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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Original poster

Can't cope with cat any more - what can we do?

131 replies

nostaples · 28/12/2017 20:49

Hi, we adopted a cat a few years ago. She was a stray kitten and we took her on after nobody claimed her following posters etc. She wasn't chipped. We've had her neutered. All well and then a couple of years ago she stopped toileting outside so we have a litter tray. Not great but could put up with that. Now she has stopped using her litter tray and craps all over the bathroom floor. Have tried everything - changing tray more regularly etc but there is a limit as we both work full time long hours. If we give her up what can we do? Do we have to have her put down or will an animal shelter take her on? Thanks in advance.

OP posts:

AnneElliott · 28/12/2017 22:28

Have you tried Feliway? My cats do find that useful if they're stressed for any reason.

NotTheQueen · 28/12/2017 22:30

Hi OP.

Firstly, take a deep breath, you’ve come looking for advice and have been repeatedly clobbered around the ears.

I’m going to say some of what’s been said already but here’s my two pence worth.

generally it’s recommended that you have at least two trays for a cat, although this isn’t always feasible.
you’ve said you’ve tried several different litter brands, could I ask how long for? It can take a bit of adjustment
if she’s pooping outside the tray, could I ask if the cat flap has a chip preventing other visitors? It could be that there’s a daytime intruder and she’s trying to stake her claim (I know when my male cat is being a bastard to my female cat as he stops burying as an attempt to dominate)
have you upgraded the tray as the cat has grown? Our fat arse uses a tray similar in size to a doghouse
have you tried transferring the poop to the tray, so the odour moves too? (The enzyme killer is a very, very, good idea!)
have you tried feliway? It’s a pheromone spray for cats You can get it as a room spray and as a diffuser plug in. We didn’t have much luck with the room spray but really notice the difference in the diffuser for our more timid, moody female cat.
does anyone spend time playing with the cat? Dragging a bit of ribbon around or playing with a feather dangler can help a reassure a cat.
did the vet run any tests eg blood, urine tests?

Again, you’re trying to resolve the problem so pat yourself on the back, dust yourself off, and keep asking for advice.

Regularsizedrudy · 28/12/2017 22:31

Yes the fact it’s just poo is odd. Perhaps suggests it’s territorial? Is it a male or female? Is perhaps another cat getting into the house and winding her up so she feels the need to mark excessively? Five poos in one day is very very odd. All my cats have done 1 a day maximum

Regularsizedrudy · 28/12/2017 22:34

Oh also! Does she have a window she likes to look out of while your at work? My old male cat would look at the window but when he saw other cats on his territory he was too cowardly to confront them but would get so annoyed he would spray in the house!

NotTheQueen · 28/12/2017 22:35

I’d agree that the volume / frequency of pooping is odd. Our two would poop one or two times a day, but mostly they wee - much like humans.

At the risk of being grubby, are they firm or sloppy?

Oliversmumsarmy · 28/12/2017 22:39

Mine stopped using a litter tray and went by the side of it because she was beginning to get arthritis and couldn't get her legs over the tray.
We used bed wetting pads on the floor near the tray.

Spare a thought for your poor cat. They are very clean and it must be upsetting for them to not be clean

expatmigrant · 28/12/2017 22:50

You need to take her to the vets. We also have 2 rescue cats we had not planned for and one of them now has chronic kidney disease and she could also have a urinary infection. It will cost you about £200 for blood tests etc but it will be worth it to make sure she is ok. Do you have any idea how old she is?

Weedsnseeds1 · 28/12/2017 22:57

If you think it might be other cats stressing her, can you pull the curtains on the side of the house where the other cats hang out?
Also agree that bleach is the wrong thing for cleaning up. Biological washing powder or specialist spray from the pet shop.

Weedsnseeds1 · 28/12/2017 22:58

Let Also is the tray covered or open? Try using the opposite kind.

ItsYuleyme · 28/12/2017 23:04

Veteruinari - I gave my opinion, which I am entitled to do, I might not be an expert in cat behaviour but I know what I would not put up with in my house.
I said, what I would do! I did not advise OP to follow my advise, that is up to them.

VictoriaPeach · 28/12/2017 23:15

Ah all these posters who'd not raise an eyebrow at their home being used as a giant litter tray. It sounds absolutely disgusting OP and obviously isn't something you can keep on tolerating. Why the hell should you? It's unhygienic and revolting

I'd restrict access to just a room or two if you can. Make sure litter trays spotless and have two. Pop cat outside frequently.

Not sure what else to suggest but sympathies. And yes I'm a cat owner and no I wouldn't be able to put up with this once I'd exhausted all avenues

nooka · 28/12/2017 23:21

One of our cats started pooing all over the place in his old age and our vet told us that he probably was going senile. He was also caterwauling at random times and obviously not happy. We ended up having to keep him in our utility room at all times except when supervised which wasn't great but after waking up a few times to hear/smell him pooing under my bed I wasn't prepared to give him the run of the house anymore.

yamadori · 28/12/2017 23:27

Sounds like a stress response to me. Also, perhaps you could gradually introduce dry food (such as Iams or Hills) + a bowl of water as that might dry things up a bit(!) and is better for the cat in the long run than wet food.

I second the idea of the Feliway - you can get a spray which you can use anywhere in the house, and also a plug-in one which could be used in the kitchen, since that is near the bathroom. Cats often use the bathroom when all else fails - they seem to have a sense that at least it is the right room for that sort of thing. Yes, cats do often re-soil a place that has been cleaned with bleach and lots of other cleaning fluids, particularly if they are ammonia-based. We have always used 'My Little Friend' pet cage disinfectant - maybe you could try that to clean the bathroom floor.
Hope you can find a way to sort this out.

BulletFox · 28/12/2017 23:29

OP I googled middening and there were quite a few threads on the cat site dot com.

So is this what my cat's doing? She's not doing random poos (although she did once in the shower, after I'd bleached it, shower door firmly shut now) but since we moved to a small place she follows me into the bathroom and miaws at me whilst I'm on the loo

Good luck with it :)

MrMeSeeks · 29/12/2017 00:39

I'd try a feliway diffuser incase she's stressed, a spray and spray any areas that she's pooing in.
I'd also go back to the vet as 5 times a day is not normal.
I'd look at food, if she's getting older then that food may no longer be good for her.
You could try encore, applaws, or tesco (premium) wetfood are all good ( just mainly fish or chicken)
Or dry food, james well beloved, applaws, royal canin, hills prescription.

Devilishpyjamas · 29/12/2017 01:13

I reckon stress as well because both of my cats that have done this have been stressed (for different reasons). The one that peed everywhere had been inherited with the house (started after the neighbours decked their garden). We went back & forth to the vet. We spoke to a behaviourist. We tried different ways of cleaning. We looked to rehomf her (no chance). In the end we decided to put her down. The real issue we had was that where she was peeing a lot (bottom step) was where our then 5 year old severely autistic son kept insisting on eating his dinner (& when a child is non-verbal, severely autistic you can’t move stuff that easily).

Vet agreed and we arranged a day. Called her that morning and she didn’t come (first time ever) so had to cancel the appointment. She never (& I swear this is true) peed in the house again. so she had a reprieve and a few more years with us before dying of natural causes

GardenGeek · 29/12/2017 01:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Veterinari · 29/12/2017 08:51

Veteruinari - I gave my opinion, which I am entitled to do, I might not be an expert in cat behaviour but I know what I would not put up with in my house.

Absolutely. I just think it’s a shame when people think it’s more important to voice their uninformed opinions and risk an aninal’s life than than to actually educate themselves. But as you’d rather euthanase your pet than investigate a treatable behavioural/Medical problem, I guess we’re unlikely to agree. I’m simply pointing out that I think it’s unreasonable for you to encourage others to do the same, and hoping that you don’t actually own a pet if your reaction is to kill them as soon as they become inconvenient.

ItsYuleyme · 29/12/2017 10:10

Veterinary = I do actually have a dog and a cat at this moment and have had cats and dogs for the last 50 years.
All my dogs have lived to 14/15 and my two previous cats both lived to over 20.
As I said, I love animals but I could not put up with a dirty animal in my house.

And if i had tried everything and a cat was shitting in my house 5times a day as the OP has stated.
Then cat would have to go.

What sort of houses do people live in where its ok to have cat shit all over the house.

Bumbumtaloo · 29/12/2017 11:54

One of our cats had cat dementia and the first sign that something was wrong with her was the pooing in the house, she did then go on to develop other signs.

strangerhoes · 29/12/2017 12:01

Get rid of it OP.
Offer it to one of the many cat mad weirdos on this thread who are happy to live in cat shit.

BulletFox · 29/12/2017 12:45

strangerhoes you're not a cat mad weirdo for wanting to take one on and keep it safe and loved.

OP is obviously at the end of her tether (cat poo isn't pretty) and people are trying to suggest practical solutions to help both owner and cat.

Veterinari · 29/12/2017 13:08

Its clear the OP has not ‘tried everything’ regardless of what she’s said. If you read the thread you can see this.

She's cleaning with bleach rather than an enzymatic cleaner - this encourages toileting and will be exacerbating the problem. Fortunately thanks to constructive advice on this thread she’s now able to change her cleaning products instead of moving on to euthanasia as some PP have suggested as the next step

It’s unclear how many litter trays are provided.
It’s unclear whether she's Consulted a behaviourist.
It’s unclear whether she’s used feliway, zylkene or other approaches to reduce her cats territorial anxiety.

Without this info simply assuming that she’s tried everything (because she says so) and opting for euthanising the cat seems a bit hasty to me.

I agree that no one wants to live in a house with Cat poo. Which is why I’d advocate actual treatments for this treatable problem rather than just death.

Veterinari · 29/12/2017 13:10

ItsYule it appears your DPets managed normal lifespans because they didn’t have the misfortune to suffer any unpleasant but treatable medical or behavioural conditions. Congratulations.

BulletFox · 29/12/2017 13:17

Veterinari please don't rise to people trying to antagonise - pets should be for life.

I've learnt a few things from this thread and it's obvious OP would keep the cat on if not for random pooing, hopefully she'll try some of the suggestions and things will improve

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