Cat Behavior Sleuths Wanted: The Mystery Of The Sometimes Floor-pooper

Hey cat people. First-time poster here, and I present to you a confounding mystery worth of Purrlock Holmes. I hate myself for that pun, and I don't blame you if you do too.

I will present to you the facts as I have gathered them after years of study. This is the truth as I see it:

Subject: Hatchet
Species: Felis catus
Age: Going on 10
General Health: Good, according to vets
Freedom: Strictly indoor, is actually kind of afraid of the outdoors.
Errant Behavior: Sometimes poops in his litter box, sometimes poops in the immediate vicinity of his box.
Duration of Errant Behavior: His entire life.

Subject has both pooped outside the box and inside the box under the following conditions:

1. Clean box
2. Full box
3. Fresh litter
4. Old litter
5. Different litter
6. Same litter
7. Swept floor in area
8. Unswept floor in area
9. Food and water full
10. Food and water empty
11. Before a change in diet
12. After a change in diet
13. Myself gone from the household for upwards of a week
14. Myself gone from the household for upwards of 20 minutes
15. Myself in the bathroom where he cannot reach me for upwards of 20 minutes (note: the door cannot be left open while I am in the bathroom, for my housemates would not appreciate this)

Again, he has pooped in his box under all of the above conditions, and he has pooped outside of his box under all of the above conditions.

Notes:

• The only condition to consistently yield a no-poop-on-the-floor scenario is me being home and accessible to him. As I require money to feed and house myself and this creature, this is not a sustainable model.
• The poop is always healthy.
• According to housemates, he gets anxious when I am not home—despite being friendly with said housemates, and seemingly able to relax around them.
• He only pees in the box. No problems there.
• The floor-poop is never more than a foot from his box, and is always on bare floor, i.e., never on an adjacent floor mat, etc.
• He grew up with dogs, one of whom would poop on the floor on occasion.
• He is excited to see me when I get home before I discover the poop, is seemingly ashamed of the poop, will try to 'bury' the spot where I clean it up from, and then is his normal affectionate self. (He's sleeping on my lap as I type this, and I cleaned up yet another incident five minutes before finding this site and writing this novel into the text field.)
• I have used enzymatic cleaners, as well as other methods of de-scenting the floor.
• Of course I don't yell at or swat Hatchet for any reason, and certainly not this. I know that creating more stress will only exacerbate the problem.

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Alright, sleuths. Wrap your brains around this one. Any help would be appreciated.

I forgot to mention that I have tried the 'moving the litter box' solution, as well as having a second litter box.

Nothing changed.

Hi. I am wondering why, if Hatchet has been doing this all his life, what causes you to be concerned about it now? It would not appear to be a new health issue, since he has done this for years. The odds are after all these years, you will likely be unsuccessful in changing this behavior now. This is really an ingrained behavior by now.

I can only offer the idea that the enzymatic cleaners you are using are not effective enough and Hatchet can still smell where he has pooped before. Cats' smell-ability is by far superior to humans.

I hope you find some members who are better at the role of Purrlock Holmes, than I am!! I am sure some will come along soon and offer their tips/advice!

My cat Maggie does this when she's constipated.

Have you ever seen him do it? Sometimes there's a poop that. . .sticks. . .and falls off after they leave the litterbox. In which case he can't really help it.

You can put puppy pads around the litterbox to protect the general area if that's a concern.

I suggest making a Scarecrow out of your dirty shirts and underwear.

...sorry, but your post was intentionally funny in addition to serious, so you'll have to forgive my poor efforts. I don't really know how to help. Prozac seems like maybe an overreaction if this is the only symptom of anxiety, but then again I'm sure this is driving you crazy...maybe low dose Prozac is something to seriously think about. For that cat. Unless you need it also, which would be understandable

P.S. I made a similar "mystery" post years ago when I couldn't figure out how a cat was consistently peeing in a closed closet. Turned out my boy was a sleepwalker!

On a serious note, after seeing W Willowy 's post about the stuck to fur issue, the other thing that comes to mind is some cats are obsessive about covering it up and kick poop out. Is there litter stuck to the poop that is on the floor? If so, your dealing with a kicker.

Hi!
My boy is another who not only hates it when he gets dingleberries stuck to his back end (I've gotten a lot better about trimming under his tail, his upper back legs and such, on a regular basis) but also gets worried and concerned when I'm cleaning up, bless him

I feed him both canned and dry to try and balance the ingoing and the output (so the end result is hopefully less sticky)

For his concerns when you're away, what if you tried playing some low volume music (there's an app called Relax My Cat, for example) when you're there with him so he associates it with you, and then have it on when you're gone.

You could also try leaving a worn unwashed t-shirt or sock or two out, near to where he usually sleeps.

Thank you for the replies thus far! Addressing some of the follow-ups:

1. They're most definitely not dingleberries or kicked out of the litter box; there is no litter on them, and they're full piles.

2. I've tried limiting access or putting mats down, but he'll still poop on the nearest patch of bare floor available.

3. If he's constipated, I don't want to see what it's like when he's regular. (Which is to say, he's definitely not constipated.)

4. This isn't the first time in his almost-10 years that I've asked people about this, just the first time on this site. I realize the odds are low that this will ever change, but I'm presenting the mystery in the hopes that someone can think of something I've missed in my countless Googlings and vet inquiries.

The only solid hypothesis I can ever land on is that it's a product of his anxiety, sadly, since my presence and accessibility is the only constant in him not pooping on the floor.

I've often just come around to accepting it as his unfortunate quirk that I'll just have to deal with forever, but I'll hold out hope that someone somewhere has had something similar and can help me out.

Thanks again, everyone!

In the age of cheap video cams, maybe set one up near the box so you can see his actual pooping behavior.

You don't think that music and items that smell of you would help? These things have helped other anxious cats, they just weren't necessarily pooping outside the box from the stress/anxiety of being away from their person.

You could try low volume classical harp music, as mentioned there is an app called Relax My Cat, there is MusicForCats.com and also George Handel compositions are known to help a cat to relax.

There's chamomile tea; from Mamanyt1953
"IF this is, indeed, stress-related, I'm going to suggest trying 1-3 teaspoonfuls of chilled chamomile tea, up to 3 times a day. Administer via syringe, placing the tip between the cheek and gum, and injecting SLOWLY, allowing time to swallow. Use the commercial tea bags from the coffee/tea aisle of your local grocery store to insure that you are getting German chamomile, which is safe for cats. English, which often grows in gardens, is not. You can also use the tea as a wash for the hot spot, to relieve itching. I like the chamomile because it is gently calming without being actually sedating. No wobbly, drunk kitties staggering around."

Also, you could try one of these below, only a small selection of a fast-growing section of pet products;
Richard's Organics Pet Calm-those are drops that you put on the tip of the tongue. Also, Quiet Moments Cat treats, there is Calming Care, Calm-o-mile, Sentry, Natures Miracle calming spray, Vetri-Science's Composure is another item to look at, Pet Remedy (it has valerian) is yet another, as is Essential Pet Pet-ease, Only Natural Pet (brand and website) has a calming product, Pet Naturals also has one I believe.

Also Thunderease has diffusers as does Sentry.
You might want to check with your vet, but some people have good results with CBD oil, plus there are vet-prescribed calming products too.
Lambert Vet Supply is a website to look at, and of course chewy, also there's Petwishpros, drsfostersmith, animaleo, Petco and PetSmart, and other pet stores.

There is a product called a lickimat which could be helpful, as cats can be calmed by the process of licking. The LickiMat - Food Puzzles for Cats

This discussion's post talks about some other products;
Calming Treats For A Very Picky Cat

If he's a shorthaired cat then you're fortunate regarding the extra grooming requirements

I don't think it is listed above, but it is probably similar to some of the products Furballsmom suggested - so I will also add a product called Bach Rescue Remedy (can be gotten through Amazon.com, among other web sites). It is drops that you can actually place in a cat's ear - or even nose or a paw. It has a calming effect like many of the products noted above. Cat lovers' have used it to calm their cats before a vet visit, or when they are gone for periods of time from the home.

And, as already stated - having some of your worn clothing items around the house for Hatchet could be a great asset. I say that because, one of my previous cats, Gracie, LOVED to sleep on a already worn T-shirt of mine whenever I would be gone for any length of time. I always left one out on our bed, where she liked to sleep. If Hatchet has places he likes to hang out or sleep, those would the best places to start with.

OK...let's try this article, and see if there are some helpful hints:

Separation Anxiety In Cats
And these as well, since this seems to be a stress issue:
Is Your Cat Stressed Out?
Potential Stressors In Cats - The Ultimate Checklist
Six Surefire Strategies To Reduce Stress In Cats

Other than that, and the other suggestions made, Purrlock, I'm clueless!

Hello and welcome to TCS. Hopefully one of our super sleuths will help solve the mystery of Hatchet's erratic litter box behaviour.

So, a few questions:
1) have you had him since he was a kitten
2) if so, when did this start
3) is he an only pet now
4) when you find poop on the floor, is there any in the litter box
5) when you say his poop is normal, do you mean like "tootsie rolls"

Are you saying that his poop is too soft then?

Furballsmom said:

Hi!
...
You could also try leaving a worn unwashed t-shirt or sock or two out, near to where he usually sleeps.

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FeebysOwner said:

...
And, as already stated - having some of your worn clothing items around the house for Hatchet could be a great asset. I say that because, one of my previous cats, Gracie, LOVED to sleep on a already worn T-shirt of mine whenever I would be gone for any length of time. I always left one out on our bed, where she liked to sleep. If Hatchet has places he likes to hang out or sleep, those would the best places to start with.

Click to expand...

There's always an exception to a rule.

In this case, I might be afraid the cat would poop on the favorite t-shirt.

PushPurrCatPaws said:

In this case, I might be afraid the cat would poop on the favorite t-shirt.

Click to expand...

True. But, losing one T-shirt is worth the attempt at success!!

I may have missed it as I read through the posts, but there’s also a product called Feliway. The Feliway Classic is a liquid artificial feline pheromone that’s dispensed through a diffuser that plugs into an outlet. It’s meant to reduce stress in cats. Here’s the description from the product website:

Some cats are immune to it, but it has always helped mine. I used it years ago at the recommendation of the vet when Max was stressed, and I started using it again last year when I introduced a new cat to the family and one of the resident cats started going outside the litter box. It’s worth a try!

(They also make a version for multicat aggression, which you don’t need, and a spray version of the Classic that can be sprayed on furniture to reduce inappropriate scratching and in a carrier to help reduce the stress of car trips.)

Good luck, Purrlock!