cat pooing in the bath

dbnavan

hi all,

I have 2 cats and both trained very well to use a liter box most of the time,, except the only other place they go is the bath tub, cant leave bathroom door open at all or they go........

any idea?? why the bath and know where else?

D

Töpher

It happens with my girlfriends cats if they can't hold on any longer and the litter tray needs changing. (Say everyones out, once one goes in and uses it, the other won't and tries to wait till someone gets home to change it - but not always possible).

The bath is like a box, its got walls around it, if you had a box lying around they'd do it in there too, its the shape.

//edit: I think they've only actually ever peed in the bath, don't think poo has ever appeared there.

Arcadian

How many litter trays do you have? With 2 cats you need 2/3 litter trays. If you watch them when they jump into the bath you'll notice that they'll sniff around the plug hole, the smell of stagnant water in the u bend is telling them its ok to use it as a toilet.

I'd introduce another tray and in the mean time if you want to leave the bathroom door open just put in the plug and leave an inch or so of water in the end of the bath.

luckat

What Ein and Arc said.

Think like a cat. There may be a little bullying going on over the litter tray - it's a common source of conflict. So put three trays in different parts of the house, so only one, or at the most two, can be "guarded" by the aggressor cat at a time. You'll find both cats are happier.

Other sources of distaste for litter are:

* dirty tray - ouch, that ammonia from stale pee hurts my eyes!
* horrible litter - ewww, it hurts my paws, it's like Greystones beach in your bare feet!
* lack of privacy - what, do it here in front of everyone where anyone can jump me when I'm vulnerable? No way!

Cats may change their taste in litter - liking sand when they used to like those woody chip things, or vice versa. So if they're still doing this, try different litters till you find one they like.

Another thing: most animals will poo where it smells pooey. The best way to get rid of a smell of poo is to wash the area thoroughly with biological washing powder or liquid. And keep the door closed.

If there is bad feeling going on between the cats - not always obvious to humans, to whom it may seem that they're just ignoring each other - you might think of getting some Feliway pheromone plugs. You plug these into an electric socket and they distribute a hormone that makes the cat feel safe and snuggly. Dear, but effective, and the refills aren't as expensive:

http://www.petvetcare.co.uk/acatalog/Feliway.html

(That's an English shop; feliway.com seems to be down at the moment.)

You might also order from the library a book called Cat Confidential, which has a lot about this and similar problems. http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0593052765/qid=1124
397271/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl/026-3210216-5958864
or http://tinyurl.com/87fvd

I can't check if it's in the Dublin City Library catalogue at the moment because the page seems to have become Mac/Firefox-proof, and presents a screenful of html every time I try it.

FranknFurter

exactly what everyone else said.
However, if it *does* turn out to be a behavioural problem (Iv seen stranger lol, know of one cat that keeps pooping off a curtain rail, belongs to a friend in Galway lol), then try putting half a lemon (or a lemon air freshner), or an open pot of vicks vapo-rub in the bath, cats avoid it and lemon like the plague. Might just go somwhere else tho lol

tk123

FranknFurter wrote:

know of one cat that keeps pooping off a curtain rail, belongs to a friend in Galway lol

O-M-G!! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

minorityslam

believe it or not i have that problem with my cats too and talk to the vet. He didn't say anything about pheromone

Iammwa

I cant help but I have to say that the title of this thread was just so funny to see amongst the new posts, I laughed for like 3 or 4 minutes (its actually a really long time when you think about laughing for that long)

Demonique

Do they do it in the plug-hole? Because when our outdoor cats couldn't get out of the house a couple of years back they pooed both in the bath plug-hole and the shower plug-hole

Sigma Force

After seeing where some cats manage to pee and poop I would of loved if my old departed cat would of done her buisness in the bath instead of the beds lol. It is a bit gross though but a bit of hot water and cider vinegar or jif lemon mixed in will clean that up. Lemon juice is a safe natural bleach.

MsFifers

My cats have a tendency to poo in the bath too! I've posted here about it before. Even when I leave water in the bottom of it to deter them, Pugs the tomcat, walks through the water and pulls out the plug with his paw!

I think the reasons they do it may be one or a combination of:
* litter trays a teeny bit smelly
* dislike of litter material (they only like the sandy clumping type so when I try to economise and use a cheaper kind they protest)
* being in a cranky mood (howling wind is the usual reason for this) and they are a bit wound up!

Without doubt - the cleanliness of their litter trays is the biggest issue even though I clean them out completely once a week.

They usually start scrabbling & scratching inside the bath when they are thinking about using it as a loo, so if you can catch them at this, and then shoo them into one of the litter trays, it'll help them get the message.