Cat Won't Cover Poop!!!

[sweetblackpaws]

I have 3 cats in an apartment. For the past few weeks, one won't cover her poop. It is a serious problem, as the smell is unbearable. I am not home 24/7 to cover it up. I wouldn't mind buying a Littermaid, but my cats are far too large for it. Her poo looks normal and there have been no changes inside the apartment. Her appetite and behavior is normal.

She has tried to establish dominance with my other female over the years, but this is too much.

Has anyone had this issue and were you able to resolve it?

I have 3 gigantic litter boxes.

 

[FeebysOwner]

How old is she? Does she still display signs in other ways of attempting to dominate the other cats - or, is that something more from the past?

It seemed like it almost happened overnight, but Feeby used to cover her poop and no longer does - and mostly doesn't, but on occasion, cover the pee either. And, now sometimes, she just pees and then poops right on top of it - and no cover up. She is older and larger, unfortunately overweight, and has some arthritis. All of which I think might have contributed to the litterbox change.

Of course, I am home nearly 24/7 and she is my only cat, so the smell is not really an issue for me. Not really helping you get rid of the problem, just adding some possible contributions to why it might be happening. Others will come along with more informative ideas, I am sure.

 

[daftcat75]

Has she been to the vet recently? Rule out medical issues before you start chasing down behavioral ones.

It could be dominance behavior. Wild cats don’t cover their poop when they want to advertise to other cats that this is their territory.

It could be the smell. If it’s foul smelling, your kitty may not even want to stick around to bury it. My Krista used to bolt out of the box as fast as she could after her foulest IBD poops. Have you tried a probiotic?

It could be the litter. I changed my Krista’s litter and she’s burying what she used to leave on top. I guess the old litter was irritating to her?

But yeah, there could be so many reasons. Take her to a vet and rule out the medical ones first.

 

[sweetblackpaws]

Interesting you mention the arthritis possibly being an issue. She does seem to have some joint issues in the past 2 years or so. She is about 9 years old. She is overweight, too - about 14.5 pounds.

She has been "passive/aggressive" over the years with my other girl (whom I had first), often "blocking" her path and just staring at her until she gets up and leaves the room. So I thought this poop thing might be a display of dominance.

 

[sweetblackpaws]

She gets an annual each year with full blood work and exam.

 

[sweetblackpaws]

Yeah, perhaps the smell - maybe she is anxious to just get out of there? I try very hard to keep it clean.

I scoop constantly, do full box changes monthly (washing out the boxes with hot water and dish soap), and I replace the boxes yearly. I can't afford to replace all litter weekly with 3 giant litter boxes. Each box holds about 15 pounds of litter.

The litter doesn't seem to matter - I have tried different kinds.

 

[daftcat75]

She gets an annual each year with full blood work and exam.

If this is a new behavior, then this could be a new condition since last checkup.

 

[sweetblackpaws]

Daftcat, what was the litter you changed for Krista? What was the old kind that was perhaps irritating her?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Ditto with Feeby about exams/blood work ups. She is 14+ and weighs almost 18 pounds (YOW, I know). They think Feeby's arthritis has been around for a while even though most of it is not severe, She was even treated for limping about 6-7 years ago, which probably might have been the start of some arthritis then. I didn't ask because it never occurred to me that it could start 'that early', but it isn't really that early when you think of cat years.

 

[daftcat75]

We changed from A Better Way which I thought was performing better with the Littermaid until it wasn’t. Her pee kept gunking up the box and the littermaid stopped being able to clean it. I finally turned off the littermaid since I’m generally around when she uses the box anyway.

We are changing to World’s Best Litter. I thought it was a bold claim but so far it’s performing quite well. The pee doesn’t gunk and she’s burying her poops again. I may even be able to turn the littermaid back on once we have changed out the last of the old litter. It’s been a gradual switch so she doesn’t reject the new litter.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I haven't tried it yet, but did buy Littermaid Walnut clumping litter to mix with Fresh Step - advice given to me by someone on this site (sorry to whoever advised me, no offense meant by not being able to remember). Hopefully, whoever told me will pipe in about their experience with it!!!!!

They said the walnut is great for clumping. However, as I understand it, it is sold exclusively by WalMart and may possibly only be offered in their stores - not even on line. It is a little expensive (9 lbs for almost $9), so that is why I plan to use a mixture.

 

[daftcat75]

I haven't tried it yet, but did buy Littermaid Walnut clumping litter to mix with Fresh Step - advice given to me by someone on this site (sorry to whoever advised me, no offense meant by not being able to remember). Hopefully, whoever told me will pipe in about their experience with it!!!!!

They said the walnut is great for clumping. However, as I understand it, it is sold exclusively by WalMart and may possibly only be offered in their stores - not even on line. It is a little expensive (9 lbs for almost $9), so that is why I plan to use a mixture.

It's more expensive, and only available at a store I don't buy her food at. You're not selling this well.

 

[susanm9006]

It is a little surprising with three cats that the other two don’t cover for her. I have occasionally had a kitten that didn’t cover but the older cat did i. How is your cats relationship with the other two? Do they all use this box?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Lol! I see your point. But, if the OP has a WalMart and can buy it there, isn't worth a shot?

 

[sweetblackpaws]

It is a little surprising with three cats that the other two don’t cover for her. I have occasionally had a kitten that didn’t cover but the older cat did i. How is your cats relationship with the other two? Do they all use this box?

No, I have 3 gigantic litter boxes in different areas. I have 2 girls and a boy. All are close in age. The Poop Culprit and my boy love each other very much. My other girl is kind of a loner, but none of them fight.

 

[sweetblackpaws]

Lol! I see your point. But, if the OP has a WalMart and can buy it there, isn't worth a shot?

Unfortunately, $1.00 per pound is more than I can afford. I try to keep it around $10.00 for a 20-25 lb box depending on the brand. Thank you, though!

Maybe if I didn't have humongous litter boxes.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I am going to try mixing a bit of the walnut litter with Fresh Step so that it won't be as expensive. I am hoping that having just a little added may make a difference. I think the member who told me about it was also mixing it with another litter in order to try to keep the cost down - and it was working for her.

However, I totally get why you would prefer not to try it given the number and sizes of the litter boxes!