Why Is My Cat Pooping on the Floor? How to Stop Cat From Pooping Outside the Litter Box

Sometimes cats poop on the floor and not in the cat tray. Many owners at such moments think that cats do it because of resentment or revenge. Why is my cat pooping on the floor? However, such a cat action may have more serious reasons.

Sometimes the owner does not try to understand the reason for the pet’s behavior. Only contacting a veterinarian or reading several articles will help the owner understand a cat’s behavior and raise it correctly.

RELATED: How to Teach a Kitten to Use a Litter Box?

Litter box problems

The first thing to pay attention to if your pet goes to the toilet on the floor is litter boxes. You need to understand how to choose a suitable tray for a cat. Some owners buy trays for little kittens and do not change them as the pet grows.

The small size of a cat’s litter boxes can discourage the pet from going there. You should consider the size of an adult pet and replace the pet litter box with a suitable size. You should increase the size of the cat tray in proportion to the pet’s growth. If your pet has already grown to an adult of considerable size, you should not be surprised if he refuses to go to a small cat tray. Just buy a bigger toilet for your cat.

Sometimes, a litter box has high sides or a roof. You can try to replace this with a litter box without walls and without a roof.

If your cat starts going to the toilet on the floor, this may be due to the fact that the pet dislikes the kind of litter being used. You can gradually mix the old type of litter with the new one so that the cat does not feel the difference.

Some owners do not use pet litter at all. This is not the right decision. Like their wildcat ancestors, domestic cats instinctively like to dig in the ground. But a natural tray with sand can be expensive and not always convenient. To solve this issue, manufacturers have come up with special litter. Cats do not like toilets without the litter. Because they do not see the difference between the floor and the litter box. Therefore, litter must be in the tray.

When cleaning a cat litter box, owners often make a common mistake: washing it out with chemicals. You should not use such tools, as the pet might not like the smell and will stop using the cat box. The solution will only be replacing the tray with a new one.

RELATED ARTICLE: How to Clean a Cat Litter Box? (Vet Approved Advice)

Behavior problems and reasons

If the cat is healthy, the tray is clean, and the correct size, then you need to look for reasons in the nature and preferences of the cat. There are several behavioral reasons why a pet poops on the floor. One of them is the excessive cleanliness of the pet. Cats cannot relieve themselves in a dirty cat litter box, even if it has been used only once. The owner only needs to keep the cat tray clean, regularly scooping solid waste and monitoring the smell to solve this problem.

If your pet does not use the litter boxes initially, it may be an adaptation issue. This happens to kittens who have just arrived in a new family; they may have not yet become situated in the house and to the tray’s location. Therefore, you need to be patient and nudge it toward the tray every time.

If you have more than one pet, you can try adding one or more pet trays to solve this problem. Several cats in the house may cause conflict, resulting in not using the litter box.

The pet tray’s location may also affect the pet’s behavior. It is recommended to place the tray in a quiet corner. But you should not place the litter box in the hall or in a place where people are constantly passing. Cats also need privacy and concentration on their needs. Some cats are so anxious that they only want to go to the toilet in a secluded place. If your cat is like this, try to put the fresh litter boxes away from corridors or buy a tray-house.

RELATED: Where To Put Cat Litter Box?

In order for your pet to be happy and poop in the right place, you need to consider its needs and treat it as a full-fledged family member. Then, the pet will please its owner with its good behavior and cleanliness.

A change of location of the pet’s litter box in the house can also cause the pet’s dissatisfaction. You can try to change the litter box location to a new place, completely change the tray to a new one or use a new litter.

If cats experience stress, toilet misfires can also happen; for example, a new person/animal appeared in the family or someone died, you moved to another apartment or rearranged furniture, got pregnant or started paying less attention to the pet. All these are reasons for alarm. In this case, you need to try to identify and eliminate the cause of stress, calm the cat and pay it more attention.

When detecting the fact that your pet poops on the floor, it is first of all necessary to exclude the possibility of disease. You can do this by contacting a qualified veterinarian.

READ MORE: Why Did My Cat Poop On The Bed? 

Health problems that make cats poop outside the litter boxes

Cats can also poop outside the litter box due to health problems. If you notice such behavior from your pet, you should immediately go to the veterinarian.

Due to pain in the process of healing, the pet may mistakenly associate negativity with a tray. Do not punish the pet. The best solution would be to consult the veterinarian and find out the reason for this behavior.

Urination in small amounts, the presence of blood in urine and feces, a long process of urination, anxiety before urination/defecation are the first symptoms that should alert you to an issue.

Diseases of the musculoskeletal system, such as osteoarthritis and osteoarthritis, especially in elderly animals, can also provoke such behavior if the pet has an uncomfortable tray with high sides and it hurts the pet to jump into it.

Unfortunately, even a young animal may have problems with the kidney, liver or gastrointestinal tract. Problems with the tray are often the first symptom of such problems: it hurts the pet to go to the toilet, and the animal is looking for the most convenient place. A biochemical blood test may be required, so do not feed your pet eight hours before a visit to the veterinarian clinic.

Another problem that cannot be dealt with without a specialist is an adult unsterilized animal. Without access to reproduction, cats begin hormonal failures that seriously affect behavior.

Steps to Stop Your Cat from Pooping on the Floor

• First, cat owners need to figure out the reason. To do this, contact a veterinarian or licensed feline behaviorist and make sure that your pet has no diseases or abnormalities.
• Make sure that the size of the tray is suitable for your pet. Do not use aggressive cleaning tools to wash the tray. Try to change the litter often and use the odorless litter. Regular cleaning of the cat tray can also help in solving this problem.
• If your family has several cats and one common pet litter box buy individual ones for each pet.
• The placement of the tray also affects the behavior of the cat. Keep in mind that an animal also needs privacy to cope with its needs successfully.
• The next step is to let the cat know that the toilet is not in the place it has chosen. If the pet pooped outside the litter and has chosen a specific area where you can put the tray, it is worth moving it there. In other cases, you need to make it clear to the animal that the toilet is not there.
• First of all, you need to get rid of the bad smell by washing the surfaces with conventional means, and then additionally treated with a special odor destroyer.
• Use the psychology of pets for your own purposes. For example, a cat will not want to go to the toilet in the same place where you give your cat food.
• Remove the peel of citrus fruits – cats do not like their smell — or apply a repellent spray.
• It is impossible to physically influence pets. They do not associate punishment with their actions if it does not come immediately. If you poke their nose into a puddle, you can achieve only one thing: the cat will be afraid not only of the tray but also of its owners.

How to prevent cat’s litter box aversion?

Teaching a cat to cope with the need in the right place is the basis for raising a domestic pet. It is necessary to take this process responsibly so as not to experience inconveniences in the future. It is essential to accustom the cat to the tray from an early age. Praise and encouragement, with a treat, will help you speed up the learning process.

For your pet to use the tray for its intended purpose, the following points must be taken into account:

• Dirty litter box.
• Absence of harsh odors and the smell of detergents.
• Enough litter boxes.

It is necessary to clean the tray of solid waste regularly. This way, you can extend the shelf life of the litter, keep the tray clean and get rid of unpleasant odors.

To clean the cat litter box, do not use detergents with chemicals. The pungent odors of chlorine can scare away your pet, and it will stop using the tray. A sharp smell can also spoil the pet’s attitude to the tray; e.g., an air freshener in the toilet; a new, fragrant, washing powder in the bathroom.

If you have a multi-cat household, you need to install enough litter boxes. Such actions will help pets to use the tray in a convenient place.

READ MORE: Where To Put Cat Litter Box?

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