# Cat Pooing at night/in the morning



## ehab563utd (Jan 19, 2013)

Hello all,

Thank you first of all for taking your time to read this. 
I'm having a few troubles with our new kitten.

Most of the time he is lovely, apart from the odd scratch here and there when he's excited. Unfortunately there is one gripe though, he is persistently pooing in the middle of his room in the mornings. this has happened every day for at least 2 months.

a little more information on the environment:

He was born August 6th 2012, so is incredibly young at the time of writing
He eats well and has recently been assessed as a healthy kitten
he is a cross bread with a tabby cat and a black cat
we take him to his room (which doubles as a utility room during the day) at night
he is fed regularly and is provided food in the utility room
his cat litter tray is in the utility room
he never goes to the toilet other than outside (When we let him play outside for a few hours in the morning) and his own litter tray

We have asked some individuals about this, and they have mentioned that he may not like the depth of the litter, so we increased the size.
they also suggested that it may be the texture, so we changed the type of litter (gradually).
they also suggested that he might be neutered (he's not old enough yet but we're debating this).
And this post: http://www.petforums.co.uk/cat-training-behaviour/285060-cat-poos-carpet-night.html mentioned that he may be afraid of something outside (foxes hang about near our garden but they wouldn't know he's there, we check during the night anway).

We are really puzzled about this, I know I've missed something out but please assist where you can. 
Does anyone have stories on how they solved this problem? is there someone who may have an idea? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Kind regards,

ehab564UTD


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## ehab563utd (Jan 19, 2013)

just remembered one last thing:
The entire house is either laminated flooring or tiled. his room is tiled.
also we've tried to put newspapers all over the floor.
ah, and we've tried to give him seperate litter trays (one for each need) and he uses both regularly. 

i've thought of possibly moving one tray to the middle, to the exact spot of where he poos every morning.


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## ehab563utd (Jan 19, 2013)

Anyone there? My cat literally just done it. it's definitely out of fear/rebellion. He doesn't want to be alone and it seems that we should be watching/being there for him at all times. however we can't let him roam around the house at night yet, as he's still young and probably requires training for that. 
we really need to get this problem as soon as possible.

once again, any ideas would be greatly appreciated.


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## auspiciousmind (Sep 2, 2012)

I'm using my phone so I apologise for the quick short reply.. 

What room is the cat pooing in? If its NOT the utility room perhaps its because sh/she doesnt want to poo in the litter tray in the same room as her food? 

Is she using the litter tray during the day? For wee or poo?

What are u using to clean disinfect the area where she is toileting in?
A lot of people on here recommend vinegar and/ or bio detergent, citrus smells might put her off too?

What sort of litter have you tried? My button hates / refuses to use wood pellets.


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## kimberleyski (Nov 7, 2012)

I wonder if it is because he is tired as it's at night and he hasn't got time to find the litter tray. 
We had problems with Frank when we got him as he was very young too. We made sure we had a litter tray downstairs and upstairs so he never had to go far to find one.

We also brought the kitten litter from Pets at home. It gives off a stronger scent so a kitten can find it easier. It isn't a brilliant cat litter as litter goes and doesn't smell very nice once it's wet. But we put up with it until we knew Frank was confident and we had no accidents. Now we've changed, and he's still fine. 

As the other post said it might also be that his litter tray is too close to his food. 

Frank has always had the run of the house and it much happier with that arrangement as he's not lonely at night. Maybe you could try giving him the run of the house and see how it goes?


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## Tao2 (Sep 9, 2012)

Definitely move the litter tray to where he is doing it. 

Why can't you give him run of the house? Is it because you are worried that he is not properly house trained? You seem convinced that he is doing it because he doesn't like being locked up at night. So maybe worth trying giving him run of the house to see if this is the issue. In any case, I would always give cats maximum space, they don't like to be locked up, why would they? Hope you get this problem sorted!!


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## Vikkineal (Jan 4, 2013)

We were having a similar problem with Ziggy Stardust. He'd use his litter box throughout the day, but during the night (when he was kept in the lounge) he just started to go on our long pile rug. 

We thought it might be because the rug resembled litter - and after a few more accidents (with a poorly stomach) we had to chuck it. Yet the pooing on the floor continued.

We went through trying new litter, leaving the light on (if he was scared) etc etc and what actually solved the problem was a new MUCH bigger litter box. The problem stopped straight away. 

Someone suggested to me that you could try moving his food to where he was going to the toilet - especially if it's always in the same spot?


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

I agree with the previous poster. Continue giving him 2 litter boxes but make one of them much bigger, so he has plenty of room to dig and bury. I'd put one of the trays on the spot where he has been pooing on the floor. 

By pooing on the floor he not being difficult or mean -- he is trying to tell you he is unhappy about something, and wants you to put it right. I know interpreting "cat language" is not always easy. 

Most utility rooms are quite small, so unless yours is one of the galley type (long and narrow) the risk is that kitty's food and water bowl are too near his litter tray. Personally I would not shut a kitten or a cat into such a small space over night -- can he not be shut in the kitchen instead?


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## Kyria (Oct 29, 2011)

It is usually the humans fault that the cat wont use the litter tray.

He is deffinately trying to tell you something...I agree with Chillminx, try to move his food and water bowl far away from the litter tray.


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

I agree with all that has been said - also time to get him neutered. My kittens were born on the 10th Aug 2012 and were neutered in November.


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## ehab563utd (Jan 19, 2013)

Ahh I see where there was a misunderstanding here:

He poos next to the box (however yesterday it was in the middle of our corridor). 
We don't use vinegar however we don't use citrus smells, nothing like that really. 

We try to get his food away from his litter tray, however this room of his is small so he will definitely find it. 

It seems that he doesn't poo incorrectly during the day, or even the night, he only does it early in the morning alone - so it seems that he only does it in distress. However last night's one was puzzling though - he was so happy. 

I'm thinking of giving him a run of the house, as some of you said, but unfortunately I need to convince the head of the house. He definitely gets annoyed with being locked up at night but we thought he is used to it now. 

Thinking of opening up the second living room, as it is incredibly small however the entire house may still be early days. 

We thought of neutering him but the only place we know would get rid of his testicles, and he's now attached to them. I'm going to look for a vet clinic that may do the injection way. 

Thank you all so much for your assistance! It is one of those situations where we know that we are wrong but don't know how to fix it. 
I apologise for the delay as work had consumed my time recently.

Once again thank you all! I appreciate this incredibly. 

Regards,

Ehab


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## Sassi (Feb 8, 2013)

I don't speak from much experience because I am on my first cat, but I really think you should give him the run of the house. He is definitely not too young. Our little girl is a month younger than yours and has had the run of the house day and night since she was 13 weeks. She loves it. It sound like your boy is telling you exactly what he wants and I'll bet he will reward you if you respond to the training he is giving you. Just a couple of tips:

1. I clip Sassi's claws regularly which alleviated concerns about too much damage. So far she has been no trouble at all though.

2. Do cat-proof all the rooms. Remove sharp objects, get rid of loose string / fraying fabric, lock down medicine cupboards bathroom bins etc.. (Sassi got hold of some dental floss because I was not careful enough and that could have been fatal).

3. Place several cat beds around the house until he tells you which he prefers then teach him the route from his chosen bed to the litter tray etc.

Good luck - John.


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## ehab563utd (Jan 19, 2013)

Hi John,

I like the Ideas, thanks! I will try this and will also try to get back to everyone about this soon. 

Much appreciated all!

regards,

ehab563UTD


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## Treaclesmum (Sep 26, 2011)

ehab563utd said:


> Ahh I see where there was a misunderstanding here:
> 
> He poos next to the box (however yesterday it was in the middle of our corridor).
> We don't use vinegar however we don't use citrus smells, nothing like that really.
> ...


You are joking, right? 

So he is 5 months old..... my male cat was 5 months old when neutered and most male cats are neutered at 6 months old. So what do you mean 'attached' to them??! :confused5:

Neutering really does calm down a cat's behaviour. Pooping in the wrong place is one of the well known ways that tom cats assert their authority over their territory. I had a tom cat when I was a child and he would sometimes poo in odd places, it wasn't very nice! If you get him neutered I am sure this will stop.

My cats all sleep in the living room at night, but they have each other's company and they don't seem to mind. If he is your only cat, he may be lonely and bored on his own.


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