Kitten Pooping and Peeing Where Ever She Wants

[cook65]

We have a female kitten who is not quite one year old.  She uses the litter boxes once in a while but prefers to poop or pee where ever she feels the need.  I have tried to move her to a litter box when I see her starting to look for a place or starting to go and she just jumps right out of the box and runs away.  I have gotten to the point where I put paper down surrounding the litter boxes and she goes to the bathroom on the paper and not in the boxes.  She is a very loving kitten.  We actually found her abandoned by her mother before her eyes were open.  So I syringe feed her for a while and we have taken care of her since.  She seems very healthy and eats good.  I would appreciate any advice on this.  Thanks.

 

[calicosrspecial]

Hi,

Do you have any other animals in the house?

Is your cat going out in the open? 

I would begin with adding litter boxes near areas she is going so that a litter box is available if the need arises.

Depending on the answer above I would conceal a few litter boxes and see if she prefers a more private location to go.

I wonder if it might be a litter issue. Have you tried different litters? I am not an expert on litters but there are some that are easier on the feet and there are litter attracters.  Maybe it is a litter texture issue or a smell (too perfumey maybe?).

Cats typically do not use the litter box for two reasons - Medical (pain, infection) or Behavioral (stress, territorial insecurity, etc).

I like to rule out medical first. Was your cat de-clawed? I would get her checked out just to make sure she does not have anything going on. Especially pain related.

The other is behavioral. Cats want to cover their scent. Often times they don't because they feel insecure and they want everyone to know that they "own this territory". So I would like to do the following as soon as possible.

Please step up play especially in the areas where the cat is going. After a good play session feed either treats or a meal. This replicates a cat in the wild Hunt, Capture, Kill, Eat. And it builds your cat's confidence. Please add some cat trees especially in the areas where she is going as height builds confidence. Also, add some cat scratching posts so your cat can own more territory and get her scent on things (as well as the cat trees). Also add warm and comfy beds for her to own additional territory and build security. Finally, cats take on our emotions so please be as calm and confident around the cat as possible. Let her know she is loved and wanted. Give her eye kisses (close your eyes to her slowly for 5 seconds). If you can get your cat to purr especially in any areas she is going that is great (as long as you are not at risk of being hurt in anyway). Also, if you have others in the household please ask them to engage in these items above (play, etc) and build trust and confidence.

Do you happen to have ferals in or near your house? Other animals around can cause an indoor cat to feel insecure and to mark using their scent. 

These situations take some detective work and I am happy to help get this behavior improved. Please feel free to ask anything and for anything you would like clarified.

We should be able to fix this as cats do want to cover their scent. We just need to figure out what is causing it. I am happy to help as long as needed.