What to do? Cat unlearned how to use litter box

cookiedough03

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I'm honestly quite upset. Long story short, we gave a kitten for adoption. Everything seemed wonderful but recently the owner had a situation and asked us to take care of her. We agreed, and three days later, every single day the cat is pooping on the floor. I trained all my kittens how to use the litter box before sending them to what I hope are loving homes. Never had this problem before. We tried to move the litter box to where the cat is pooping, but it doesn't work. She can still pee in the litter box. We have many litter boxes by the way, regularly cleaned. Asked the owner and he just said that she started doing it and he just pick up the poop each time from the floor:livid::mad:. Part of me don't want to return the kitten but that's just going to create a lot of problems down the road. The priority now is to retrain her. She is around 7 months. Anyone been there? what to do? Thank you.
 

Kieka

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Start with a vet exam. Generally speaking, those types of issues are either medically driven or a stress reaction. Since the kitten has changed hones, I'd assume more so health.
 

sunny578

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Yes, and if she checks out at the vet, let us know if it is still happening! I'm wondering how many cats live in her permanent residence, and how many litter boxes you have. How long has it been since she's been relocated? Is she now in her permanent residence? Some cats are very sensitive to being moved around and can respond in this way. Please keep us posted!
 

vansX2

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I'm honestly quite upset. Long story short, we gave a kitten for adoption. Everything seemed wonderful but recently the owner had a situation and asked us to take care of her. We agreed, and three days later, every single day the cat is pooping on the floor. I trained all my kittens how to use the litter box before sending them to what I hope are loving homes. Never had this problem before. We tried to move the litter box to where the cat is pooping, but it doesn't work. She can still pee in the litter box. We have many litter boxes by the way, regularly cleaned. Asked the owner and he just said that she started doing it and he just pick up the poop each time from the floor:livid::mad:. Part of me don't want to return the kitten but that's just going to create a lot of problems down the road. The priority now is to retrain her. She is around 7 months. Anyone been there? what to do? Thank you.
I suggest that you purchase a "Cat Litter" that your cat can't resist. Just before my first boy arrived, it was suggested to me to purchase Dr. Elsey's Kitten Attractant clumping . I got it from chewy. My kitten just loved it. He would go into my covered litterbox wether he needed to use it or not. I continued using this brand with the second kitten.
 
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cookiedough03

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Yes, and if she checks out at the vet, let us know if it is still happening! I'm wondering how many cats live in her permanent residence, and how many litter boxes you have. How long has it been since she's been relocated? Is she now in her permanent residence? Some cats are very sensitive to being moved around and can respond in this way. Please keep us posted!
She is still with us. The vet thinks it's an emotional problem.
We gave her for adoption when she was about 8 weeks by that time she can use the litter box on her own and eat wet food. Then I visited her new place, and she did use the litter box there normally. The owner did not tell us why and when her habit of pooping on the floor started.
 

sunny578

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Ok, so she's back with you permanently now? Do you have other pets? Where are your litter boxes located, and how many do you have? Is the poop always in the same spot?
 
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cookiedough03

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Ok, so she's back with you permanently now? Do you have other pets? Where are your litter boxes located, and how many do you have? Is the poop always in the same spot?
No, she will be staying temporarily. The owner is out of town and will take her back later after they come back.
The poop used to be in the same spot, and I put a litter box there, then she just pooped in a new place. Yes, I have cats. They're nice to her and can play together.
I put her in a cat house with three litter boxes yesterday and it was no use. She had no interest in the litter boxes and find different places poop and even pee.
updates: The owner said it started one time when she pooped in their bed. After this, they did not allow her inside the bedroom. Then every night she will poop in front of the bedroom door, and they will wake up and clean it. they put the litter box there and did not help.
They gave up trying to make her use the litter box and instead just clean each time. so they think maybe she is seeking attention.
 

sunny578

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Ok! It will be hard to figure out a solution to this without talking directly to the owner. I think for many cats, moving around like this can be disruptive and can cause anxiety that sometimes comes out in litter box issues. Not sure how long after she relocated to their home that this started happening, but, if there weren't any emergent health issues, there might be something about her litter box set up there that wasn't working for her (do they have other cats? dogs? kids?) Or perhaps they introduced her to her new space too quickly. It makes sense to me that the issue would continue and perhaps even worsen when she came back to your home and reintegrated with your resident cats.

How long will she be staying with you? You could try putting her in a bathroom with a bunch of litter boxes to see if you can get her to use them in there. But, I don't think you will solve this issue while she is in a temporary location. Feel free to give her owners my info and perhaps I can help!
 
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cookiedough03

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updates: the cat did not unlearn how to use the litter box. She is extremely clean and high maintenance (?). I clean the bottom of litter box twice a day and she keeps using it. Cleaning once doesn't do it. I use pine wood litter with the corresponding litter box. She has no interest in other types of litter and will rather do her business on the floor.Just want to put this out there for people with similar problem. Try to clean more frequently and use an enzyme-based cleaner if you have this problem, it might work.
 
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