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Original poster

My cat just shat in the bath

26 replies

ProfYaffle · 16/12/2006 23:04

She is a timid indoorish cat, we've had intermittent problems with her peeing indoors but the past month or so she has been shitting indoors, the last 2 weeks on pretty much a daily basis. I'm at the end of my tether with it, I'm pregnant and have a toddler so it's a real health risk for both of us.

I've tried everything I can think of, litter trays outside with a roof (refuse to have one indoors, she has never had one, always uses the garden), specially dug latrine, spraying areas where she goes in the house, locking her in the kitchen overnight (downstairs bathroom means she also has access to the bathroom which is why she's used the f*cking bath) I've now slung her outside and taken her collar off, we have a magnetic cat flap so she won't be able to get back in. This will traumatise her but I don't see what else I can do.

I rang the RSPCA to get her re-homed but they're full and won't take her. We're away for a week over Xmas , the neighbours come in and feed her. I don't want to lock her out for a week because she won't cope but I don't want to come back to a week's worth of crap in the house and it's not very nice for the neighbours either.

At the moment the only thing I can think of is to get her put to sleep before we go away , has anyone else got any other ideas?

Sorry for the essay btw.

OP posts:
CMac · 16/12/2006 23:15

I don't have many good ideas but I do sympathise - i have 2 cats, one of which is a very timid wee thing and has phases where she pees/marks indoors. With her it's because there are loads of other cats in the street who terrorize her (as does her brother a bit) and I guess she's doing it to mark her territory. I got some stuff from the vet - a pheromone thing to de-stress her (like a glade plug-in). It seemed to help a little but didn't stop the problem for us but the vet said they'd had lots of success with it so it might be worth a try if you're reaching the end of your tether...
Mine does use a litter try (inside) which helps and we closed the flap to stop other cats coming in and that has (almost) stopped the problem. Still the odd incident though which with a toddler and baby in the house is still a pita.
Is there nowhere downstairs you could leave a litter tray - even just overnight or for the week you're away?

Original poster
ProfYaffle · 16/12/2006 23:23

Our cat's doing it because she's being terrorised by neighbourhood cats as well.

We are limited for space downstairs and I'm very reluctant to get a permanent litter tray as I have visions of my toddler rummaging around in it! It's a good idea to get one for when we're away and maybe overnight as well although I have tried one outside, just by the cat flap and she refused to entertain the idea.

OP posts:
TheBlonde · 16/12/2006 23:27

What about putting the litter tray in the bathroom? Just until you can get her rehomed

Original poster
ProfYaffle · 16/12/2006 23:30

I was just pondering that. Our bathroom is exceptionally titchy though but we do have a little hallway where the catfood is, I could move the food and put it there, then shove it outside during the day.

Hmmmm ... I feel a trip to Pets at Home coming on.

OP posts:
CMac · 17/12/2006 09:25

That sounds like a plan - maybe wont have to be forever - just to 'break the cycle'. If she is being terrorised then it could be fear of going outside rather than territory marking so litter tray could help. I understand your reluctance although if my toddler is anything to go by the novelty soon wears off. Mine isn't interested in it anymore. Not great having to empty it while pregnant either (but a good excuse to get dh to do it I found!).
Does she go in the same places repeatedly? One trick that did seem to work was to lay aluminium foil over the area to stop them going back to it (hate the feeling on their feet apparantly). This worked for us although there's a limit to how much you want your home covered in foil... then again, could be quite a festive look! Might be worth laying some in your bath for a night or two - might stop her going back if she remembers it wasn't a nice feeling.

dontgivethedogsprouts · 17/12/2006 11:50

Those covered cat litter trays with the filter in the hood are good. Might not stop your toddler rummaging around in it completely, but it will be better than a 'normal' open tray. Oh dear, what a sad experience you're having with her. I hope you manage to get her successfully rehomed. When our cat was a kitten, he shat in the bath a couple of times, and in the upturned kiddy step in the bathroom! He must have thought it was a litter tray! I had a cat years ago, that used to jump up on the toilet and pee into the loo.

MamaG · 17/12/2006 11:55

My favourite thread title of the day so far

Original poster
ProfYaffle · 17/12/2006 19:15

Dh got home today after being away for the weekend and has hit the roof (especially as I shut the shower curtain, opened the window and left the mess for him to clear up!) The cat survived a night outside without any visible trauma, strolled in this morning with a very casual air, so he's all for shutting her outside every night and just letting her in during the day.

We've come up with a cunning plan over Xmas to shut her in a small hallway (with access to the cat flap) to minimise the mess. In the new year we'll ring around some other cat shelters we've found and see if we can re-home her.

CMac - we've done the foil thing as well, cat just pooed in a different room! dd enjoyed playing with the foil though.

Thanks to everyone for your help - glad to amuse MG

OP posts:
Suee · 18/12/2006 18:07

I feel sorry for your cat, talk of chucking her out and putting her down....she's timid and indoorish as you said... what a shame, she isn't crapping to piss you off!

my 19 year old cat also does this, bout 4 times a week and I just clean it up and clean the bath. If I go away, she won't do it more than twice in the bath so I dont come back to piles of it, only a couple of dried up ones. My cat hardly ever does it in the summer, and will never do it in the 3 litter trys around the house, only pees in them.

I think you can easily put up with this, as long as you clean bath before using it!

Original poster
ProfYaffle · 18/12/2006 18:13

I cannot 'easily' put up with the risk of toxoplasmosis killing my unborn baby and blinding my toddler.

You put up with it if you wish, I will not.

OP posts:
colditz · 18/12/2006 18:25

get a roofed litter tray and put it in the downstairs bathroom, and put a toddler gate on the bathroom door.

FWIW ds1 was a very fiddley toddler but he only touched the litter tray once, to see what was in it, and when he saw little piles of poo he was disgusted and never touched it asgain!

morocco · 18/12/2006 18:39

ah - a subject after my own heart! maybe like toddlers they are picking up on our pregnant vibe and misbehaving!! our cat is exactly the same and dh also wants to get her rehomed. we got her neutered last week in the hope it would stop some problems weeing everywhere (our bed etc) but she today has been pooing outside her litter box again and dh hit the roof (cos he has to clean it up). cos she was neutered she can't go out til Thursday so I'm gritting my teeth til then (otherwise she might get ringworm, which the kids can then catch - happened to our last cat) then that's it - the outdoors life for her! Why don't you try locking her out and see if she does cope? They're essentially wild animals so even if she has to go hide somewhere and skulk around, it's not so bad. Better than a cats home. Probably.
Anyway, sympathies, and sorry you're having exactly the same probs as us. I understand exactly!!

Suee · 18/12/2006 18:52

I think the risk of Toxoplasmosis is actually very small. Your cat has to have it in the first place anyway. If you wash your hands thoroughly after clearing up after it, there wont be a problem.

My cat was around before the kids, and it's part of having an indoorish cat, you either clear it's shit from a litter tray, or from the bath!

LorinaLovesSprouts · 18/12/2006 18:53

ProfYaffle how old is the cat ? Very young or old ?

Poor little thing must be very scared to do that in her own house.

Cat poo isnt nuclear waste. You will not go blind just by touching it. It has to be infected and you have to ingest it.It is a theoretical risk but really a tiny one.

Personally I think a pet is the same as a kid or a husband. Once they are in your family they are in it for life. Problems happen and you cope. You dont just jettison living creatures you love when they become hassle.

I know its hard. I've had babies and two cats with incontinence problems.
Good luck

Suee · 18/12/2006 18:54

Oh and if you give the cat Drontal tablet, its a one-off wormer that keeps them clear for 6 months, could not be a simpler way of staying worm-free and safe!

People too easily take on pets, and if they wont fit in perfectly, they get rid! Imagine if we pissed our kids off to an orphanage when they hit the terrible two's!

poinsettydog · 18/12/2006 18:56

Shut the bathroom door.

Better to try an indoor covered litter tray than have her shitting in the bath, I'd have thought.

Odd cat.

Suee · 18/12/2006 18:56

lorina, can I echo all you have said. A lot of people see pets as an accessory, not a living thing with real feelings. It has to 'fit in' or it can go.

Suee · 18/12/2006 18:58

No, not an odd cat, its very common and as i said, mine does it too. Cats have a thing for porcelain...just look here :

catsinsinks.com/

morocco · 18/12/2006 18:59

where do you get drontal from? the wormer our vets gave us has to be given every month? is this one stronger?

LemonTart · 18/12/2006 19:05

totally sympathise. We were at the end of our tether with a new baby and a toddler. our elderly cat started making a mess all over the house. It was dreadful. We loved her so much and she was so old but it became a real hygene risk. Unfortunately (or fortunately in some ways) she died whilst we were in the middle of discussing our options re rehoming or even putting her down as she was so elderly and vet was exploring health probs - concerned about pain levels. She died of a stroke
If she is fine outside then that is a great solution for nights at least. A friend of mine has an old belfast sink at the bottom of the garden that is his cat?s personal bathroom! Rather expensive option though..

poinsettydog · 18/12/2006 19:07

Oh noooooo, sueee. I don't want my cat to shit in the bath. Do they like nasty acrylic baths just as much?

Mind you, I shut it out of the bathroom. I shouldn't worry.

Original poster
ProfYaffle · 18/12/2006 20:56

Blimey, don't think any of my threads have ever been this popular!

Progress was made today as the cat actually used the litter tray for the first time - hoorah. If it continues the problem is solved, I'll just get a covered cat litter tray and put it outside during the day.

The accusation of taking pet ownership lightly is b*llocks to be frank. I've had numerous pets over the years and nursed several to doddery ends. In the grand scheme of things human safety comes first, my children will be prioritised over any animal and my cats certainly do not enjoy the same status as my husband! (Actually, I think I would divorce him if he crapped in the bath)

Believe it or not I'm aware you can't go blind from touching cat poo, I fully understand that toxoplasmosis has to be ingested but it's possible when there's so much crap all over the house for a tiny scrap to go unnoticed somewhere. Cat crap has already found it's way onto the kitchen table and it's not a huge leap of the imagination to wonder what would happen if dd drank bathwater from a bath the cat was using as a toilet.

The problem hasn't been as simple as shutting the bathroom door, she has a habit of pooing in a different place every day which provides us with endless fun searching for stinking turds all over the house.

Thanks to those who posted support, this thread has provided a fine opportunity to show off my feces related vocabulary.

OP posts:
Suee · 18/12/2006 20:58

You can get Drontal from a vet, also do a search on google to find a cheap price and you can buy it from an online vet.

MrMiaou · 19/12/2006 09:37

If you want to get her re-homed contact cats protection www.cats.org.uk/ tell them you need to get her re-homed, and that if you can't she will be put down (I prefer to say killed).

They will act pretty quickly in that sort of situation

HowTheFillyjonkStoleChristmas · 19/12/2006 09:51

ok have skimmed thread

in my professional life have met families deveastated by toxoplasmosis. No you can't, or at least almost certainly won't, go blind, and, I think, your toddler will be fine too. Not your db.

ProfYaffle you are doing totally the right thing. Your human family is much more important, IMO. Sorry if that offends anyone but...ffs!