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- Jun 12, 2018
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I'm looking for some advice for a pooping problem with one of my cats, Violet. She pees in the litter box and poops right next to it on the litter mat. Every time. The behavior seems to happen in waves, and we're in the middle of one right now. She's 15 months old and I also have her sister Poppy (litter-mate). It started at least 6 months ago, and I've tried different things that work for a while but don't seem to stick.
I have 2 extra large litter boxes in my house. There's one on the main floor and one upstairs. There's space around them so they won't feel cramped. The litter I use is the Frisco (chewy.com brand) crystal litter. I know the litter could be the issue since some cats don't like the crystals, but I don't understand why she would pee in it but not poop in it? And I'd rather not change their litter if that's NOT the problem, since Poppy uses it fine and I know they don't like change.
I'm not usually around when the errant pooping takes place, but I did see it once. Poppy ran up and bit Violet on the butt when she was getting into the litter box and it scared her. A couple minutes later she stood on the mat and pooped. After that happened I moved the second litter box upstairs so she would have options of somewhere to go without feeling threatened. That worked for a while but it started up again.
I brought them to the vet last week, and Violet got a clean bill of health. Tested her poop for parasites and it's clean. The vet suggested I try a covered litter box or a larger litter box, because Violet is a long cat. I tried the covered box and she pooped in it once, but the next day returned to her spot on the mat. I don't know if anyone even makes a litter box longer than the ones I have, which are 25" long.
The litter is always clean. Since it's the crystal kind, it absorbs pee and I stir it once or twice a day so there are no saturated spots. Poppy generally poops in the other box but I scoop that every time I see it. So I'm pretty stumped with this issue. Has anyone else has this problem where the cat pees in the box but poops right next to it?? I'm not sure what I should try next - some kind of enormous makeshift litter box, or a different type of litter maybe? Or should I move the box to a different part of the room? I'm in a condo so I don't have that many places for the litter boxes to go.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
I have 2 extra large litter boxes in my house. There's one on the main floor and one upstairs. There's space around them so they won't feel cramped. The litter I use is the Frisco (chewy.com brand) crystal litter. I know the litter could be the issue since some cats don't like the crystals, but I don't understand why she would pee in it but not poop in it? And I'd rather not change their litter if that's NOT the problem, since Poppy uses it fine and I know they don't like change.
I'm not usually around when the errant pooping takes place, but I did see it once. Poppy ran up and bit Violet on the butt when she was getting into the litter box and it scared her. A couple minutes later she stood on the mat and pooped. After that happened I moved the second litter box upstairs so she would have options of somewhere to go without feeling threatened. That worked for a while but it started up again.
I brought them to the vet last week, and Violet got a clean bill of health. Tested her poop for parasites and it's clean. The vet suggested I try a covered litter box or a larger litter box, because Violet is a long cat. I tried the covered box and she pooped in it once, but the next day returned to her spot on the mat. I don't know if anyone even makes a litter box longer than the ones I have, which are 25" long.
The litter is always clean. Since it's the crystal kind, it absorbs pee and I stir it once or twice a day so there are no saturated spots. Poppy generally poops in the other box but I scoop that every time I see it. So I'm pretty stumped with this issue. Has anyone else has this problem where the cat pees in the box but poops right next to it?? I'm not sure what I should try next - some kind of enormous makeshift litter box, or a different type of litter maybe? Or should I move the box to a different part of the room? I'm in a condo so I don't have that many places for the litter boxes to go.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions!