Cat won't stop peeing and pooping on the floor

[HaloGirlAsh117]

Me and my girlfriend have for cats in our apartment. one of them named pumpkin who I think is around 2 and 1/2 years old now consistently keeps pooping and peeing outside the litter box. when we first got her she would pee in the box just fine but never poop in it we tried multiple litters and different box types to no success. We even tried using cat attract litter. Around 4 to 6 months ago we thought we found a possible solution when my girlfriend suggested using a cardboard soda can tray and sprinkling just a small amount of litter into it since it was the most similar thing to what she would have been used to at the shelter. after we did this for the first time she pooped in the box but then quickly it became a problem because we discovered that she was clawing through the bottom of the box after making sure that all the litter was swept away and then relieving herself thus causing the mess to still end up on the floor. now ever since we got rid of that box we've also tried to use shoe trays or other low-rise plastic trays with absolutely zero success and in addition, she now consistently pees on the floor or on the mop we used to clean the floor and no longer pees in the box at all. we've used enzyme cleaner and done whatever we can think of to try and retrain her. At this point I'm typically having to clean up a puddle of pee off the floor once every day or two as well as two or three poops off the floor from either around the litter box or from our closet in our bedroom. She is completely destroyed the laminate floor around the litter box as well as our closet. if you try and place her in the litter box she'll panic and scream like she's terrified for her life and use her paws on the sides to hold herself away I'm thinking she was abused at some point in her early life before being able to be taught to use a litter box and thus she only ever attaches litter boxes too bad traumatic memories. It's gotten to be just so much more than I can mentally handle and yet at the same time I just can't bear to give her up. I'm desperately reaching out to try and find some help to deal with this because almost every night I'm finding myself raging fuming angry followed by being on the edge of tears thinking about possibly having to give her up. We recently tried the soda can cardboard tray again and actually got her the poop in it once more this time without climb right through the box plus we put plastic down underneath it but still no luck with her peeing in it. I'm writing thisafter having just cleaned up another huge puddle of pee that she left on the ground. desperately hoping someone here has experienced something similar or is a cat behaviour specialist that can point us in the right direction.

 

[maggie101]

How old is your cat? Unless she is just a month old her box should be 2 x the length of the cat and the litter at least 3 inches deep. For 4 cats at least 4 litter boxes or go cheaper and butystorage bins. Mine is 25x18in tall storage bin bought at target. Cut a hole in it. They like to dig and cover thier poo and pee which is why she is scraping the small box with not much litter in it

 

[HaloGirlAsh117]

she's about two and a half. we got her at PetSmart but she was sent there by the local humane society because they were full. Petsmart only had her for 3 days before we adopted her. They said they believe she was a street rescue. she is extremely find of cardboard boxes, plastic bags, and trash in general... anything paper or plastic. she scratches at any cardboard she finds but refuses to poo in litter. And if it's more than a quarter inch deep she won't even step in it period at all. She also never buries her poop. Ever... Except by accident when she poops in the closet and covers it with trash that she takes into there out of the bin.

Also we have tried large bins, small bins, tall and short bins. We thought maybe the issue is she refuses to share litter boxes but when we first got her, sharing the box to pee was never an issue. Plus adding more boxes just makes all the other cats use them too so there's no way to make sure she has her own. Also we just don't have enough space in our 650sq foot apartment for that many boxes. Literally not enough space. But the box is cleaned twice to three times daily and topped up with litter each time. cleaned and replaced with fresh litter every week.

She definitely seems to hate large bins because the only thing we have been able to get her to use are things that are small and short. Less than two inches tall and only a few inches bigger then her .... This matches with what her daily behaviour is cus she's always cramming into tiny spaces.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Go back to the cardboard box lids, but don't put litter in them (get two if you possibly can, to place side by side), place puppy pee pads inside instead. Find a metal serving type tray that is actually lower sided than the cardboard box lid and place the lid inside it to protect the flooring beneath it.

If she is routinely peeing in the same spots, the odds are she can still smell her scent - and, that is an 'invitation' for her to continue to use those same areas. The fact that she also pees on that mop is another indicator, as it is likely her scent remains in the mop material. You could try using Fizzion or SCOE10x to clean the flooring and see it that might remove her scent. There have been a few members on this site who believe these products to be the best there is for urine/feces clean up. Both products can be used on most any type surface, even wood.

 

[HaloGirlAsh117]

I'll look into those cleaners cus we've been using nature's miracle and a coue others from pet store with zero luck... And that's after cleaning 3 or 4 times letting it soak a but to work it in.

 

[Taphie]

How many litter boxes do you have for your four cats?