Please help... My cat keeps shitting on the kids beds

[AnitaManeater]

As the title says really. My ginger soon to be castrated tom keeps shitting all over the beds. I have already spent almost £80 replacing duvets and bedding this month, we are on our 5th incident and I cannot cope anymore. The children are in my bed after being bathed as the animal shat all over them too while they were asleep. The door must have been ajar as it's normally closed and he's snuck in. He has a clean litter tray and access to the outside. We have a feliway diffuser too which works wonders for my other cat.

I'm facing another night on the sofa with the whir of the washing machine and smell of disinfectant.

What can I do to stop him? I can't go on like this. My partner wants to take him to a shelter and I'm gutted but think it might be the only way forward for us. I suspect it might mean he will end up being PTS if he does it there

How old is he?

I only ask his age as if he's been entire for a long time that might be making him act oddly, and castration might sort it out. I'm clutching at straws though.

It's normally a stress-related thing though. Can you think of anything that might be stressing him?

He is 16 months old. He's booked for castration on the 7th as he got into a big fight about 10 days ago and also I have had an angry neighbour round saying he's been spraying in her conservatory!

Five incidents and you're considering taking him to a shelter, to possibly be put to sleep????? Disgusting!!! People like you really shouldn't be allowed to have pets!!! Hope the poor little thing finds a loving home and feels better soon!

Have you told him he's going to be castrated? why wasn't he done before? Quite unusual to let an entire tom roam the neighbourhood fathering kittens left, right and centre.

Seriously, hopefully that will sort him out but in the meantime strict keeping doors shut might keep it at bay. When did this start and how often does it happen? Cat poo on the kids is pretty gross, no wonder you are at the end of your tether.

super kind of *therighttoshoes' to volunteer to take your cat! what a sweetheart- i am sure she will be pm ing you her contact details any time now

seriously, that is rubbish. if castration doesn't put an end to the shittery, i think you do need to get rid - i don't know that cats are trainable in the way dogs are.

whatever mumsnet might think, i really is not unreasonable to expect to sleep in your own bed, and not be shat on. i think especially so, if you are a child.

That is one of the most disgusting things I've heard on mumsnet. If it was a bloke, you know what everyone would say.

Ltb

Hopefully, having him neutered will sort much out for you so I think you have to give that a chance to see if it will work. (He should really have been done about 10/11 months ago and the fact that you have an entire tom around could be leading to all sorts of territoriality issues - including the spraying on the neighbour's conservatory.)

Can I just check - is his poo a tad liquid? (You talked about him pooing all over the kids as they were asleep which almost suggests that it wasn't a couple of nice firmish bits which came out.)

Also - have you had him chipped and got a microchip cat flap? If he's been in a big fight, there's likely another mean tom around so it might be best to get a chip cat flap installed to prevent any future problems. (Getting him chipped, if he's not already, would just be standard and could be done while he's having his neutering op. A chip cat flap isn't that cheap (about £60-£70) but the actual chipping is probably less than £20 and should really be done automatically, especially as he goes outside.

Is your other cat chipped and neutered as well?

Therightoshoes... I'm at my wits end here. Cleaning up a screaming 4yr old at midnight is awful, especially when it's cat diarrhoea. I suspected someone might come along with that kind of response. I'm posting here because I'm hoping someone else might have a good idea of what is causing this behaviour so I can fix it. If I didn't give a toss he would have been gone after the first incident.

I know he should have been castrated as a kitten. I have a selection of poor excuses. He's booked in for the 7th Feb now though.

I'll look into a chip operating cat flap. We don't have a cat flap at all currently. It could well be another tom agitating him. One likes to sit at the back door waiting for him which is quite menacing. Not seen that one for a few weeks though.

DP is slightly calmer this morning and off to buy a second feliway plug in

Try putting a second (or third) litter tray out. Some toms won't share. Our little female kitten would do this sometimes when our (castrated) boy cat chased her away from the litter tray.

Try adding a tiny amount of the disinfectant you use (diluted) on the litter tray. Add strong citrussy smells to your children's bedding. Peel an orange and let the zest go on the covers. Cats hate this smell.

Yiu could find getting a cat flap is the answer, it was for us.

Ah - so it is diarrhoea? You've got two problems then. (The territory thing and also the content of the pooing.) He's likely being caught very short as well as everything else.

It's very difficult to feel positive about an animal that's putting diarrhoea over sleeping places but you need to remember that he'll be unhappy about his situation as well as you. Cats are naturally clean animals and he won't like his life that much at the moment especially because he'll know he's in disgrace for it. (The family would have to be very strong and patient indeed not to direct a few choice thoughts/words in his direction after the incidents.)

Can you put any timing to his diarrhoea? I'm wondering whether he's eating something he shouldn't and having a bad reaction. (Mention it to the vet as well so that they can check for infections while he's up there.) What food is he on?

My other cat has been spayed but not chipped. She wears a collar with a tag. She is 11 and until recently a house cat. The cats rub along together pretty well and will share a sofa.

What yego said. Another litter tray - away from the other one. And keep those litter trays spotlessly clean. If my cat's litter tray becomes too dirty (read one wee & poo in it) she starts crapping on the floor of ds1's bedroom.

Sometimes cat flaps can stress cats out (as they can let bully cats in - so ensure it's one way or selective if you do get one) so you might want to try the other solutions (extra/clean litter tray & citrus in the kids room) before the cat flap (which I agree could work - especially if he prefers going outside).

I have 2 cats & our set up is a cat flap set to out only - one cat likes going outside. And 2 litter trays in the same place next to each other, so if I'm busy & the cat wants to use the tray twice in a short period of time she'll have a clean tray to go in. Some cats are very fussy about substrate as well - so make sure it's his preferred one in the trays.

One of our cats had an accident on dd's bed so we sprayed catnip in the room which seemed to work as we've had no accidents since

Ok will add a second litter tray to the pampurred pets order. Thank you re the cat flap, will have a look at them too. I'm a bit scared of installing one but I guess it's something a handyman could do easily :)

I'll ask at the vets but his diet is quite consistent. They both have dry food as older cat can't stomach wet food. Usually James Wellbeloved but occasionally whiskas complete in an emergency. When he poos on the beds it's always runny.

I'll get the jif lemon out on the duvet once it's out the machine. I'm going to get a 99p shower curtain to cover each bed during the day too.

Stress
Territory issues (dominant cat outside)
Dietary/stomach issues
Intact Tom

Felliway, microchip cat flap (they really are brilliant), vet appointment re bad tummy, castration, two litter trays, closing children's door firmly (this is his poo place now) and the tip about the orange (a few dabs of bergamot oil might help too). Once you have a micro-chipped cat flap can the cats be confined to a kitchen at night - you could put a magnet flap on an internal door for your girl so she has the run of the house at night but can also get out to poo.

Poor you - I would be upset too and had similar with an elderly 11 year old female tortie when we moved years and years ago and she settled badly and didn't like being terrorized (combined with a baby with asthma). The vet suggested CPL who were "off" when I contacted them and I went as far as getting a quote for a heated cat run to be built in the garden when the vet rang to say he had PTS an old lady's cat; an old lady who wanted an elderly cat because homing issues when she died.

So what's changed recently?

Possibly a new cat that you don't know about?

But you say your second cat was a house cat till recently? So she's now going outside? I wonder if that's upsetting him for some reason?

My cat shat on the beds when it had infected anal glands (something dogs usually get) and it was easily treated by the vet. I know this sounds stupid, but if it smells worse than normal cat poo it might be that- think the kind of stench that you can smell 2 floors away.
Another cat I have was too scared to go outside because of another cat and shat inside.

What food do you have him on? That could be the cause.

In your situation (cat pissing on the cooker rings) this is what the vet/psychologist told me.

It's likely to be territorial/stress (get a vet to check yours though).
Get a puppy crate from Argos
Put a bed, food and water bowls and a litter tray in it.
Put the cat in it.
The cat will have no option but to 'go' in the litter tray.
When I asked if it was cruel he said no because it makes the cat feel secure.
He advised covering the crate with a blanket and removing the blanket partially for a little longer each day until it could be removed fully.

In the meantime, I'd soak the bedding in a strong Napisan solution to get the smell out properly and for hygene reasons.

When I have posted this before, lots of people found it unacceptable. Personally, I'm glad I took the qualified specialist's advice. Because it worked.

Wow, the puppy crate idea.. Never heard of that before. What about exercise etc? Do you just pop them in the crate at night? What about interaction etc? genuine questions. A puppy crate did cross my mind for nighttime only.

When the cat is indoors, it's in the crate. When it needs exercise, it is put outside. Simple. In the short term, it should be ok re interaction. My cat was neutered and older than yours though. It coped with 6 other cats but the arrival of DS1 sent him over the edge.