I have a 3 year old Manx male cat. He is an inside house cat. He has never been outside very much. (He will not go out unless I pick him up and put him out.) The problem is he poops on the floor all the time sometimes as much as 3-4 times daily.
If your cat always eliminates in the same place, consider purchasing an enzyme-type cleaner to completely get rid of an odor only your cat notices. Try the "Callingallpets" website starting with WPR.org. Phone or e-mail the radio show to talk to an animal behaviorist. Good Luck!
Hi Alecia,
Some Manx cats do have bowel troubles. They just are not well enough developed at the end of their spine. It could be a problem like that. If he has no tail at all, called a "rumpy" (a tiny short tailed Manx is called a "stumpy".)
Here's something from http://www.vetinfo.com
"Q: Hi! I've looked through your website to try and find an answer to my problem, but haven't seen it addressed. Here goes: I have a 5 year old Manx (true Manx with no tail, just fuzz) who has developed a pooping problem over the past several months. He poops around the house, mostly solid, not in any particular place, just random. He does this for a few days and then won't for a few months. During this time, he also uses his litterbox. He never urinates in the house, though, always in the box. I have two other cats, and they all have their current shots, FIP, etc. They are all indoor cats, never go outside, and eat Science Diet Light Maintenance. I have taken Simon to the vet many times about this and she does a fecal float test and never finds any parasites or anything. I would appreciate any advice you could give me, because he's my "first born" kid :) Thank you very much, T. A: Manx cats are prone to fecal (stool) incontinence because they are often missing part of the nerve plexus that controls the rectal area as well as missing a tail. I do not know of a treatment for this. Many people use metamucil or Vetasyl type products to keep the stools firm and make them easier to manage but that is about all I know that can be done. Mike Richards, DVM "
I had 2 manx cats and one of them had this problem. He was also a male. He really couldn't help it. We just kept him outside a lot and kept him contained at night.
Susan from ThriftyFun
My manx kitty does the same thing but I think she does it because she is nervous or hates the dog. I tired several different types of litter and boxes. I understand your frustration. She is 13 years old and has only in recent years started this behavior.
It is a breed problem. I recommend isolating cat in bathroom when gone but otherwise monitoring them. Manx are such a delight to own but this can be a problem. I lived with hardwood floors so it wasn't so bad but with carpet it is a drag. Also IAM's products are best for the stools. Never give them people food or milk. Don't have Vet talk you into expensive Xrays either. They are smart cats and are not doing this on purpose.
HI, there is a powder used to treat swine for diarrhea and it is and old fashioned remedy, but it works. You can get it from a regular vet or if there is a pet pharmacy like we have here in Florida, they will be able to fix the proper dosage for you. It is used for Manx diarrhea and has been used for many years. We had to buy the smallest clear capsule to put it in, but it cleared up the diarrhea in no time.
Manx have bowel problems and have to be properly taken care of. The cat will not like the taste, I assure you, so wrap it in a piece of cheese or meat. Some kitties have to have this daily for awhile, so be very patient. And find a new vet who has actually dealt with the Manx breed. My last one was 19 years old. They are very special cats and deserve good care. They will return your love and affection.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
We adopted a kitten from the Humane Society and she is 4 1/2 months old. She easily trained to the litter box and used it fine for 2 months. Then 2 weeks ago she started defecating outside of the box (usually right next to or near it), but not in the box.
She urinates in the litter box just fine. Nothing has changed with her box or the litter. She's been to the vet and has no medical issues. Any suggestions? I cannot figure out why the sudden change in behavior and why she only uses the litter box to urinate. Please help, how do I get her to use the litter box for all eliminations?
By lilpaw from San Diego, CA
This is my first post. I grew up with cats and kittens are pretty easy to train. I don't know if this will work for yours, but what we would do was to pick up the poop and put it in the litterbox. They pretty much get the hint if you keep on doing it. Good luck!
I have several cats. I have 4 litter boxes. I scoop them out every day. It sounds strange, but one litter box always only has urine in it, never any poop. The poop is always in the other 3 boxes! Try adding another box. Good luck.
My first thought was add a second litter box, and I see most everyone has already mentioned that. Someone also mentioned not having too much litter in them. Very true! Cats do not like to sink up to their little ankles in the litter! Definitely scoop every day.
I have a 6 year old tabby cat that will pee in the litter pan, but poop on the floor near her litter pan (which is in the bathroom). It seems to me she does it when I clean out the litter pan and put fresh litter in it. How can I get her to use the litter pan to poop in it?
By Christy
My cat, also, hates using the litter box. I tried the shredded newspaper idea. He used it alright and every other newspaper in my house! Just make sure you put your 'good' newspaper where the kitty can't find it! :)
I have a 6 year old male cat that will pee in his litter box and for the last month won't poop in it. We have tried everything, changed the litter, changed the box, and added a second box with different litter. We thought he could be constipated, so we changed his diet and have been to the vet twice. When he pees and almost poops he runs out like he's scared and licks himself like it hurts. The last couple of times he digs on his bed and just poops like it's normal so I'm thinking there is something about the box he's scared of. Any ideas? We are at our wits end and it's not sanitary!
Did you change kitty litter brand recently then switch back to old litter. Something may have scared him while using the litter box.
Try moving the litter box. Make sure it has no smell to the litter. Cats don't like it.
Make sure the box is clean and has the right amount of cat litter.
Maybe, you could put down 2 boxes of litter in different locations around the house.
My 5 month old male kitten won't poop in the litter box. He always used to use the litter box, we never had a problem. Then the past couple days he started using the litter box for pee, but not poop. His box is very clean, so that is not the issue. He normally does it when someone is home. What could I do to get him back in the habit?
By Scarlet B.
Ok, when was the last time you cleaned that litter box? You must either scoop out the clumps and poo every day. If you are using old fashion clay litter you must clean daily and do a complete dump, wash and refill with fresh clay litter once a week. If you do not clean the box once a day and everyday (clay litter or 'scooping' litter), your pet will refuse to use the box and will opt for other locations.
Cats always smell about while deciding where they will do their business. You probably hate using a chemical toilet, right? Well try having a cats more sensitive nose and having to smell a dirty litter box. Yuck.
I have a 7 week old kitten. The lady I got him from said he was already litter box trained. When I got him home I helped him for several days as to where the box was and for several days now he poops in the box during the day, but at night he poops on my carpet. I clean his box several times during the day and just before I go to bed. Please help me with this.
You might try putting him in a small to medium sized room at night, with a litterbox and a small nightlight. I have found cats are more careful about what they do in a small space.
I have a special needs kitten who we named TommyLynn. She will not use the litter box, even if it's fresh litter. Can someone help me? She will pee and poop on our clothes, paper, and plastic bags. Basically anything sitting in our floor.
By Felicia
Your vet can help you with the kitty's problem. Have her evaluated for any possible medical problems and then the vet can assist with very good suggestions for you to teach kitty good kitty behavior.
It seems to be a common question but here we go, I have two cats about 8 months old and both of them defecate outside the litter, nowhere near the trays. They use the litter to urinate only.
They go outside, but come indoors to pee in the litter and poop on the floor. I have about 6 litter trays and have changed the litter type and am at a loss as to what to do. Please help!We adopted a senior cat who was having litter issues, for a while he would use the litter to pee, but poo on the floor, anywhere but the litter box. Your kitties are a bit young for this, but our cat got better when we added pumpkin to his diet, got a water fountain, and have cat grass for him to eat. We also limit his wet food.
The person who gave him up was only feeding him dry food, it caused constipation, which was incredibly painful (meowed in pain) so he associated the litter box with pain. We bought pure canned pumpkin (Not pumpkin pie filling) and started mixing it into his wet food. It goes bad quite quickly in the fridge, so we make pumpkin cubes in a spare icecube tray. We mix 2 cubes with water, it lasts about 2 days. However you will need to start out with a small amount of just pumpkin first. We also took him off the high fiber dry food (and let his vet know), and now limit his dry food intake. His litter use isn`t perfect, but we can quickly correct when he`s had too much dry food or too many treats.
There`s a theory that carbs are not for cats, they only need meat and fat and the little bit of grain that would be in the tummies of the mice or birds that they`d hunt in the wild. Hope this helps. Caveat: litter avoidance can have a medical cause, so they do need to see a vet FIRST! (You can also ask your vet about adding a small amount of Restoralax to his wet food)
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