Could my cat be stressed?

[pinksparkly]

Looking for some advice with my 2 year cat. He's always been an outdoor cat and we only use the litter tray if we have to keep him for some reason ie visit to vet.
We have just been on a weeks holiday and on 6th night he did a 'poop' in the house, now two days later he has done the same in exactly the samespot.
He has full access to the outside and uses a chipped cat flap which he has happily used since he was small.

We had family coming twice a day to visit and feed him.

Could he be stessed? How can I stop him doing again?
Coule there be another reason?

Any help or advice greatly appreciated

Yes, he is stressed, so maybe get a Feliway plug-in and make extra fuss of him for a few days.

It could also be that another cat has moved in locally, and is threatening his outside territory.

Not sure if he's stressed or making a dirty protest about not being happy you were away

Yes, definitely sounds like stress.

I know people joke about "dirty protests" but cats just don't have the capacity to think like that.

When you went on holiday, how much did his feeding routine change? Did family stay and spend any time with him? Did he have access to his cat flap as normal?

Thanks everybody didn't think about another cat moving in I will keep an eye out and get him a plug in. His feeding routine didn't change much as he always has dry food available, and has wet food twice a day. He usually sleeps all day, out at night mostly. He does like being around us until it goes dark and always has his dreamie treats about 10 oclock so perhaps he has missed the company. He's not a lap cat but does like being nearby. He did have access to his cat flap so dont think that was a problem.

Extra cuddles and dreamies then and see how it goes .

Yes he was probably stressed - cats DO suffer from separation anxiety, even the ones that aren't 'lapcats'. They have no sense of time and can't understand that you will return. People joke about cats being aloof and only caring about being fed but that really isn't my experience at all.

I'd only leave a cat for 2 nights maximum with someone coming in to feed - my catsitter also spends half an hour playing with/cuddling cat. (Tempcat is indoors only and very human oriented so needs a bit more than some cats would).

I would really encourage you to either get a house/cat sitter next time you go away or put him in a cattery where he'll get more attention.