Cat won't use toilet?

Question

I have 2 burmese cats living in a run. 1 is 10 years old and the other is 7 years old. The older one poos in their sleeping box to stop the younger one from coming in.. I have tried washing out the box and covers with Bio-zet powder as there is no ammonia in it. This hasn't stopped him from doing his business in the wrong place. How can I stop this?

Answer 1

Diapers. It stopped your grampa from pooping in your mom's sleeping spot.

(on the corner)

Answer 2

I really don't think the cat is doing this to stop the other cat coming into the sleeping box. If a cat is being territorial, it will mark with urine, not poo. Even the idea of him urinating in the box to stop the other cat coming in doesn't really gel.

The first suspect, when a cat's litterbox habits go downhill, is a medical issue. If it becomes painful for a cat to poo, then the cat comes to associate pooing in the litterbox with pain, and they seek out a soft(less painful) place to go - often their own bed, a rug, or a human bed.

First priority should be to get him a simple checkup at the vet. Whatever caused pain in the litterbox may be gone now, but it is important to check. It sounds gross, but take a fresh poo sample from him with you to the vet - often the vet needs to check the poo & this will save you needing to book another vet appointment to come with cat and poo....

Think back to when this pooing behaviour started. Is there ANYTHING that changed at that point in time? Changes in food, type of litter, household routine - or anything else in the cat's environment. This could help you identify the trigger.

Cats will poo where they pooed before, and the way to stop this is by totally eliminating the odour. Enzymatic cleaners must be used(I think bio-zet may be enzymatic, but the specialist products from the pet store can be more powerful) & be sure to follow the instructions - they need to be left to soak into the spot for some time. You are right to avoid cleaning agents with ammonia - this can encourage cats to urinate in that area.

If medical causes have been eliminated, the sleeping box cleaned & you still have a problem, I'd first consider removing the sleeping box - let them sleep somewhere else. Hopefully this will be enough to re-train him to the litterbox.

If none of this resolves the problem, confine him in a bathroom or laundry, with food, water, litterbox and a few toys.

Because there are only cold hard surfaces in the bathroom, the litterbox should be the only attractive place for him to poo.

He will learn that using the litterbox to poo isn't painful anymore & before long you will be able to have him back in his run, with normal litterbox habits.

I hope that helps!

Answer 3

Uhmm...

I'd be willing to wager the cat is sick. Is this something that just recently started and how long have the two cats lived together?