Pooping Outside Of Litter Box

I recently took in my friend's 9 year old cat. He has been with us for a month now, and he is amazing. EXCEPT. I cannot get him to consistently poop in the litter box. He has two boxes. One of them has been moved to the living room, where he most frequently poops. It is the same box and same litter brand (Dr. Elsey's Respiratory Relief) he has had from the previous home. I added a new one, with the same litter to the bathroom. He urinates in both of them no problem and occasionally poops in them.
We have concrete floors, I laid down a rug in the area where he had been frequenting, and he pooped on that. He mostly does it in the middle of the night. The other day, my boyfriend stopped him and redirected him to the litter box. He finally pooped in there within the hour, but then we discovered he snuck off and pooped in our bed.
I talked to his previous owner about it. He said it was sometimes an issue and suggested to change the cat litter we use, although he has never changed it. I sprinkled the Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract Litter over his previous Dr. Elsey's Respiratory Relief cat litter. I clean both boxes everyday, I clean up his poop with an enzyme based cleaner, he constantly has food and water available. I have no idea what he is trying to tell me. This is driving me nuts.

It could be the change of home that has unsettled him, new home, smells etc. Try putting newspaper by the litter tray, often cats will poop on that. If he does, move the paper into the litter tray. If he doesnt settle soon maybe a visit to the vet for a check up might be a good idea. Please let us know how he is doing.

Hello and welcome to TCS. Sorry it's a litter box issue that brought you here.

Is the poop normal? Like tootsie rolls? Or more like diarrhea, or constipated?

rubysmama said:

Hello and welcome to TCS. Sorry it's a litter box issue that brought you here.

Is the poop normal? Like tootsie rolls? Or more like diarrhea, or constipated?

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It's pretty normal. Maybe a little dry, but that seemed to be remedied with some wet food.

Hi. I am not sure how to explain the one event when he went on your bed - might just be related to being confused about being 'redirected' by your boyfriend. If it doesn't happen again, then I would guess the re-direction/confusion that caused it.

As far as going on the concrete floor in the same general area - with our without the throw rug - is it possible that your floor is not sealed well enough to have prevented the odor from permeating the concrete? You know better than I would how to ensure the odor is gone from concrete - I am just throwing out possible suggestions.

Also, since he is older, there may be some intermittent arthritic discomfort/pain causing him to avoid pooping in the litter box at times. It could be from the different position he assumes when pooping vs. peeing. You could try a lower sided and/or bigger/larger box to see if that might help him to adjust his position.

And, just in case having a tad bit hard stool has something to do with it, make sure he is always given enough canned food to avoid the 'dryness' you spoke of above.

You might want to re-ask his old owner if he noticed a pattern to when he pooped outside the box. And, also question why he suggested a change to the litter, if he never did so. It is my guess your friend isn't being 100% honest with you.

You might want to take him to the vet, even if its not a medical problem but more of a behavioral issue, the veterinarian can still narrow down a list of causes and suggest possible treatments.

Very frustrating for sure. Maybe try a 3rd litter box? How often do you clean the other two? Is it possible he doesn't like to use it if it's already has "deposits" in it?