Cat stopped pooing in litter tray - maybe TMI coming up...

[Sharptic]

Our kitten was litter trained when we had him at 3 months.

He's now 8 months and over the last few weeks has refused to poo in his litter tray! He goes next to the tray or at my front or back door 😖

He will wee in his tray though no problems there!

He doesn't have to share his tray, its in the downstairs toilet and he always has access to it. Its the same when the tray is freshly cleaned or slightly soiled. He's a bit sensitive bowel wise so as long as he's had no treats his poo is normal, either way he won't use his tray!

I've tried putting a spare tray elsewhere so he has a choice of two. He's been going outside for a couple of weeks and still comes home to poo on my floor! Won't do it outside

Any advice?

First, get a vet to check him. If pooing is painful for any reason, including constipation, it could be that his little cat brain is thinking "poo in litter box = pain, poo somewhere else = maybe not pain?"

If he has no health issues, then it's behavioural. Try offering a spare tray with a different type of cat litter so he has a choice - he might just not like pooping on the usual stuff. Try offering an empty litter box to see if he'll poo in there on the plastic. If all else fails, try to dissuade the pooing by putting aluminium foil down in the usual places - cats hate treading on it.

Thank u, I'll take ur advice. Fingers crossed

Good luck. I hope he stops