Hi everyone!
I'm new here & spent quite a bit going over other threads relating to the same subject but unfortunately, I could really use some help!
I have two cats: one is an 11 year old (black) male and my second little guy is a 6 year old (black) mixed Siamese male. I've had both since they were kittens.
Unfortunately it appears that the younger cat (Latte) has been pooping outside the boxes. He doesn't do it on a daily basis: in the past he's gone 6 months without a single incident. At times he can barely go 6 days.
He has no health issues: his behavior otherwise is completely normal (for him!) He eats well, he plays all day, loves snuggles, hanging with his bro and sleeps well. He's the picture of a healthy, showcat (he looks like TV material). His brother, Felix, has zero bathroom issues.
A bit of background:
My husband works sporadic hours. Latte is closest to him (although close with everyone else) but he's his BFF. My husband can go a week without working then suddenly get called to work 6 days in a row. His hours are almost -always- weird overnight/second shift (think, 4/5/6 to as late as 3:30 on some nights when things were crazy). We noticed a very distinct pattern: he poops on the floor when my husband's "routine" gets changed around. If we leave home for a week, he'll randomly poop on the floor. If he works after not working for a while, he'll poop on the floor. Normally, someone is home all day with him, whether it's me, my husband or both (most of what we do is at night).
For example, my husband was home for a couple nights.. tonight we had to go to class.. and voila, he pooped.
He poops in similar places: always around or near the boxes. Both are cleaned daily. The areas around the box are also very clean and sanitized. When he poops in the box, it's not on the rim or anywhere else funky. Their food and water aren't even in the same room as either box.
We're sure it has to do with the work related shift changes causing him anxiety. .....But we don't know what to do. It's gotten to the point that when we're home, we'll be doing homework, watching tv, etc and will literally pet him for -hours- (he wants love like crazy!) We play with him, groom him, pet him, love him but it's not enough. I don't know if there's anything else we can do to try to keep him happy enough that he doesn't get so stressed when we leave for a few hours at night, or when the husband has to work.
Also, he has tons of toys to keep him stimulated: they have a toy chest they can access on their own and we also have another "secret" toy chest we pull toys from so they get new goodies so often. They have access to several windows overlooking all sorts of exciting things (cars, the garden etc).
Does anyone have any advice to properly train or teach him it's a huge no?
Thanks so much!
I'm new here & spent quite a bit going over other threads relating to the same subject but unfortunately, I could really use some help!
I have two cats: one is an 11 year old (black) male and my second little guy is a 6 year old (black) mixed Siamese male. I've had both since they were kittens.
Unfortunately it appears that the younger cat (Latte) has been pooping outside the boxes. He doesn't do it on a daily basis: in the past he's gone 6 months without a single incident. At times he can barely go 6 days.
He has no health issues: his behavior otherwise is completely normal (for him!) He eats well, he plays all day, loves snuggles, hanging with his bro and sleeps well. He's the picture of a healthy, showcat (he looks like TV material). His brother, Felix, has zero bathroom issues.
A bit of background:
My husband works sporadic hours. Latte is closest to him (although close with everyone else) but he's his BFF. My husband can go a week without working then suddenly get called to work 6 days in a row. His hours are almost -always- weird overnight/second shift (think, 4/5/6 to as late as 3:30 on some nights when things were crazy). We noticed a very distinct pattern: he poops on the floor when my husband's "routine" gets changed around. If we leave home for a week, he'll randomly poop on the floor. If he works after not working for a while, he'll poop on the floor. Normally, someone is home all day with him, whether it's me, my husband or both (most of what we do is at night).
For example, my husband was home for a couple nights.. tonight we had to go to class.. and voila, he pooped.
He poops in similar places: always around or near the boxes. Both are cleaned daily. The areas around the box are also very clean and sanitized. When he poops in the box, it's not on the rim or anywhere else funky. Their food and water aren't even in the same room as either box.
We're sure it has to do with the work related shift changes causing him anxiety. .....But we don't know what to do. It's gotten to the point that when we're home, we'll be doing homework, watching tv, etc and will literally pet him for -hours- (he wants love like crazy!) We play with him, groom him, pet him, love him but it's not enough. I don't know if there's anything else we can do to try to keep him happy enough that he doesn't get so stressed when we leave for a few hours at night, or when the husband has to work.
Also, he has tons of toys to keep him stimulated: they have a toy chest they can access on their own and we also have another "secret" toy chest we pull toys from so they get new goodies so often. They have access to several windows overlooking all sorts of exciting things (cars, the garden etc).
Does anyone have any advice to properly train or teach him it's a huge no?
Thanks so much!
