My Wife And I Are About Ready To Surrender Our Five Year Old Cat.. Help Please!

renegade

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Age: 5

Sex/Neuter status: female/neutered

Breed: ragdoll

Body weight: 11 pounds (roughly)

History: other than a UTI about 8 months ago she's healthy. She was declawed as a kitten (we didn't ask for it, she came declawed).

Other: We have another cat who's slightly younger and has no issues but he is not declawed. We also got a puppy recently.

Duration: 4 years

The Issue: Our cat who was our first animal we got together has had an issue pooping outside of the litter box for nearly 4 years of her 5 year life. We aren't sure what started this issue but somewhere around the 1 year mark she decided to start pooping outside the litter box. At first it was just if she deemed it too dirty, so we understood and made more of an effort to clean it. As time progressed she pooped outside of it regardless of the litter cleanliness. She would periodically decide to use it again, seemingly randomly to us, and then stop again seemingly randomly. This was until about 2 years ago when she decided to just always poop out of the litter box regardless of other conditions. Again not sure what caused this, not much changed at that time. It gets worse when she's sick she will prefer to poop on soft places much to our dismay.

What we have tried:

  • Scented litter

  • unscented litter

  • closed litter boxes

  • open litter boxes

  • litter boxes in hidden areas

  • litter boxes in closed areas

  • more litter boxes

  • clay litter

  • pellet litter. This worked for a few days then she decided she didn't like it.

  • litter scents, this also worked for a few days then she decided she didn't like it.

  • tinfoil near the litter (she literally pooped on that one)

  • showering her with love and affection (spending at least 2 hours a day petting her and loving her while not being angry with her at all)

  • locking her in the bathroom with the litter box. I know this one sounds inhumane but we had the most success with it. After being locked in the bathroom for about a week she used it for nearly 3 months, when she stopped we put her in the bathroom again and she would then use it for 2 weeks, then 1 week, then not at all regardless of how long she was in the bathroom.
Recent events: Last night she went to poop on her cat bed and i brought her to the litter box and put her in it. She got out and ran off, laying on her cat bed. That led me to assume I misunderstood what she was doing, until she then pooped on it when I wasn't looking. My wife and I got a puppy a month ago and we are worried he will eat her poop, not to mention it's just disgusting to have cat shit in random places. We are extra concerned when we have children that she will poop in their room/crib. We have tried nearly everything and are out of ideas. Please help, we don't want to surrender her as we love her but we don't know what else to do.

Our suspicion: We think her pooping outside the litter box is directly related to her being declawed.. it's just we aren't sure what to do about it beyond what we have tried. To support this she never covers her poop, even if she does use the litter box.
 
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dahli6

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Poor everyone in this situation. It must be hard on all of you.
The only suggestion I can possibly offer, aside from surrendering her, is the one thing that hasn't been tried. Of course there is probably a reason it hasn't been tried but I will put it out there. Even though I know nothing. I have never had a declawed cat or a cat who refused a perfectly good litter box on general principle.
Is it possible to create a safe, enclosed outside space for her, people call it a catio but I think this space should include grass and possibly a small vegetable garden or flower bed?
 

vyger

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I vaguely remember a Jackson Galaxy episode where he addressed a problem somewhat like this. The problem was the pain the cat experienced digging in the litter. Because of the removal of its "finger tips" it had raw nerve endings on its paws and digging caused it to hurt. Of course the cat has no idea what is causing pain, just that it hurts really bad when it tries to use a box. His answer was to get a super fine litter and then retrain the cat to use the box.
I think the bathroom idea was good, you need to try it again but with a very fine litter.
An experiment you might try--- and I have no idea if it will work but it won't cost you much to try, is to get a big shallow plastic box, a tote box from the store and get some fine sand and see if the sand would be easier on the paws. You can get bags of sand from a store like Lowes or Home Depot that is used for mixing mortar. Or you might even have some place near you where you can get some for free like a river. Of course a problem with sand is once it gets wet it gets hard but using it for a short trial run might give you an idea if you are moving toward a solution. If it does work then you can transition to a fine litter by mixing it with sand. Another option to use is a combination of saw dust and wood stove pellets. I have seen people use that as a home mix litter that is biodegradable.
 

vyger

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I vaguely remember a Jackson Galaxy episode where he addressed a problem somewhat like this. The problem was the pain the cat experienced digging in the litter. Because of the removal of its "finger tips" it had raw nerve endings on its paws and digging caused it to hurt. Of course the cat has no idea what is causing pain, just that it hurts really bad when it tries to use a box. His answer was to get a super fine litter and then retrain the cat to use the box.
I think the bathroom idea was good, you need to try it again but with a very fine litter.
An experiment you might try--- and I have no idea if it will work but it won't cost you much to try, is to get a big shallow plastic box, a tote box from the store and get some fine sand and see if the sand would be easier on the paws. You can get bags of sand from a store like Lowes or Home Depot that is used for mixing mortar. Or you might even have some place near you where you can get some for free like a river. Of course a problem with sand is once it gets wet it gets hard but using it for a short trial run might give you an idea if you are moving toward a solution. If it does work then you can transition to a fine litter by mixing it with sand. Another option to use is a combination of saw dust and wood stove pellets. I have seen people use that as a home mix litter that is biodegradable.
Another thought ---I find this a really sad situation in that basically your cat is a victim of a cruel practice that has left it with what is a disability that it can't cope with and now it is facing being put to sleep for something that was done to it. I realize it is not your fault. I hope having an insight into what is causing the problem will help you find a resolution.
 

maggiedemi

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My female cat poops outside the litter box when she's constipated. Do you treat her for hairballs at all? Maybe a hairball paste or treats 2 or 3 times a week could help with constipation. Also, canned food might help...If you think it's because of her being de-clawed, maybe you could try putting puppy pee pads in an empty litter box, then change it out after she poops.
 

verna davies

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Ive never had this problem thankfully but my mother did with her cat. She used to put several sheets of newspaper on the floor near the litter tray. The cat would use this to do his business. She then got a flat tray with just a small lip and lined it with newpaper. That worked for her.
 

amethyst

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Aside from trying very fine litter (you could even try out play sand that you'd put in a kids sand box), and getting a health check at the vet to rule out any issues. I would also get x-rays of her feet done to rule out any issues there. Declawing can cause early arthritis so she may need painkillers to help with that. I've also heard of complications where part of the bone was left in (chipped during declawing especially if done by crushing the nerve rather then using lasers to cut to toe tip off) and the claw and grow inside the paw, or simple have a bone chip floating around in there. Also since the whole way the cat walks is not normal, it's more likely to fracture bones in it's feet. Does she seem in pain at all if you mess with her feet? or does she not let you touch her feet? The fact that she prefers soft surfaces makes me think the litter hurts her.

Another thing I have heard one person do, it was with an elderly cat, having issue using the box so they used cloth baby diapers in the litter box. I know that sounds very weird, but it worked for them, you just have to clean up the poop off them and throw them in the washer.
 

Kieka

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I have never had a declawed cat, but from the stories I have heard it likely is pain with the litter box that is causing the problems. I would try the newspaper idea and maybe get an brand new box that looks different with a lower front lip and/or all lower sides. Between having less of a climb/jump to get in, which would help if it is arthritis. and a material that doesn't hurt to stand on, if it is from exposed nerve endings, you might have some success.

Crossing all my toes and fingers that you can figure out a solution. If the newspaper does work, remember to not leave any papers laying around as they would become places to potty even outside the box.
 

Tahsmoke

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I had a declawed cat that would not poop in the box. I agree it is a behavior problem from being declawed. I bought puppy pee pads and sat them right in front of the box. She would poop on that. It worked as a great litter mat too. Then I would just pick it up and dump in in the box.
 

Summercats

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Maybe cedar as for hamsters as a fine layer over the puppy pad. It would be able to be buried then and is soft.
 

lilin

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What everyone else has said: It is entirely possible she experiences pain from the litter, due to how exposed her nerve endings are from the declaw.

It is also possible she has a complication, such as a chipped bone fragment, or part of a claw root that wasn't fully removed and is now regrowing into her paw. A third possibility is arthritic-type changes. Yes, declawed cats can and do get it that young. It might not be a bad idea to have a vet check her paws for anything like that just to be safe.

Unfortunately, litterbox aversion is not uncommon in declawed cats, and it sucks that you're having to pay for someone else's unkind decision. But, there are ways to sort this out, either at the vet, or by trying to accommodate her with a very soft substrate or puppy pad, or other similar solutions, and get her eliminating in a way that's easier to deal with for both of you.
 

danteshuman

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I'm so sorry your cat is having issues. I agree with what every one else said. Besides an x-ray and vet check, maybe you can ask the vet for kitty valium or prozac? Something to treat the psychological issues. Since you are considering putting her to sleep, please tell your vet this. That way your vet knows it is a dire situation. Why not treat her physical and psychology at the same time?
 

danteshuman

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I'm sorry I misread that, you are thinking of surrendering her not putting her to sleep. It is still a serious situation. I hope things improve.
 
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