Cat won't defecate in the litter box

[Traci]

Yes, I don't mean that you should start the other steps with increased interaction between the two cats just yet, I meant that this is also an issue that could be addressed at some point in the very near future. You don't want to wait too long though, the sooner they can learn to bond, the better for their health, happiness and behavior. When addressing this, it will be fairly simple to do. The results though, could be nearly anything, hopefully it will be a good result in time.

Since you grow your own catnip, this is a prefect tool and a perfect time to get the cats to interact with play sessions. But, still, you want to focus most upon kitty's elimination issues first.

I have a skittish cat too, she's really quirky, but I love it about her, and I did have some inappropriate urination problems with her when I first rescued her. But, time and patience paid off, she uses her litterbox faithfully. It was a lot of trial and error in those first few months, but she needed love and patience more than anything, that helped greatly in getting her to eventually use the litterbox. The main issue I learned with her was that it was almost strictly kitty litter I should have focused on in the beginning, she refuses to use any type of kitty litter at all, it absolutely must be, ...paper towels folded over in her box - but hey, it works for her!

[TGPDD]

Here's an update on the incredible pooping kitty.

Things seem to be improving. I was pretty skeptical about the Feliway, but I think it must be magic.

We've taken up the extra litter boxes and stuff we'd had blocking access to the floor in the bathroom, and we haven't had any problems at all with him using anything other than the litterbox that's left.

We've still been having him sleep in the bathroom at night, and if we are going out for any length of time, we put him in there. But he's out much more. Dh and the kids are home all summer, so there are people around more than during the school year. So far, no accidents. I think he has used the litterbox in the basement voluntarily a time or two, but haven't observed it directly. It could have been the girl kitty, but she covers and the boy does not, and I think it was him.

A couple of observations--the bathroom is small, so I'm sure the Feliway is getting to him. As soon as we started, paradoxically, he started acting more stressed! When he'd come out and sit with us on the sofa, he starting acting more tense, more alert, more grouchy than before. He's still acting this way, so that confuses me. But the problem is much better.

[Traci]

As for the behavior, it could be that he isn't liking the change, mostly, the confinement in the small bathroom. Or, it could be something about the living area itself, such as when everyone's home all at once and perhaps noise or too much traffic, activity, etc. I could also be totally wrong about that, but do try to observe his surroundings and see if you can spot anything in the immediate environment that he seems to have any issue with.

Overall though, it sounds like things are progressing for the better, and I'm so glad to hear it! If you have an extra feliway diffuser, you could try placing it somewhere in the living area, just make sure the outlet is not hidden behind a piece of furniture, since the diffuser requires an open space free of furniture or other objects that could block it.

[TGPDD]

Well, he's actually less confined now, since we started with the Feliway. We let him out more. It's his behavior that has changed when he comes up on the sofa with us. He seems more tense than he used to, pre-Feliway, but the environment at that time is the same as it was before. We're all just sitting on the couch watching TV. He used to seem more relaxed about it than he is now, which is strange.

[susanb]

I have a newly acquired stray cat that is having similar issues. He is about 2 yrs old and was unneutered when I found him. He was just neutered this Wednesday (8/11/10) becasue he had an abscessed paw that needed to be treated before surgery. He ahs been dewormed with profender, something for coccidia, and drontal. He has loose stool and had a few accidents on the floor and one on my NEW SOFA!! I picked up his poop and put in a new litterbox that I bought for him. He caught on quickly...or so I thought. Last night, he jumped up on the couch and pooped again while I wa sitting there! I've tried to keep him in a bathroom but he goes crazy and I'm afraid he will hurt himself. I also found a bag that he peed on in the basement next to the litterbox. I have 4 boxes that are cleaned twice a day. He gets along with my cats and is very affectionate. He has been checked for everything imaginable and it all comes back normal. Oh, I almost forgot. Last Saturday he peed on my NEW SOFA (but he did not poop in this spot). Luckily I got the smell out. I don't know what to do. He is such a sweet boy but I can't have him pooping and peeing all over my house. I do still let him outside. i have never seen him or any evidence of him peeing in a litterbox.

[TGPDD]

I'm the OP, and I have to say, things have been much better with my boy. We just took up the litter box in the bathroom, and are keeping our fingers crossed that he will continue to use the boxes in the basement on a regular basis.

I hope this lasts. At one point I was worried that we might end up returning him to the rescue, but he seems to have figured this out.

Now, if we can only figure out how to get him to be friends with our other cat...

[Traci]

Susanb,

Your vet dewormed him with a lot of medications, which were not needed. This could be why he has soft stool, and may not be able to make it to the litterbox in time.

Since his neuter was just recent, have you checked and made sure his incision area is ok? No bruising, swelling, redness or oozing of blood or pus?

Next, the stress of a new environment, neutered/hospitalization etc are overwhelming him.

I've mentioned various times on the forum, indoor-outdoor cats will usually ALWAYS bring their outdoor territorial issues indoors. Is there a reason you can't keep him indoors-only?

You might have to temporarily confine him to one room with a litterbox until he gets accustomed to his environment, using the litterbox faithfully (I don't like recommending this). But please, do not confine him for over a week or so, this is too stressful for cats. During confinement, one should always let the cat out several times a day to explore, exercise, meet/greet the other cats etc, but you will have to supervise and direct him immediately to the box if he shows eliminating behavior.

[susanb]

His inscision site looks great and is not swollen.
The deworming was over a few weeks. The vet had me use prefender first and then I told her Max still had loose stool so she gave me the meds for coccidia. I read online that profender wasn't giving great results and I mentioned that to her and she gave him drontal since he still had loose stool. I asked her why she didn't check to see specifically what type of worms he had with a stool sample and she said all outdoor cats have worms.
There have been instances when he's pooped on the floor and it seemed like it was an urgency issue;like he couldn't hold it. I picked him up and carried him to the box but he pooped the whole way. He hasn't been having any issues like that lately though.
He used the litterbox last night with no problem. And I have seen him use it several times during the day . I just can't figure out what makes the difference for him not to use it I tried to confine him but he goes crazy. I even tried to "wait it out" for a few hours thinking he would calm down but he doesn't. He tries to literally climb the walls, shower curtain, jumps up in the window sill.... But when he's out, he's very calm and affectionate and loves to be a lap cat. . I read the links you posted about inappropriate elimination and have seen Max shake his paws when he gets out of the litterbox. Do you have any suggestions on what types of different litter i should try? I guess I just assumed they were all about the same. He does use the litterbox at night but I have all the other doors closed.
The only reason I let him out is because I dont want him pooping and peeing all over when I'm not home and I can't confine him. It wouldn't be as big of a deal but I rent my house. Btw, Traci, my daughter and I, along with all my pets, moved out of the bf's (ex) house and back to our old house. We are all much happier.
He has come SO far and I know he/we can fix this issue. He was so skitish when he first came in that every noise made him run and hide. Now he just hangs out with the rest of us and the vacuum is the only thing he doesn't like. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[Traci]

The first thing I suggest is keeping him indoors-only now. As long as he's allowed outdoors, he will ALWAYS bring territorial/marking issues indoors with him.

Is there a bedroom he feels comforable in that is not as confining? Try placing a shower curtain liner over the bed with a cat blanket on top of that, if you're afraid of accidents on the bed. It's only temporary. Place a litterbox in the room that is easily accessible but not near food/water dishes.

Provide one box per cat, then add one or two more. In various areas of the house if you can. Eventually, you can remove one box, but the idea is to get him to use one or two prefered boxes.

Have you observed him in the box? Is he giving any indication he doesn't like the litter?

Most of us use scoopable litter, I use TidyCats scoopable multi-cat.

Keep the boxes scooped on a daily basis and cleaned/rinsed on a weekly basis.

Try scheduled feeding. After the morning meal, a few minutes later, physically place him in the box and say a verbal command like "go potty", so he associates the word with the expected motions in the litterbox.

Also, when you get up in the morning, physically place him in the box. If he doesn't go, feed and wait until after his meal, then proceed with the paragraph above.

Do the same for the evening meal.

Male cats who are territorial will ALWAYS mark on items in the home. Since the neuter, you have to give this some time for his hormones and routine to adjust (about a month or two for the hormones). Each day, take a new step with the litterbox training, and be consistent each day so as not to upset the routine. He has to adjust to being indoors-only and not expecting to go outdoors anymore. Use a squirt bottle accompanied with a vocal "No" each time he goes toward the door, be consistent, and inform family members to do the same.

This won't happen overnight, you have to determine what is stressing him or what is occuring that is causing the accidents, whether that is feeling intimidated by another cat, new environment, change in routine, etc. He's been through an awful lot lately and you have to take it slow and one step at a time, with each routine being kept consistent. Of course, give him lots of love and attention, playtime and activity sessions to help him feel safe and secure in his environment. Never scold a cat, this would only cause him confusion and worsening of the situation. Try to remain patient and understanding, because while it's frustrating, it is his way of telling you something is not pleasing to him in some way, you have to watch him and try to determine what in the environment is displeasing.

The move, if recently, probably is adding additional stress, most all cats stress during or after a move. The neuter is also stressful. Keeping him indoors is also a stressful thing but MUST be done.

[TGPDD]

What a weird coincidence--my problem pooper is named Max, too!

You guys are, as my kids would say, da bomb. My misbehaving Max is misbehaving no more. It's been a good six weeks and he's had the run of the house with no more inappropriate pooping.

I thank you, my children thank you, and if he could talk, Max would thank you, too. I was at the end of my rope with him, and didn't know if we'd be able to keep him, which would have broken all our hearts.

The two cats still aren't very friendly, so if you have any ideas on that, I'd love to hear them.