Help! Peeing AND Pooping issues

[jodiwhite]

I have a two year old, silver-shaded persian cat named Bear. Recently he has started both peeing and pooping outside his litter box. He is neutered and never goes outside. At first I had the litter box in the basement and that worked fine, until we had a good week or so of rain that caused part of the basement to flood. He then started doing his "business" on the dry parts of the basement, mostly on carpet remnants. So I moved the box and food upstairs and made the basement unaccessible. That seemed to be fine for awhile, I had the food in a different area from the box and I scoop the box frequently. He has peed on stuff (shoes, throw rugs, etc.) that have been outside the closet his box is in. He has pooped in the bathroom on the rug in front of the tub. I removed the throw rugs, then he peed on my boyfriends shoes, which were by the door. That did not go over well to say the least! The bathroom rug I have not had down on the floor and have tried to get the kids to keep the bathroom door shut. It was left open last night and he peed on the bare bathroom floor and he then peed outside one of my plants and then dug the dirt out of the plant to cover it! I am at my wits end! I love this cat and don't want to get rid of him. I have read your threads on what to do and I have tried everything. He is extremely attached to me and my boyfriend thinks he is acting out because he is feeling threatened of losing my attention. When I am in the bathtub, he sits outside the door the whole time, or "knocks" on the door. He is on my lap whenever I am sitting and likes to sleep in my bed (above my pillow). My son recently got a guinea pig, and my boyfriend thinks this pig may be the cause of Bear's insecurity. What are your thoughts on this? My son does not want to give up his guinea pig, and I don't want to give up my cat (he has been with us longer anyway). I do have another cat, domestic long haired, no specific breed, who could care less if we had a whole zoo running through here! Please help, he seems to be trying to send a message of some sort (since he does this stuff right in plain view, or associated with my things or areas).

 

[lotsocats]

I am glad you have read the threads about stopping inappropriate peeing and pooping. You did not say in your post whether you had taken your cat to the vet. It sure sounds to me as if your cat is sick. I cannot emphasize strongly enough the importance of having a cat who is eliminating in inappropriate places checked for urinary tract infections or inflammatory bowel syndrome.

Please take your cat to the vet right away.

 

[annaseeyore69]

I would recomend trying to put his litterbox back in the basement where it was and try using a feliway plug in around the other parts of the house.... Cats can be very picky about the removal of there favorite litterbox on the limiting of a pace that once was there own to use. As far as everything else if he there are a lot of changes happening he may just need some time to comunicate what he wants from you all. Don't give up.... try and go back to the way things were before he started this and make the changes as slow as possible that may help remember new things in the house will always provoke some kind of change and things like Feliway spray and difussers will help alter the behavior before it happens so I would try that to see if it helps and good luck
Wendi

 

[dragonlady]

First go to the vet.
Next add a couple more boxes to use.
Make sure to scrub out the old litter boxes with hot soap and water. Soak them with vinager to remove any scaling on the bottom, rinse well and allow them to air dry.
Please keep us posted at to how your kitty is doing.

 

[jodiwhite]

Thanks for both of you replying. Where do you get the Feliway plug ins? After reading the threads about inproper elimination, I added another litter box (short rubberband container, which is larger than the original box), and I removed the cover off his original box, and I have not had any surprises three mornings in a row (that I have found anyway). Hopefully he will continue to be good, but I think I would like to try the plug ins also. I am not going to give up on him, other than these recent incidents, he is the perfect cat. Well other than he HATES all the brushing he requires (persian cat) Thanks again!

 

[hissy]

But have you taken him to the VET?

 

[jodiwhite]

Yes, I'm sorry I forgot to answer that question in my last reply. The vet did not find any traces of infection in him. She thought he was responding to stress of some kind. Apparently, his breed is much more sensitive to their surroundings than others.