# Cat pooping and peeing inside the house instead of the yard



## Shimmy89 (Jul 28, 2017)

I have a 9 year old cat who always pooped and peed outside the house in the yard, we trained her to do so since she was a lil kitten. She would go outside dig up, poop, cover it up and come back in. But now all of a sudden she doesn't go out anymore and instead soils the house. 
I'm not sure why but I have a theory. Another cat gave birth to a kitten and they live around our yard and I think they are marking their territory so she doesn't like going outside anymore. Could that be a reason? What other reasons could explain her sudden change in behavior?


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Hi @Shimmy89, I am sure you are correct. A mother cat with kittens will be very territorial towards another cat, aggressive too, and will have chased your cat away from the yard. A mother cat is protective of her kittens and does not want your cat near them. Your poor cat is frightened and that is why she won't go out.

Give her a couple of litter boxes to use indoors for the moment until the kittens have grown up and left (if they do leave). Do not place the litter boxes right next to each other. Your cat needs two boxes, one to pee in, one to poo in. Cats often pee and poo in different places.

Use a fine granule clumping litter to encourage her to use the boxes. Scoop poo as soon as deposited, and scoop pee twice a day. Top up litter daily.

Hopefully the kittens do leave when they are a few months old and your cat can reclaim her yard. 

EDIT: use an enzymatic cleaner to clean any places where your cat has soiled. Items that can be washed should be laundered at 60 degrees using a biological laundry liquid. Items that can't be laundered should be dry cleaned. Really important to get rid of any odour of urine or your cat will go back and use the same places again. A cat's sense of smell is a thousand times stronger than a human's sense of smell, so that will give you an idea of how thoroughly you need to clean.


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## Shimmy89 (Jul 28, 2017)

chillminx said:


> Hi @Shimmy89, I am sure you are correct. A mother cat with kittens will be very territorial towards another cat, aggressive too, and will have chased your cat away from the yard. A mother cat is protective of her kittens and does not want your cat near them. Your poor cat is frightened and that is why she won't go out.
> 
> Give her a couple of litter boxes to use indoors for the moment until the kittens have grown up and left (if they do leave). Do not place the litter boxes right next to each other. Your cat needs two boxes, one to pee in, one to poo in. Cats often pee and poo in different places.
> 
> ...


Hey chillminx, thanks for replying. Anyway, the mother is actually very kind to my cat. She has been living around our house for about 5 years and they don't hate each other (my cat gets a little annoyed with her sometimes though lol). So she never scares my cat away or at least she doesn't even get a chance to cause my cat never even goes near them. Which is why I was wondering if there's another reason why she doesn't use the yard anymore. But we're trying to find a home for the mother and the kittten so I'm hoping she'll get back to normal after they move. Till then I'll put the cat litter as you suggested, thanks! ^_^


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Well I am glad the mother cat is not being aggressive to your cat. That is a relief. 

But the fact remains that nursing mother cats often do not like other adult cats around their kittens, not even adult cats they know.

Cats have subtle ways of getting their message across to other cats, so I guess the mother cat is just giving your cat silent signals with her body language to stay away from the yard for the time being.

I doubt there is another reason why your cat is avoiding the yard. Assuming she is not showing signs of illness?


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## Shimmy89 (Jul 28, 2017)

Yes you're right. I guess I'll wait till the kitty grows up or till we find a new home for em. And also thankfully, no signs of illness either. So thanks again!


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