Randomly won’t use litterbox

Vhernandez96

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One of my three cats, Oliver, has recently started pooping outside the litterbox.
Here is a little back story. I have 3 cats. Oliver is the same age as his brother Sawyer. They are a year and a half old. My third cat is 2 and a half years old. I have 3 litter boxes. 2 top entry litter boxes downstairs. (They spend most of their time downstairs during the day) I have a third litterbox in my room where they sleep. This litterbox is a normal entry with no door. Months back I switched the downstairs litter boxes to top entry since my dads dog would try to eat their poop in the litter box.

My one cat Oliver, has recently started pooping outside the litterbox randomly. It was so random, that at first when he started doing it, I assumed it was one of my dogs, whom is notorious for pooping in my room. After a few weeks I came to realize after catching him in the act that It’s actually Oliver. I’m extremely confused and concerned by this since it feels like it came out of nowhere. I have been using the same litter for the duration of the time that I have had my cats. I use arm and hammer multi cat litter, and have never before had a problem. He has only pooped outside of the litterbox in my room, never outside of the other ones downstairs. He doesn’t do it every day, it almost seems random. I can’t pick up a pattern to it. It also doesn’t seem like he’s struggling to poop. I read that it could be a medical thing, but he just recently had his yearly check up and he seems completely normal otherwise. Nothing in my household has change recently, so I’m really just puzzled.

I also want to note incase it makes a difference.... He has only pooped outside the litterbox, he has never peed outside of it...so he definitely knows where it is and how to use it 😅

Has anybody had this happen before ? Does this seem like a medical thing or a behavioral thing g ? And if it is a behavioral thing, any tips to fix it ?
 

minish

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Minish poops outside too sometimes. Various reasons though these reasons do not cause pooping outside every single time, so I make some modifications not address all of them all the time:
1.Constipation or too much hair in the stool. Laxatives
2.Me leaving for the weekend. Nothing can be done
3.Prefers the edge but goes too much over the edge. Even the largest litter box has an edge!
4.Finds litter dirty (very subjective issue). This can be solved by frequent litter change or using a lot of litter
5.Doesn't want to poop in the same litter box she pees in. I try to scoop asap whenever I can I don't have the space for 2 boxes.
 

Danneq

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Ideally, with three cats you should have four litterboxes (litterbox = # of cats +1). I know that's not always easy to do, though.

How often do you change the litter?

There's a number of reasons cats might stop using a litterbox (or go right next to them). Even though they just had a checkup, you should still talk to your vet. Cats are notorious for hiding their symptoms when something's wrong, so there might not have been anything for the vet to see during the checkup, but they might see something now that they know to look.

If it's not medical, not using the litterbox is usually a sign of stress, but it's hard to know why.

What I would do is, after the vet clears him, I would start keeping a journal. Note day and time, and also note things like when the cats were fed, and note anything behavioral/situational that might be a stress factor (got into fight with other cats? got barked at by the dog? did you see a stray cat or other wild animal in your yard that day?), stuff like that. That could help you find a pattern and that'll tell you what to do next.
 

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Hi. Is he pooping in the same general area(s) where the dog poops? If so, he could be trying to cover up the dog's scent with his own. Or, he is just considering the poop smell as an invitation to go there himself. Even if the dog hasn't pooped in your room recently, the smell may remain, sometimes despite the best of efforts to remove it. And, once your cat uses those areas, it too becomes an invitation to go there again and again. You might try some different enzymatic cleaners to see if they may get rid of the smell more effectively.

The other possibility is that he now prefers the top entry litterboxes downstairs and therefore isn't as inclined to use the one in your room. This is less likely if he equally uses all 3 litterboxes to pee in, but it can't be ruled out entirely.

The journal is a very good idea, as it might shed some light on things you are overlooking. Unless you log activities and events, day-to-day life 'gets in the way' of remembering a lot of little details - so true for all of us!
 

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Going with the dog poop thought, -- is the dog healthy? Oliver isn't trying to cover something that smells wrong to him?
 
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Vhernandez96

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Minish poops outside too sometimes. Various reasons though these reasons do not cause pooping outside every single time, so I make some modifications not address all of them all the time:
1.Constipation or too much hair in the stool. Laxatives
2.Me leaving for the weekend. Nothing can be done
3.Prefers the edge but goes too much over the edge. Even the largest litter box has an edge!
4.Finds litter dirty (very subjective issue). This can be solved by frequent litter change or using a lot of litter
5.Doesn't want to poop in the same litter box she pees in. I try to scoop asap whenever I can I don't have the space for 2 boxes.
Yeah I definitly need to fine tune and pay extra attention to when he's doing it. It seems like mostly at night. But im not sure because sometimes I will come home from work and there will be poop. I thought it was that maybe he thinks the box is dirty so I try to scoop it as frequently as possible. I guess what's really throwing me off is that its the litter box in my room that he poops in front of. He never does it downstairs.
 
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Vhernandez96

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Ideally, with three cats you should have four litterboxes (litterbox = # of cats +1). I know that's not always easy to do, though.

How often do you change the litter?

There's a number of reasons cats might stop using a litterbox (or go right next to them). Even though they just had a checkup, you should still talk to your vet. Cats are notorious for hiding their symptoms when something's wrong, so there might not have been anything for the vet to see during the checkup, but they might see something now that they know to look.

If it's not medical, not using the litterbox is usually a sign of stress, but it's hard to know why.

What I would do is, after the vet clears him, I would start keeping a journal. Note day and time, and also note things like when the cats were fed, and note anything behavioral/situational that might be a stress factor (got into fight with other cats? got barked at by the dog? did you see a stray cat or other wild animal in your yard that day?), stuff like that. That could help you find a pattern and that'll tell you what to do next.
Yes, thats a good point. When I took him to the vet for a check up and updated shots there were no concerns since I swore this was my dog initially. Now that I know who it is, it has actually gotten more frequent. I will take him to the vet to see what's going on. Hopefully its nothing serious, but I also hop that its something the vet can give me insight on.

Today I did start trying to keep track. Hopefully this will help me pinpoint what it is ....
 
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Vhernandez96

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probably he doesnt like your choice of litter box and hes telling you the best way he can
Any recommendations on a good litter? I tend to do a lot of research and I know I don't want anything heavily scented.... I also need something that clumps well especially since I have 3 cats.

I currently use Arm and Hammer Multi Cat.
 
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Vhernandez96

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Hi. Is he pooping in the same general area(s) where the dog poops? If so, he could be trying to cover up the dog's scent with his own. Or, he is just considering the poop smell as an invitation to go there himself. Even if the dog hasn't pooped in your room recently, the smell may remain, sometimes despite the best of efforts to remove it. And, once your cat uses those areas, it too becomes an invitation to go there again and again. You might try some different enzymatic cleaners to see if they may get rid of the smell more effectively.

The other possibility is that he now prefers the top entry litterboxes downstairs and therefore isn't as inclined to use the one in your room. This is less likely if he equally uses all 3 litterboxes to pee in, but it can't be ruled out entirely.

The journal is a very good idea, as it might shed some light on things you are overlooking. Unless you log activities and events, day-to-day life 'gets in the way' of remembering a lot of little details - so true for all of us!

On the occasion that my dog poops in my room, its usually on the opposite side of the room. Im not sure if he is trying to cover up the scent. Im leaning towards it being something different.

I did think about the litterbox preference he may have. I have been thinking about getting a second litterbox for my room to put next to the one I currently have. The one I get will be the top entry to see if maybe he just is a picky pooper. I know the rule is that you are supposed to have an extra litterbox for the amount of cats you have, so this could also help.

I definitely am going to try and heavily pay attention and notate what I notice about the patterns and behaviors of it. I do work full time and a good distance from where I live so hopefully I can really keep up with it.
 
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Vhernandez96

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Going with the dog poop thought, -- is the dog healthy? Oliver isn't trying to cover something that smells wrong to him?

Its actually interesting that you ask that. My dog Nico, we rescued him as a puppy and he is 4 now and (very stubborn lol). Very recently, like 2 days ago, Nico had a cut on his bum. The cut looked super infected. My mom took him to the vet the next day and we actually found out that he has 2 masses under the skin, one that caused the infected looking cut. We have Nico on antibiotics and he is having the masses removed on the 12th of November. We are having them biopsied and praying that it's benign.

Relating that to Oliver, I will say that when I thought it was my dog Nico, it was a different place from where I used to find the poop. (Nico poops in my room occasionally, I have caught him in the act as well. But usually on the opposite side from where I found Olivers poop). When I started finding poop in my room again, I automatically assumed that it was Nico since he has done it prior to this with Oliver. Since I have discovered that it is Oliver, it has definitely become more frequent.

I mean, maybe it could be that Oliver senses the stress among my family with the news about Nico, or even smells something wrong with him. I feel like its a bit of a stretch, but definitely can't be ruled out. I do feel like the time frames add up a little, but I think it's more of a coincidence.
 

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Sorry for the double post

About litter, I'm using Tidy cat, although it sticks to his extremely furry feet sometimes which is partly the same reason I'd quit using arm &hammer (plus a&h was too dusty for me).

Anyway, what I have found is that mixing in some Littermaid corncob or walnut can help cut down on dustiness and seems to help a little bit with the sticky paws issue.
 
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Vhernandez96

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Thank you ! And thank you for the recommendations. I am currently at the vet with him to hopefully rule out any medical issues. I have been doing some research on different types of litter and ones that come recommended.
I will definitely try to introduce another one and or mix it to see if maybe that’s his issue.
I also ordered another litterbox from Amazon. Hoping to get that tomorrow to set up in my room. hopefully this all helps 🙃 *fingers crossed*
 
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Vhernandez96

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Update incase anybody wanted to know.
I took Oliver to the vet and they said he seems healthy.
I did get a laxative to try, he may be a little constipated. They also told me to try and brush his butt more often because he may feel that he isn’t as clean from pooping in a litter box vs hardwood floors. He does have longer hair. He’s a Siberian mix and out of all of my cats ( all Siberian mix) he is by far the fluffiest 😍. And finally they advised that I get another litter box to keep in the same room, he may feel like the other one is too crowded.

So with that information..... now I just have to experiment different things to see what he likes and doesn’t like.

keeping detailed notes, trying different litter, and probably adjusting his grooming schedule to see if any of these things make a difference.
*Fingers Crossed*

Let the experiments begin !
 
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