inappropriate elimination is one of them. Not to mention putting him at risk for all of the numerous outdoor hazards.

MaxCat food is probably not the most quality of foods to feed. Ask your vet about a more appropriate diet for him. I wouldn't trust nor recommend any Nutro product for a pet, many pets have GI problems, diarrhea, vomiting on these foods, and the reputation of this company isn't stellar. What is the consistency of his stools? Are his bowel movements inconsistent, are they loose or diarrhea, mucousy, or hard-formed and does he strain etc? If there is anything unusual about his stools in the least, including frequency etc, then the diet is quite equally responsible but stress is also something that needs to be ruled out.

[Sonique]

I used to let my cat outside back when I lived with my brother. He had a fence so I figured he'd be just fine. One night he jumped the fence and I thought I'd never see him again I guess how do you know you won't loose your cat? I can't tell you how terrible I felt that night.

I was very lucky that he came back unscathed the next morning. He was never allowed outside again no matter how much he howled.

I do wonder exactly what kind of an adventure he went on though.

[Traci]

Since we often encourage searching the forums for similar posts, we discourage editing the original post, this post now reads like confusion for others looking for information.

But I digress. I wouldn't have been so bold to say much except for the fact that you said you "check in on him every so often" when allowed outdoors. This is akin to not checking on him at all, hence the risk you are putting him at.

No one said you are a bad kitty parent, but when you clearly don't see the dangers of allowing him outdoors UNATTENDED AT EVERY MOMENT, then you are not being a RESPONSIBLE kitty parent. I hope that is enough for you to reconsider his safety, his health and his longevity, doesn't he deserve that?

[Tambrey]

and I believe that Sonique and I were only related experiences that we had ourselves when we let our animals outside without supervision...no one said specifically that you were a bad parent....

I know how I felt when I sat with my dog ALL NIGHT LONG while he vomited and the vet on emergency call said to let him vomit as it was clearing his system at least (mind you, this was 25 years ago, so probably ALOT of protocol has changed since then)...this was in Tucson.....July 4th....fireworks everywhere...and my dog sick with being poisoned because I thought he was safe in his own privacy fenced yard while I went to work...

thing is....we just NEVER know WHEN something or someone will come along and do harm to our animals when we are not looking...

[Traci]

And that neighbor you always thought was just ever so nice, all the while secretly plotting to poison your cat over the fence. That just happened here not too long ago. The neighbor's excuse? He hated cats, didn't want them near his garden and flowers (he didn't even have a garden or flowers), yet he deliberately poisoned a cat, she didn't make it, suffered horrible, painful kidney failure because of anti-freeze poisoning. He got a slap on the wrist, that's ALL. It wasn't kitty's fault, it was the owner's fault for not watching her outside!

[Tambrey]

a good friend of mine lost TWO dogs to anti freeze poisoning a few years back....she and her roommate had to do their own investigating because the police did not want to get involved...but the vet recognized their symptoms, after they had been in a few times for upset stomachs, etc...and the symptoms were gradually worsening...so he started wracking his brain and did some tests...

They began searching garbage cans and found raw chicken pieces and antifreeze in the garbage of the neighbors behind them....
the vet had taken raw chicken pieces from the dogs stomachs as well...

raw chicken is a great way to disguise antifreeze....

they called the police and the people were charged....sort of...made to pay the thousands of dollars in vet bills at least, as well as for the loss of the dogs, and basic fines...this was in Austin, TX...thankfully my friend has moved back to Virginia...but she lost her beloved dogs...