I'm thisclose to killing my cat

[JennRN]

Ok GC cat people, I need advice about mine. My husband and I have a cat, whom we never had any problems with. Occasionally, if the litterbox was full, and my husband hadn't changed it, the cat would poop on the floor in front of the litter box. Well, we moved into a house in June. The cat has free reign of the place. We put his litterbox and food dishes in the utility room, which he was fine with.

Until recently.

Now, he's started pooping in one certain corner of our dining room. We have hardwood floors. It's a rental house!! After he does it, we show him the poo, yell at him, and crate him for about an hour. We clean the area with 409 spray, but the little bastard keeps doing it!! I'm about ready to kill him, and we don't know how to make him stop. We haven't changed his food, or his routine in any way.
Someone help me before my cat becomes a homicide( kittycide) victim....

[FHwku]

move the litter box to that corner. after the cat gets re-accustomed to using the box, move it a little.

or you could take that step and kill your cat. but there's no turning back after that. it would seal your fate as a cat-killer, and reserve you a seat in h-e-double hockey sticks.

[mmcat]

ditto on move the box...
if it gets to armagedeon, think about the humane society.

[mattpike]

put a pan of water there. cats hate water. if he cant get to the corner he wont poop there. or you could put something else there that cats hate. dont they hate moth balls or is that dogs. feed him chocolate that will stop him. or maybe it will stop his heart. i forget. either way i am sure it will work.

[valkyrie]

Yeah hi, moth balls and chocolate can kill or seriously injure a cat. Showing him the poo, yelling at him and crating him isn't going to do a damn bit of good. He knows the poo is there, and doesn't get why you're yelling at him after the fact. Cats are not dogs and do not respond to crating.

First of all, if the box is clean and you haven't changed cat litter, the first thing to consider is whether there is a medical problem that is causing your cat to have problems. A trip to the vet would be a good idea. Clean the area where he's been pooping with something designed to eliminate smells entirely, like this stuff. FHwku's idea of moving the litter box to that corner is a good one -- if your cat wants to poop there, why not let him for a while. Maybe the litter box is too far away and he has a hard time getting there, so a second litter box might be helpful.

It might be a good idea to read some books about cat behavior, so you have a better understanding of cats. I don't mean to sound harsh, but honestly, if you're as angry as you seem about this, maybe having a cat isn't for you.

[Rudey]

Hit him. Show him it's wrong.

-Rudey

[ADqtPiMel]

Originally posted by valkyrie
Yeah hi, moth balls and chocolate can kill or seriously injure a cat. Showing him the poo, yelling at him and crating him isn't going to do a damn bit of good. He knows the poo is there, and doesn't get why you're yelling at him after the fact. Cats are not dogs and do not respond to crating.

First of all, if the box is clean and you haven't changed cat litter, the first thing to consider is whether there is a medical problem that is causing your cat to have problems. A trip to the vet would be a good idea. Clean the area where he's been pooping with something designed to eliminate smells entirely, like this stuff. FHwku's idea of moving the litter box to that corner is a good one -- if your cat wants to poop there, why not let him for a while. Maybe the litter box is too far away and he has a hard time getting there, so a second litter box might be helpful.

It might be a good idea to read some books about cat behavior, so you have a better understanding of cats. I don't mean to sound harsh, but honestly, if you're as angry as you seem about this, maybe having a cat isn't for you.

co-sign on every bit of this.

My kitty was pooping in a certain corner all the time this summer, so we took him to the vet. It turned out he had an obstruction in his intestine and couldn't get himself to the litter box, poor baby. Punishing a cat after the fact won't do any good at all, because they won't understand why they're being yelled at. Take him to the vet and get him checked out.

[JennRN]

Maybe I should have been more specific. Most of the time the cat poops in his litterbox, which is in the utility room, which is where he has his little shelf that he likes to sleep on. The other times, he comes out of the utility room to poop in the dining room.

And Valkyrie, I've had cats all my life. I've never had this problem with one. And I'm not actually going to kill my kitty. I just want him to stop pooping in the dining room!!

[thetalady]

I am afraid you have received a LOT of awful advice. Most of the awful ones I can tell are facetious... some I am not so sure about.
Yelling at the cat is about the very BEST thing you can do to make the problem worse.

I have written a very in depth article on litter boxes & problems. Send me a real email addy & I'll drop a copy to you.

Basically, a cat that is pooping on the floor is usually telling you that there is something about the box or litter that he hates. It very well could be medical, but more often pooping in inappropriate places is the cat's only way to lodge a protest against the box.

If you chase him away from the corner he is pooping in now without resolving his complaint about the box, he will just find another place to go... like your pillow or favorite pair of shoes.

"All" you have to do is learn to think like a cat & solve the problem!

[Optimist Prime]

Originally posted by thetalady
Basically, a cat that is pooping on the floor is usually telling you that there is something about the box or litter that he hates. It very well could be medical, but more often pooping in inappropriate places is the cat's only way to lodge a protest against the box.

that's funny haha type not weird scary dead clown type

[Munchkin03]

Originally posted by mattpike
put a pan of water there. cats hate water. if he cant get to the corner he wont poop there. or you could put something else there that cats hate. dont they hate moth balls or is that dogs. feed him chocolate that will stop him. or maybe it will stop his heart. i forget. either way i am sure it will work.

Umm...how many times were you dropped on your head as a child? As a pledge?

I don't like cats, and I'm allergic to them, but even I know that this is stupid "advice."

[Dionysus]

If this were a child, it would be 1 of 14 signs of being a serial killer.

[UKDaisy]

Originally posted by valkyrie
Yeah hi, moth balls and chocolate can kill or seriously injure a cat. Showing him the poo, yelling at him and crating him isn't going to do a damn bit of good. He knows the poo is there, and doesn't get why you're yelling at him after the fact. Cats are not dogs and do not respond to crating.

First of all, if the box is clean and you haven't changed cat litter, the first thing to consider is whether there is a medical problem that is causing your cat to have problems. A trip to the vet would be a good idea. Clean the area where he's been pooping with something designed to eliminate smells entirely, like this stuff. FHwku's idea of moving the litter box to that corner is a good one -- if your cat wants to poop there, why not let him for a while. Maybe the litter box is too far away and he has a hard time getting there, so a second litter box might be helpful.

Good advice!! I agree. Sadly, yelling and crating should work - but cats aren't dogs.

My biggest concern would be that there was a medical condition. In my case *Pumpkins* still used the litter box but also pee'd on this one rug in the bathroom. Turns out she had a kidney problem and needed some medicine. Now she doesn't do it, but she will if her kidney's flare up again.

Its kinda like a gross alert system.

Your cat could just be stubborn and wants the litter box there. I would talk to your vet about some options of what to do.

Good luck with kitty!

[thetalady]

Originally posted by JennRN
We put his litterbox and food dishes in the utility room, which he was fine with. Until recently.

Now, he's started pooping in one certain corner of our dining room.

I just noticed the comment about how the kitty's litter box is in the utility room with his food... BIG RED FLAG!

Cats having their food too close to their litter box and the cat is the one who decides how close is too close.

After all, do you eat in the bathroom??? That's pretty much what you are asking the cat to do.