Toilet Re-Training

[treegod]

So, I have four cats, and they're all toilet trained, to some extent. One of them wees inside the tray, but does her poos just beside the box (very rarely anywhere else in the room, thankfully).

I take her poos and put them in the tray, and when we catch her doing it we take her and get her to do it in the box, but she doesn't get the hint. I'd use vinegar to wash away the smell where she poos but it leaves a mark (it seemed to work with one kitten last year). The floor's tiling.

Any ideas?

[Aphritha]

Is the box big enough for the kitty? Sometimes my cats mean to poop in the box but they hang their butt too far out and it lands on the floor...
Also, is it always in the same spot outside of the box, or does the location vary? You could move the box over a bit to cover the area if this is the case. Another option is to lay tinfoil down where the poo keeps appearing...supposedly cats dislike tinfoil.
It could be a tactile thing. Maybe the cat doesn't like the texture of the litter. You could try another brand.

[ShadowCat]

A catwhispering friend of mine always says that the first thing to do with litterbox problems is to have enough (clean) boxes around the house, typically the number of cats plus one, so 5 for you, Treegod. That way there's always a "free" box available. Place them in a few different area's around the house. If things get going the right way again, you can try to reduce the number of litterboxes.

A second thing is size: as Aphritha says, the size of the box matters. For my 4 kg cats I use the size box for maincoons. They have a hell of a time playing in it, trying to dig to Australia and sometimes using the same box together at the same time (like all girls seem to do, on a sidenote: the girl's boxes are in our mudroom where there's also the door to one of our toilets. My guy always cracks up over the fact that whenever I go to the loo there, the girls follow me and go to their boxes at the same time.).

Cats can also get onto the edge if: 1 they don't like the litter used (changed it recently, or is the brand the same but "new and improved"? Do you use enough? They really like to dig deep often); 2 the litterbox isn't clean enough (selfexplanatory) 3 they are straining to push it out (perching on the edge can give a bit of leverage there), so check the consistency of the poo, if it's dry and hard, maybe it can be solved with a dietary change. If it's to soft, also. Since you say it leaves a mark, that could be the problem. You're looking for a nice smooth cigarshape Also make sure they drink enough water. 4 It can also be another medical or cat-geriatric problem: some cats get a bit funny with age, others lose control (although that's mostly pee first, poo later). Deworming might help, as might defleaing.

If other issues are resolved and/or ruled out, a practical solution might be using a closed/high litterbox (that's really big enough). There are folks using certain kind of Ikea storagebins for litterboxes, google around a bit and you'll find a lot of made to measure options that don't look as ghastly as some litterboxes do.

[Bracken]

A catwhispering friend of mine always says that the first thing to do with litterbox problems is to have enough (clean) boxes around the house, typically the number of cats plus one, so 5 for you, Treegod. That way there's always a "free" box available. Place them in a few different area's around the house. If things get going the right way again, you can try to reduce the number of litterboxes.

A second thing is size: as Aphritha says, the size of the box matters. For my 4 kg cats I use the size box for maincoons. They have a hell of a time playing in it, trying to dig to Australia and sometimes using the same box together at the same time (like all girls seem to do, on a sidenote: the girl's boxes are in our mudroom where there's also the door to one of our toilets. My guy always cracks up over the fact that whenever I go to the loo there, the girls follow me and go to their boxes at the same time.).

Cats can also get onto the edge if: 1 they don't like the litter used (changed it recently, or is the brand the same but "new and improved"? Do you use enough? They really like to dig deep often); 2 the litterbox isn't clean enough (selfexplanatory) 3 they are straining to push it out (perching on the edge can give a bit of leverage there), so check the consistency of the poo, if it's dry and hard, maybe it can be solved with a dietary change. If it's to soft, also. Since you say it leaves a mark, that could be the problem. You're looking for a nice smooth cigarshape Also make sure they drink enough water. 4 It can also be another medical or cat-geriatric problem: some cats get a bit funny with age, others lose control (although that's mostly pee first, poo later). Deworming might help, as might defleaing.

If other issues are resolved and/or ruled out, a practical solution might be using a closed/high litterbox (that's really big enough). There are folks using certain kind of Ikea storagebins for litterboxes, google around a bit and you'll find a lot of made to measure options that don't look as ghastly as some litterboxes do.

Truly brilliant answer. Ten out of ten. You're an expert in cat poo. I'm impressed.

[Crystal Dragon]

As others have commented having plenty of litter trays is a must in a multicat household and the other thing to consider carefully is where the trays are placed within the home. They need to be in a quiet area really with easy access so that the cat using the tray does n't get ambushed by other cats in the house. Some cats can be very fussy too when it comes to cat litter, so you may also like to try a couple of different ones. I have some large high sided litter trays (without covers) which I find are great for large cats and those that love to dig, I also use varying sizes of tray with lids but then again, some cats don't like using trays with lids so it is really a case of trying things out. That said, cats don't like things changed too many times either so do give a new tray or position for the tray, a week or so to see how it goes before changing it again. For cleaning accidents outside of the tray surgical spirit is quite effective. Try not get upset or annoyed when the cat doesn't use its tray, sometimes cats are like children, they sometimes do things because they know it will get a reaction from you.
Hope you manage to solve the problem soon,
BB,
CD

PS Another thought that has just come to mind is that you might find a Feliway spray or plugin may be of help, it is not a cheap product and over the years I have found it helps some cats but not all of them, but sometimes it may just be worth a try.

[ShadowCat]

You're an expert in cat poo.

Now that's a recommendation to put on my LinkedInprofile

Another thought that has just come to mind is that you might find a Feliway spray or plugin may be of help, it is not a cheap product and over the years I have found it helps some cats but not all of them, but sometimes it may just be worth a try.

You can also try diluted Valeriana Officinalis essential oil on some toys or some dried valerianherb, some cats go batshitcrazy for it for a while, then it generally calms the nerves. If I drink tea with it, I have to keep them from drinking from my mug. A friend offered her cats diluted herbal tea with valerian to drink around new years eve to take the edge of the fireworks.

[treegod]

Thanks for the advice everyone. It probably is a case of too few trays. The one that's pooing on the floor (Pitufa) when she started learning had to share with her mother, her brother and sister from the first litter and the 4 other siblings of her litter.

Isis (the mother), and Goofy (the boy) have both been done, so we can let them out, though when they come back they can still use the litter box. Muki and Pitufa, the other two females, haven't been done yet, and we don't want them getting pregnant, so we're not letting them out (the stray tom, their dad, still sticks around).

One day they can all go outside and we can (perhaps) do away with the cat litter, but for the moment it'll have to stick around (along with pooey bits, lol).

[samurai]

We have cat of 18, if he needs to go, in the night he poo's in bath. Which is very clever for a tom cat, and better than on the floor.