Mookie is the newest member of my family. She joined us a little over 2 years ago. She was terrified and spent a lot of time in the basement. I allowed her to spend as much time down there as she needed to because she was extremely skittish and seemed to feel safer down there. At her previous home, the basement was her escape from the kids in the house. Once I discovered she was pooping on the floor down there, I closed the basement door and forced her to stay out of it. She has since adapted to her new environment and is now the boldest of the 3 cats. Once she was locked out of the basement, she only pooped in the litter box. Life was good.
About 1.5 years ago we moved. All 3 cats and 1 dog joined my mother and her dog. We installed a cat door in my bedroom door so I can close the door and give the cats a safe place free from dogs. Mookie again preferred the basement. (She has since transitioned to upstairs living on her own.) I made sure to put a litter box in the basement so there would be no excuse for messes down there. Once in awhile, I would find poop on the rug. I rolled up the big rug and spread tin foil over the small rug. That seemed to help. After about 6 months the litter box downstairs was not really being used - once or twice a week. So I put it away. Then I started finding poop on the floor again. I put the litter box back. There is still poop on the floor. I did some research and discovered cats will sometimes not bury their poop to assert their "dominance." The potty in the basement litter box is rarely buried. I started leaving 1 potty on top when I cleaned that litter box, which helped for awhile. Now I am finding poop on the floor again. Let me state, again, this litter box isn't used very often. I was cleaning it everyday, but because it's not used much and my "dominance" discovery, I have started cleaning it every other day. Every time I clean it, there is 1-2 potties in it. It is a very large box with adequate litter. The downstairs litter box was only removed for a month or less. It's been about a year since it's been returned. Also, the dogs do not go in the basement. They cannot be bribed or forced to use the stairs.
There are 2 more litter boxes upstairs. Both face inside closets and are inaccessible to the dogs. All 3 cats use these without a problem. I have not changed litter brands. It's the same litter in all 3 boxes so I don't believe it is litter related. There has been no poop found outside the litter boxes upstairs, only in the basement.
I'm not positive it's Mookie who is doing it. I suspect as much due to past behaviors, but sometimes there is a large quantity of white hair in the poop. Mookie is mostly black with some white. Abby, my all white cat, sheds a lot and has a lot of hairballs and occasionally has a lot of white hair in her poop. For all I know, they both could be to blame!
Any suggestions would be helpful!
About 1.5 years ago we moved. All 3 cats and 1 dog joined my mother and her dog. We installed a cat door in my bedroom door so I can close the door and give the cats a safe place free from dogs. Mookie again preferred the basement. (She has since transitioned to upstairs living on her own.) I made sure to put a litter box in the basement so there would be no excuse for messes down there. Once in awhile, I would find poop on the rug. I rolled up the big rug and spread tin foil over the small rug. That seemed to help. After about 6 months the litter box downstairs was not really being used - once or twice a week. So I put it away. Then I started finding poop on the floor again. I put the litter box back. There is still poop on the floor. I did some research and discovered cats will sometimes not bury their poop to assert their "dominance." The potty in the basement litter box is rarely buried. I started leaving 1 potty on top when I cleaned that litter box, which helped for awhile. Now I am finding poop on the floor again. Let me state, again, this litter box isn't used very often. I was cleaning it everyday, but because it's not used much and my "dominance" discovery, I have started cleaning it every other day. Every time I clean it, there is 1-2 potties in it. It is a very large box with adequate litter. The downstairs litter box was only removed for a month or less. It's been about a year since it's been returned. Also, the dogs do not go in the basement. They cannot be bribed or forced to use the stairs.
There are 2 more litter boxes upstairs. Both face inside closets and are inaccessible to the dogs. All 3 cats use these without a problem. I have not changed litter brands. It's the same litter in all 3 boxes so I don't believe it is litter related. There has been no poop found outside the litter boxes upstairs, only in the basement.
I'm not positive it's Mookie who is doing it. I suspect as much due to past behaviors, but sometimes there is a large quantity of white hair in the poop. Mookie is mostly black with some white. Abby, my all white cat, sheds a lot and has a lot of hairballs and occasionally has a lot of white hair in her poop. For all I know, they both could be to blame!
Any suggestions would be helpful!
