Why is my cat going outside of the litter box--BY THE FOOD BOWLS?!?

Question

I have 5 cats and 3 dogs. The 3rd dog is a German Shepherd mix who tends to chase the cats. We stop it whenever we can because we realize it causes the cats stress. Their food is kept in the master bath with a baby gate in the doorway to keep the dogs from getting into it. One of the cats started urinating in the shower. Then he began defecating in it. We tried putting a litter box in the shower. Didn't work. We started keeping some standing water in the shower to keep him out of it, but he started going in front of the sink. This is right around the food bowls! All 5 cats still eat, even with the p**p right there, but we can't understand why he's doing it. We know for sure which cat it is because he's done it in front of us before. This didn't start until a month or 2 after the 3rd dog came into the picture, so we're not sure if that's the problem. Anybody have any ideas?

Answer 1

When was his last vet visit? Going outside the litterbox can be a sign of illness or pain in many cats. A vet visit might be neccessary.

Is he neutered? Also linked to behavioral problems.

Is he declawed? Also linked to literbox issues.

How many litter boxes do you have? Are they all cleaned daily? Twice daily after the issues started? Rule of thumb is 1 litter box per cat, at least one box on each level of your home. Now I have six and only 4 large boxes, so unless you are having issues its not neccessary, but if you are having problems, new litterboxes may help.

How old is the cat? Sometimes older cats start suffering the affects of progressive dementia, just as in humans. It is not normal for a cat to eliminate anywhere near the food, but for a cat with memory problems, their world starts to shrink down to a small space of one room, they will rarely leave, and that could cause that. Or with old age also comes arthritis, maybe it hurts to get in and out of your current litterboxes.

When we had problems with a cat going outside of the litterbox, once we determined it was a behavioral problem and not a medical issue, what we did is restrict it to a small space. We had a large crate meant for a dog, and kept kitty in there, with a litter box and food. First couple of days, she was upset and tore the crate apart, but once she realized she was stuck in there most the day, she was motivated to start keeping the crate clean, much the same as a crate trained puppy would be. We would get her out to play and to cuddle during the day of course, but always supervised, and even then she was stuck in one room with us with the door shut - the better to catch her when it was time to go back in the crate. The same idea can be applied to keeping kitty contained to one room, obviously not the master bath, but a room with easy to clean floors would be a good choice. Just hard to get in and out of the room without kitty escaping. But after our kitty started to go in the box while crated, we would let her out of the crate and kept to one room with the crate door open, then let her back into the main of the house. Also made sure the house was well-cleaned in her previous tolieting spots, and kept up on making sure her triggers were kept away from her - she would pee on cardboard, and also in piles of clean or dirty laundry, so its important for hamper lids to be closed, and clean laundry immeaditely put away after taken from the dryer, and no more cardboard boxes for the kitties to play in. Had to ruin everyone elses fun =) Think about what he may be finding appealing about where he goes and make it lees so - like you did with the shower, good thinking. A rubber or siesal mat where he is going now, may change the texture and help discourage him from going there. Good luck.

Answer 2

Cats can be very strange and picky about many, many things!  This can get frustrating, but its also what makes their unique personalities.  One main reason your cat may be doing this is if you moved the litter box or if they just don't like where it is placed.  I had two cats in a new home and we were trying to find the best spot to keep the litter box, and we had the same problem each time we moved it - especially with them going in a bathtub or in the spot where the litter box used to be.  I suppose the cat could also be trying to get your attention to tell you he is upset w/ the new addition to your family... each cat is different, so it's hard to tell.  

While this is very frustrating and easy to just punish the cat and hope he stops, PLEASE dont ignore strange habits like this.  It could also be a warning sign that he/she is VERY sick.  Sometimes going in other places can mean bladder infections or worse.  My cats always go in their litter box since I have kept it in one spot, except when they are sick.  My male cat recently got blocked - where they form crystals in their bladder and are unable to urinate - this is VERY common in male cats and VERY serious - emergency surgery is required.  My first sign to that was him going in a different place (bathtub).  

Not to scare you - sounds like in your situation its just a simple change of environment, which may or may not have to do with the new dog.  But just so you can catch something more serious ahead of time - better for your cat and your wallet!

Hope I've helped.