Cat Pooping Behind Sofa

[Merlin77]

Our cat, who has been at our house now for nearly one week, has begun neglecting the litterbox. He used his litterbox to an exact science prior to this.

The first accident was a pee on top of a plastic bag on the bottom row of our shelf. (It contained violin notes and such, I joke about how he wanted to sabotage my violin playing.) That accident was yesterday.

This morning, we discovered two fresh poops behind our small sofa. They were slightly runny, but not diahrea. Right now we are in the process of cleaning them up.

Our cat (Thor) still used the litterbox. I put him in it this morning and he peed. He is almost 10 weeks old now, though small for his age, and he was previously a barn cat.

On Wednesday this week, we had him dewormed at the vet. It was a topical treatment that covered most worms I believe.

He is eating well and is playful, very curious and lively.

We have the litterbox in our living room, and we are planning on slowly moving it to the bathroom. Is it possible he wants privacy? It is hard to find a private spot for the box in the living room, but there are many places where he could sneak into to pee.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I am a bit confused - do you have one or two cats? In any case, try to see if anything changes by getting a second litter box - and of course showing your cat where it is at. If there are two cats, it's possible the one has decided he doesn't 'want to share", or doesn't like going in an already used litterbox. And, even if there is only one cat, having a second litter box still might make a difference.

 

[Merlin77]

Just one cat! Sorry for being unclear.

We've just washed the litterbox and refilled it, but we need to go and buy more litter.

He's very short and it takes some effort from him to get in tbe box, we might also buy a box with shorter sides.

When we get that box we will try experimenting with different locations and such.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I would definitely buy a second box with lower sides. Maybe he has gotten tired of putting so much effort to get in and out!! Lol.

Also, keep an eye on the consistency of the poop, since you said it is slightly loose. All my cats were much older when I got them, so I don't know if less-than-firm bowels might be fairly normal for a 10 week old kitten.

 

[Merlin77]

I would definitely buy a second box with lower sides. Maybe he has gotten tired of putting so much effort to get in and out!! Lol.

Also, keep an eye on the consistency of the poop, since you said it is slightly loose. All my cats were much older when I got them, so I don't know if less-than-firm bowels might be fairly normal for a 10 week old kitten.

Haha! I wouldn't be surprised, he's pretty short.

He was recently dewormed, which I think is the cause for his runny poop. He has a follow-up at the vet in a few weeks, so I will keep a mental list of all of this.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hopefully you are right about the deworming. BTW - let us know how it goes with a new, lower litterbox!

 

[Merlin77]

Will do!

 

[Willowy]

He's just a baby, and being raised outdoors where he could go anywhere will complicate potty training too. It would probably be best to confine him when you can't supervise.

 

[Merlin77]

He's just a baby, and being raised outdoors where he could go anywhere will complicate potty training too. It would probably be best to confine him when you can't supervise.

I'll see if we can put him in the bathroom or something during the night.

 

[Merlin77]

Quick update: last night he pooped in the litterbox, but he accidentally dragged the poop out with him (still not sure how that happened). We had to gove him a shower....

We filled a small bin with litter and put it in the bathroom. He used it to poop and pee over the course of the night. So far so good!

Right now he's in my lap and purring.