Why does my cat poop outside the litter box

Let’s start with a summary of the common reasons why cats don’t use the litter box:
The cat is sick or has just recovered from illness
The cat is not neutered
Cat marking territory
Cats never learned how to use the litter box correctly in the first place
The cat litter box is too dirty
The cat litter is mixed with deodorant that the cat doesn’t like.
Change cat litter types frequently
Too much or too little litter in the litter box
Cat doesn’t like the litter box you chose
Cat litter box is not the right size
The cat litter box is placed in the wrong location
Not enough litter boxes
The cat is nervous and anxious
You can check your seat according to the above serial number to solve the problem.

The cat is sick or has just recovered from the illness

Just like us humans, if we feel unwell and have difficulty moving, we will naturally not be able to go to the toilet. We can choose diapers, but cats don’t have these things. If your cat has a disease that affects mobility, such as arthritis, then it is still the top-mounted litter box they had before they were sick, and it is obviously normal for them to no longer use this litter box. After all, the pain prevents them from jumping into the litter box, or they have to pay the price of pain when jumping into the litter box, so they will not choose to use the litter box again.
Of course, arthritis is just an example, and there are many other diseases that can cause cats to not use the litter box, but our first thought is to consider whether the cat has a physical illness that affects them from using the litter box.

Solution:

Pay attention to your cat’s experience reports, and you should have a familiar doctor to consult. Taking your cat for a check-up should be a must-do for a while, because cats tend to hide their physical diseases due to their nature. You can’t always see the signs of illness, especially if you’re not a medical professional.

The cat is not neutered

Cats that have not been neutered tend to mark their territory through urine or release male pheromones to the outside world. Especially when in heat, it is more obvious and frequent, so neutering can not only solve this problem, but also bring some health benefits to the cat. It’s not that only male cats will behave like this during estrus, female cats will also.

Solution

Neuter it. If you want to give it a baby, it’s easy. It only takes 6 months for a cat to reach sexual maturity, but it’s better to mate and give birth to babies as an adult.

Cats are marking their territory.

In addition to rubbing and scratching with their paws, cats leave scent marks on their territory. Of course, urine is also an important way to mark territory. Please refer to lions, tigers and other cats in the animal world. If another new pet comes to your home, the cat will leave a new scent mark to confirm the territory. Even the presence of other cats or dogs wandering outside your house can alert them, triggering territorial marking behavior.

Solution

If a new pet joins, you can only wait until their territorial disputes are settled and then this behavior will disappear. If there are no new pets in the house, you may not be able to see or hear if there are other animals around the house, but the cat will smell it. Fortunately, this type of litter box absence usually resolves once the cat has established that their territory is safe and they are not threatened.

The cat never learned how to use the litter box correctly in the first place.

Although cats are naturally clean animals and they also have the instinct to hide their excrement, if they have left their mother cat since childhood, or you have adopted a stray cat, they are used to living outdoors. Then it is normal and easy to understand that they do not know how to use the cat litter box.

Solution

Don’t worry too much. Due to their instinct, we just need a little patience. Approximately estimate their defecation time in the early stage. When the time is almost up, you can take them to the litter box, provided that you have taught it how to poop. Enter the cat litter box. After all, many cat litter boxes now have strange entrances. We can put it next to the cat litter box and let them take the initiative to use it. It is optimal. If they still do not use it, you can move the cat litter box to the place where they poop and put the poop in the cat litter box and bury it. The smell on the ground needs to be cleaned up in advance. Usually it doesn’t take such complicated methods to teach them to defecate in a fixed place.

The cat litter box is too dirty

Think back to whether you haven’t cleaned the cat’s litter box for more than a day, or if you haven’t changed the cat’s litter for a long time, or if you haven’t even cleaned the cat’s litter box. No one would be willing to enter a toilet that is too dirty, and the same goes for cats. If you have a cat, you have to shovel poop. Otherwise, why would you call him a poop scraper? Diligent hygiene is good for both humans and cats.

Solution

It’s not difficult to shovel poop at least once a day. It’s not difficult to shovel poop and throw it away when you go out. It’s not too difficult to change the cat litter every two weeks, otherwise you won’t be the only one who gets the stink. Clean the cat litter box thoroughly after a period of time.

Tips for cleaning the cat litter box

1. Clean the entire litter box with mild detergent. Do not use bleach, ammonia, or other harsh chemicals that are harmful to cats.
2. If there is still an odor after thorough cleaning, put a 1:1 ratio of white vinegar and water mixture into the box to remove the odor.

The cat litter is mixed with deodorant that the cat doesn’t like.

The odor of cat feces has become a headache for many scavengers, so to cater to the demand, a large number of deodorizing products have appeared on the market. But these products are not approved by all cats, which is why they don’t use litter boxes. It doesn’t mean that we can’t use deodorizing products, it’s just that we need to find which one is suitable for our cats.

Solution

Experiment a lot and find the product that suits your cat. After all, there are so many products on the market.

Frequently change cat litter types

Changing cat litter is almost the same as changing cat food. It takes some time for the cat to adapt. Cats are very sensitive to environmental changes, not to mention direct contact with cat litter.

Solution

If something is easy to use and suitable for cats, use it as much as possible until something goes wrong before replacing it, and reserve enough buffer time to replace it slowly.

Too much or too little litter in the litter box

Some novice cat owners only bought a 6L bag of cat litter. As a result, the cat litter box was only covered with a thin layer. The cat would just poop and poop until it bottomed out. How could they bury the poop? Then they would think this If the place is not suitable for defecation, it will naturally change. Or maybe there are so many that the cat will be buried together if you pull it.

Solution

There are also many types of cat litter, such as clumping cat litter, tofu cat litter, crystal cat litter, and pine cat litter. Various cat litters require different depths, just follow the instructions on the packaging or instructions. Note that when you consume it, you need to replenish it in time, and replace it all after a certain period of time.

Your cat doesn’t like the litter box you chose.

There are so many different types of cat litter boxes nowadays, including top-entry type, fully enclosed type, fully automatic type, and things that can be solved by a simple square box. There are many tricks, and many times even people can’t figure them out. It is normal for cats to dislike one type of litter box, especially fully enclosed litter boxes that more cats dislike. After all, the ventilation problem of a fully enclosed cat litter box is very troublesome. This will cause the cat to defecate in a completely dark, unventilated and small place.

Solution

Cat owners don’t like it? What else can I do? Just change it. When you suspect that your cat doesn’t like the litter box, you might as well use a paper box to fill it with cat litter and see if it likes the litter box or the box you bought.
If you use a fully enclosed cat litter box to avoid a stinky home, please ventilate the cat litter box.

The size of the cat litter box is inappropriate

Cats grow very fast when they are young. Many people may overlook an issue, that is, the litter box they bought may have been suitable for the cat one or two months ago. After one or two months, the litter box may have already grown. It can no longer accommodate a rapidly growing cat. After all, a cat can gain about one pound a month before reaching full adulthood, and it only takes one year from birth to full adulthood.

Solution

This problem only occurs in cats that have been raised since childhood, or in cats that are underage. Unless your cat is extremely fat, adult cats will basically not gain weight.

The cat litter box is placed in the wrong place

Cat litter boxes are generally placed in a quiet, cool place, far away from where they eat. It should be placed steadily, because they still have a lot of movement when burying feces. If they are not stable, they will have to turn the pot when going to the toilet. It is estimated that the cat will leave a psychological shadow. Many people will put the cat litter box on the balcony, and I am no exception. However, you should pay attention to whether your balcony will be disturbed by noise. Otherwise, the cat will have to worry about safety issues when going to the toilet, and naturally he will not go there. The toilet is gone.

Solution

Find a suitable place to place the litter box in a quiet, cool and away from eating area. At this time, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for those caged cats, who ate, drank and pooped in the cages.

Not enough litter boxes

When you have more than one cat at home, you should prepare extra litter boxes, just like cat bowls. After all, they mark their territories with urine and poop. If the cats at home are not harmonious, they will compete for the litter box, and the loser will naturally not be able to use it again.

Solution

There is a rule for the number of litter boxes: N+1, where N is the number of cats you have. In other words, “one for each cat and one extra” is not a rigid requirement, it is just a scientific suggestion. After all, I only have two litter boxes for my three cats. But if your cat’s failure to stay in the litter box is a big deal, then you’ll want to consider this factor.

The cat is nervous and anxious

In many cases, cats’ stress and anxiety are unavoidable because this is an environment that rarely occurs during their evolution. Both rural and urban areas have undergone earth-shaking changes in just a few decades. There are so many things that cause cats to be nervous, anxious, and stressed. Many things that you don’t expect may be a kind of stress for cats. This can cause them to behave inappropriately, and not using the litter box is one of them.

Solution

Keeping your cat’s daily routine as normal as possible can help relieve stress. Basic things like regular feeding times and daily play and rest time can keep everything on track.

Other ways to reduce your cat’s stress:

Petting cats (pulling their fur, stroking them)
play with your cat
Plenty of enough cat scratching posts, cat climbing posts

Hint

When your cat poops in an area other than the litter box, avoid using ammonia products or cleaners containing this ingredient when we clean it. This will only attract them to return to that place to commit crimes again. We can use a special deodorant or a 1:1 mixture of water and white vinegar prepared by ourselves to remove their smell.

Summarize

Cat behavior is a very complex subject. The above are just some of the phenomena and solutions I have summarized. There may be others that I have not covered. Welcome to exchange and discuss in the comment area.