# Cat hates going poop



## applepuff (Nov 26, 2012)

Hi Folks,

Really hope people could give us some advice on this.

We have a 2 year old male cat, he is a bengal cross that we adopted and we have had him since he was 12 weeks old.

He is an INDOOR cat, he is fully housebroken, he pees and poops in exactly the right place every time, he hasn't had an 'accident' in over a year.

However, the poor guy seems to really hate going poop, we always know when he needs one as he runs around the house for 15-20 mins before he goes. Its as if he is trying to hold it in, and can't stay still or it will come out. He will also cry and complain, but as soon as he's been he will go and relax after his 'ordeal'.

As he's always done this, we've tried changing lots of food types/brands and he has been checked by a vet so we know it is a psychological problem. He has a healthy appetite and does not have any other problems in terms of behaviour or psychological. We've tried praising him, with treats while and after he goes but this has had no impact.

He just hates going and puts it off for as long as he can hold it in.

Any advice to make the little guy feel more comfortable about going?

Thanks


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## Talia (Nov 17, 2012)

Hi

Welcome to the forum.

My cat also goes a bit 'loopy' before he does a poo.

Does he seem happy with the litter tray itself? Presume it's in a quiet corner, sheltered and he digs/covers? 

You could perhaps also try a feliway diffuser nearby. 

Be careful not to feed him very rich foods, such as Go Cat or Whiskas, and try not to change brands once you have found a food he is happy with.


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## applepuff (Nov 26, 2012)

Hi, 

Thank you for your reply.

He eats Purina as this is his favourite, we have tried him on other foods but this one suits him best. Sorry if you are about to eat but his poops are 'normal' solid log shapes. I'm 100% the problem is psychological.

He goes for a pee in the same place without any complaining... its just the poop he doesn't like to do.

Interesting you mention digging, as he will try and dig 3 or 4 times before he is happy with his decision... this is our first cat so I assumed this was (can be) normal behaviour? He covers normally i.e. (paw, paw, paw, paw, sniff, paw, paw, paw, paw)

You also mention a feliway diffuser but he's normally very laid back. He will have a very short play with his toys then sleep on the window ledges for most of the day. He doesn't ever get stressed or hyper or run around except for when he has to go poop.


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## Ianthi (Oct 21, 2008)

applepuff said:


> Interesting you mention digging, as he will try and dig 3 or 4 times before he is happy with his decision..


This made me laugh out loud! ( Welcome to PF, Applepuff!)

I've certainly seen and ( heard about ) similar rituals after using the tray but not before. In addition 15-20 minutes is a long time. Unless he's showing any discomfort during the process an aversion to actually going is unlikely in my opinion. However, I do wonder if he's experiencing some in the interval before he uses the tray which could explain and trigger the unusual behaviour. Also IME the only reason cats hold on is when they'd denied access to where they normally urinate/defecate and then it's not uncommon for stools to be runny.


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## Fluffymum (Apr 7, 2012)

One of our cats is very sensitive gut wise to grains, cats arent meant to have them anyway as they are carnivores and need meat not grain and vegetables etc that most pet food companies fill their foods with, she did have a stage of being very distressed just before doing a poo and it would have blood in it sometimes or be loose, we changed the food to grain free and the more high quality foods from zooplus e.g. animonda carny and offer raw foods and the problem went away, if they do have foods with grain (if we run out before the order comes and have to get food in quickly, butchers shut etc) she does tend to have some issues with her bowels sometimes, the others have had problems like this before with whining before going poo etc, I do put it down to low quality food or something theyve had outside that's disagreed with them, raw food completely changed their bowels and litter tray activity; they hardly went at all! 
Have you had him checked at the vets?


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

The behaviour you describe doesn't sound to me like a psychological problem, but much more like a physical one. 

It could be that he maybe gets spasms in his bowel before he defecates, or 
painful pressure building up. 

It could also be if you are feeding him dry food that he is not drinking enough fluids to help his bowel work comfortably.

A diet of Purina contains grains, which are indigestible for cats, and are only there in the food as "fillers". A cat does not need them, he needs meat. My suggestion would be to switch him to a wet food diet that is high in meat content, such as Hilife Poultry flavours.

Where there is any kind of bowel problem, I would not give the cat any dry food personally, because of the hydration issue. Cats are not good drinkers, and have evolved to get most of their fluids from their foods. But if you are determined to feed some dry food, then at least choose a grain free make such as Orijen, Applaws, Acana or Porta 21.


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## cookiemom (Jun 23, 2011)

applepuff said:


> Hi,
> 
> He goes for a pee in the same place without any complaining... its just the poop he doesn't like to do.


Try getting him another tray, maybe consider a covered one so he has more privacy. Most adult cats prefer to pee in one place and poo in another.


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