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[jonesc1105]

My name is Chandra & I just joined the group.  We've got 2 cats.  Sami is a 7 year old male & Sheba is a 6 year old female.  I love my cats but they drive me nuts cuz they both go thru spells where they are pooping on the floor.  I've got 3 litter pans in our house & both of them (I think) keep pooping about 1 1/2 feet from one of the litter pans.  I've even sprayed that "No Stay" stuff in the area where they poop outside the box & they still poop there.  Any advice??

[kb2zct]

Hi Chandra:

Welcome to our little forum.

I guess the first thing I will ask is this: "Have you talked to your vet?".  Before you rule out behavioral issues, you need to look and see if there is any underlying behavioral problems.  Now, normally, it would be one cat having the issue, not both. However, since it sounds as if you were not sure if both are having the problem, it would be a good idea to talk to you vet and see if there is any underlying medical problem.

For two cats,  you have the right number of litter boxes (1 per each cat, plus on extra).  How often are the pans scooped?  How often are the pans themselves cleaned?  Has there been any changes recently?  By changes, did you change the brand of litter, go from unscented to scented, to/from clumping, etc?  Have the locations of the litter boxes changed? Were there any other changes in the household? 

Is it possible for you to put a new litter box over where the accidents are occurring?

These are just some questions and thoughts.  What exactly is the "no stay" stuff you are using?

I'm not sure I was able to help out much, but if you can give us some more information from the above questions, I'm sure one of the staff folks may be able to help.

Mark

[animalangel1]

Hi Chandra!  Welcome to our forum.  Mark had all very good suggestions/questions so if you answer those, that would be very helpful to us in helping you.

You could buy some "cat attract" stuff from one of the various pet stores that might help.  there is cat attract litter or I believe you can get some sort of spray or drops to add to your current litter to help in drawing them into the litter boxes.

Also, if your litter boxes are "old" and have been used for a very long time - you may need to get new ones as the odors the cats dispense into the boxes (if they are plastic) may give off a smell only the cats can smell that they may not like which would make them not want to use the litter boxes. 

Be sure that all three boxes are NOT next to each other or even in the same room if at all possible. 

Some cats do not like to use a box that already has some...um...."stuff" in it so perhaps you have finicky cats if the boxes are not cleaned to their liking. 

As Mark pointed out, this may also be a behavioral issue so do make certain with your vet that health problems are not at the base of the issue.

Please get back to us with the answers to Marks questions so we can better assist you.

[Timambmin]

Our eldest female is very very particular.  If using non clumping litter, the litter has to be changed every single day, whole lot thrown out, litter box cleaned /scrubbed and wiped with "safe & clean" which is a sort of disinfectant that kills all known germs including bird flu.  If that was not done, she would do her biz beside the litter tray, but not in it :(

Through trial and error we came across " Cats Best litter " - I don't know if you get that outside the UK.  It's a derivative of wood - very soft on their paws, smells nice and fresh and actually does what it claims to do.  It is a clumper.   We have four cats and five litter trays. I scoop out the pee and poo clumps twice a day and Madam Amber approves of this arrangement. The best of the clumper litter is you just keep adding litter to it throughout the month, then after 4 weeks turf the lot out, clean the trays and start again - makes life a lot easier. It's supposed to be flushable, however I only did that once with the poo clumps and spent a week worrying in case it blocked the pipes so just dispose of it with the garbage - in scented bags :)

[galensgranny]

Welcome Chandra! 

When cats poop just outside a litter box, it usually indicates a problem with the litter box situation.  You might not be scooping the boxes as often as the cats need.  They may greatly dislike the litter.  Cats prefer a soft substrate, such as the clumping litters.  Cats also dislike strong scented odor. 

So, try scooping more often than you usually do, and don't forget to completely dump out and change the litter every week.  If you are not using a clay clumping litter, try it.

Also, if the boxes are covered, remove the covers.  Many cats do like covered boxes.

Make sure the boxes are large enough for the cats.