feline behavior question

[cellio]

This is a new problem for me, but (I gather) old hat for some others. So, advice please?

Starting about a month ago, every couple days I have found a "deposit" (solid) on a particular section of carpet. (Usually this is in the morning.) When I say "section of carpet", I mean it's always within the same area of about two square feet. None of the cats seem to be having other litter-box issues and the placement is pretty consistent, so I'm guessing this is a behavior problem, not a continence problem. I haven't yet been able to determine which cat it is, but if we apply Occam's razor and assume it's just one, I can eliminate Erik based on the most recent incident, which happened tonight while he was with me.

In late November I had a visiting cat for about a week, and Baldur wasn't too happy about that. However, this problem began a month or so after that cat went home, so I don't know if that's related. (I found no evidence of marking/spraying while that cat was here.) There's been nothing else weird going on that I've noticed -- medical, dietary, behavioral.

I actually have two questions. One is about how to change this behavior, but the other is this: is there something I can and should do to that carpet to make it less of a target? If so, what? Or will doing that merely relocate the problem? Yeah, it's annoying, but at least I know where to look and it's not, say, on the couch. Placement could be worse.

Comments

[sue-n-julia.livejournal.com]

Once a cat uses a certain area, they will tend to try to use it again and again. PetSmart and PetCo both sell an enzymatic cleaner, Nature's Miracle, that help neutralize the odor left behind so they won't want to use it again.

Another product we used this summer was Feli-away. We were having a problem in the downstairs bathroom with urine on the floor. The vet thought it might have been anxiety related to moving here and having neighborhood cats walking in front of our picture window. We also got a shorter litterbox in case Vandal was having some trouble.

A final thing that you can try (depending on where the deposits are) is to place a bowl of food near the area. Cats don't like to soil near their food, so this can sometimes help.

S

[hrj.livejournal.com]

Yeah, what she said. One of the reasons cat boxes work is that cats rely partly on smell to tell them where to crap. While displaced urination will more often be either a physiological or psychological problem, displaced defecation tends to be one original "oops" followed by "gee, this smells right, this must be where I'm supposed to do it." One thing that worked for me when I had to train a couple of kittens out of crapping on the hall carpet was to temporarily cover the entire hall carpet with a plastic sheet. It not only blocked the scent cues, but it gave all the wrong tactile cues. Once they had established a strong habit of using the litter box, I was able to remove the plastic. But the enzymatic cleaners will also help enormously. I'd hit the problem with as many habit-breakers as you can at once. Is there any piece of furniture that you could temporarily move to that location that would also help break the habit?

My experience suggests (but does not guarantee) that you're unlikely to simply move the inappropriate behavior elsewhere -- it will be associated with that one particular spot only.

[cellio]

One of the reasons cat boxes work is that cats rely partly on smell to tell them where to crap.

I didn't know that. Thanks! And thanks for the advice.

[baron-steffan.livejournal.com]

The enzymatic cleaner is a good idea, since its always better (for human noses) to neutralize an odor than to introduce a new and potentially noxious one. But if that doesn't work, you might want to step over from neutrality to something the cat will find offensive, therefore discouraging it from "going" in that area again. The various dog/cat repellent sprays are all the same thing: 0.9% (if I recall correctly) of methyl nonyl ketone, so just grab whatever your local pet store has available.

Of course, the cat may just find a new site, but the idea is that she'll go back to the proper litter box.

It may be that she finds that box itself offensive, perhaps because it's been "marked" by the "guest" cat. Either thoroughly clean the litter box (eeew) or just buy a new one. (We use the disposable Kat Kits: they're wonderful).

[cellio]

Good idea. It's definitely time to replace at least one of the two boxes; I may as well do both.

[steven.livejournal.com]

This is probably not What A Vet Would Recommend, but when one of our cats was using a particular corner of our dining room as her personal urinal, we placed a small fan there and left it on for about a week. She didn't like the noise or the breeze.

Before this, we tried -- unsuccessfully -- to break her of the habit by using repellent sprays and Feliway.

[sue-n-julia.livejournal.com]

That's why the enzymatic spray is nice. It makes it harder for the to find the spot -- no matter how determined they are. I won't say it worked the first (or second time) but in the end it did work.

We used it on the heraldic files (that my predecessor's cat used) and it got rid of all the odor.

S

[mrpeck.livejournal.com]

My cat has done that sort of thing for years. In my house he had a spot within 5 feet of the litter box. He was fine at my parents' house for a long time but now he'll go there within 2 feet of the litter box. The vet suggested that he was unhappy about something digestively. I tried various things but never quite figured it out. It's very annoying but at least it is easy to clean up.

[subdivisions.livejournal.com]

My experience has been that cats almost always start doing this because they are unhappy about something. They may continue doing it because it smells right, but a lot of times if you can figure out what is causing the initial unhappiness and solve it, the behavior will clear up on its own. The trick is figuring it out, because cats are weird emotionally and well, they can't tell you what they are angry or upset about.

So...I had a cat that started doing this exact thing - depositing solid waste on the floor about 2 feet in front of the litterbox. It took us a couple of months to figure out what her problem was. It turned out that the long hair on her back end combined with some arthritis was causing her to have to spend extra time in the litterbox when going #2. In addition, the other cat in the house was catching on to the fact that she was vulnerable during that time, and had started harrassing her. So she was going on the floor instead, probably because it didn't make litter rustling noise to alert the other cat that pooping was happening. This is our best guess, anyway... In any case, the behavior cleared up immediately once we had her shaved at the groomers.

Are you sure there isn't any intercat hostility that you aren't aware of? That's probably the #1 reason for litterbox issues out there, and cats can be extremely subtle when they engage in relational aggression with one another.

[cellio]

Are you sure there isn't any intercat hostility that you aren't aware of?

I suppose it's possible -- by definition I wouldn't have noticed. :-) These cats have lived together for 10+ years, though, so if it's that I wonder what prompted it.

[ariannawyn.livejournal.com]

All good suggestions, and I don't have any new ones to add, but I agree that the cat could be trying to express some unhappiness or discomfort. Grendel had irritable bowel issues a few years back, and would poop on my bed (eeww) to make absolutely sure I knew about it. Fortunately, steroid injections cleared up the problem. So, if you are able to isolate the culprit, a checkup might be in order (assuming he/she hasn't had one recently, though your cats probably have).

[cellio]

They've all had checkups (and bloodwork) within the last few months and are scheduled for vaccines (with associate vet inspection) in early March. That doesn't mean it's not physical, of course -- things can come up suddenly. It's worth a call to her on Monday (next day she's in) to get her opinion.

[indigodove.livejournal.com]

I don't have any advice, but will store this info in case ours ever start on this. Good luck!

[cellio]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone! I will start with cleaners, fresh litter boxes, and a call to the vet.

[zare-k.livejournal.com]

I'm curious to see what ends up working for you. Lovelace has developed a similar habit and I'm trying to figure out how to solve it.