Yet another cat pooping outside the box... please help!

[kingspank0]

So my cat is refusing to use the litter box again, but this time it seems to be a more consistent problem. She'll use it to urinate, but refuses to go #2 in there. In fairness, I've put her through a lot of change in the past 2 months, but the situation seems to be worsening, if anything, and I need to get things back on track before it ruins my relationship with my girlfriend.

The changes started about 2 months ago when my girlfriend and I moved in together into a new, smaller apartment. We made the mistake of changing apartments and litter boxes (but not litter) at the same time. The cat defecated on the floor at this time but by moving the litter box to that location and then slowly back to where we wanted it, the problem was eventually resolved. Honestly, I think the box is a little too small for her, but I really don't have space for a larger box, and I can't really put it anywhere else in the apartment without having it be right in the middle of our living area.

In general, we've been keeping the box very clean, scooping and sweeping around the litter box after every usage as best as we can, twice a day at minimum. With non-flushable litter, this became quite the hassle and irked the environmentalist in me as it led to a lot of plastic bag use. So, we switched to flushable litter (World's Best), which is when the current problems started happening.

Though I'm really happy with the odor control, clumping and low tracking of this litter, the cat apparently doesn't like it much. She has generally had no problem using it to urinate, but soon after the switch she pooped on top of the lid of the box (it's a top entry Modkat box). So, we just went ahead and took the lid off. This led to her pooping in the box again but failing to bury her feces on every use. This really isn't great as, again, we're in a small apartment and the smell wafts throughout the place, even waking me in the middle of the night on a few occasions. It was bearable and not getting worse, though, so I decided to just wait and see how things progressed.

So, then we went on vacation for five days over the Thanksgiving weekend. We'd hired a catsitter and things were going fine until yesterday, when the catsitter reported that she'd pooped on the floor outside the box. He cleaned it up. We returned late last night to find more feces on the floor. I cleaned that up. I awoke this morning to find feces on the floor both in the bathroom and outside the bathroom. Urination continues to not be a problem at all.

So I need to get this ship righted. The cat is obviously not happy. My girlfriend is not used to living with pets and is at her wit's end with the situation. Any recommendations on next steps? I really can't keep things any cleaner than I do. Do I...

Revert to the old non-flushable litter?

Try a new litter which is easier for her to dig in (the World's Best takes a lot of effort to move / dig through, the trade off for the low tracking, I guess)?

Move or add an additional box as a temporary measure?

Thank you for reading my lengthy post. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm sure there are a lot of tactics I could take, so would love to hear what's worked best for you.

 

[She's a witch]

You could try other environmentally friendly options, I currently use grass seed litter (SmartCat or SoPhresh) and although it’s not flushable as it clumps too well for that, it’s anywhere near as bad as clay litter. And so you know, flushing litter, especially feces, is not really good for environment either.
This litter has fine texture, hopefully you could trick your cat into thinking this is clay. I sometimes reuse some paper bags I get from some groceries.
But - grass seed litter tracks.

Edit: you can also use compostable small trash bags to take clumps/feces out

 

[Moonlight_wolf]

I read somewhere that cats usually like to poop and pee in different places, so you could try that to see if it works. Though cats ARE picky about their litter at times, I accidentally brought a different line of litter for my cat (Same brand, just different line) and she pooped on the floor to express her displeasure. When you switched to the new litter did you do the thing where you slowly mix litters the same way you're supposed to do when changing food?

You could always add another box with the litter that you know your cat likes, and then switch the other litter to another option, to see if you can find a litter that your cat likes, with a backup litter pan if she ends up hating all the new options that you try XD

 

[FeebysOwner]

If other environmentally friendly options don't work, and nothing in the above suggestions prove fruitful - go back to the old style litter you know worked for her. If it is the plastic bags that are an issue, use double thick paper bags and dispose of as you would anything else that can't be recycled. As said above, the flushable litters have their own environmental issues.

 

[Crafty_Camper123]

When you switched her litter, did you swap her out cold turkey? Or slowly transition her?
-If you swapped her cold turkey, you may be able to still use the new litter by starting over. Start over with regular litter (whatever it was she was used to), and just add a thin layer on top of the old stuff. Every week, when you would normally need to top off her litter, take a bit more of the old stuff out then usual, and again add another thin layer of new litter. When you get to about 30% old litter to 70% new litter. You should then be able to swap her out completely.

-If this doesn't work, it appears there are some biodegradable bag options available, including ones that fit into the litter genie.

-You could maybe even recycle your grocery bags and use a flip-top trash can(one with a good seal), or this hack if you own a litter genie. While the plastic grocery bags will still end up in a landfill, they at least get a second life after being used for groceries. If the smell during disposal doesn't bother you, you could also just dump the bag into your main trash before taking it out. You could then get a couple uses out of the same bag before it gets too gross. I could see this being messy though...
(I promise I'm not a litter genie salesman, I just bought one today for myself so it's on my mind I guess, LOL. )