Morning from the UK lovely people!

I have a 10 months old boy named Loki who is my entire world. He is the funniest, craziest and most special little man. Except his one little flaw. He has an issue with using the litterbox. Now, I think it may be what I call a "protest poo" where he feels like he's not getting attention (even though I can assure you he gets so much love, attention and playtime) and therefore shows his displeasure about it by leaving me a poo or a wee.

My question here is has anyone else experienced similar things before, and if so is it something he will grow out of? We are doing everything we can to try and assure him he is the centre of our world. He is at home without me around 6 hours a day and he has a play buddy (bengal cross) to keep him company along with the radio, tv, plenty of toys, a cat wheel and three cat climbing towers. I honestly think he sleeps most of the time I'm not there.

I've tried all the usual tricks with this such as:
Vet health checks (all clear)
More litterboxes
Different litterboxes
Moving the litterboxes
New litter
Changed his food to raw
Cleaning the affected areas thoroughly
Spraying new items with Feliway
Also, there have been no changes within the household

We are next to try a Feliway diffuser and after that a cat behaviorist, but I thought perhaps the wonderful people of this forum may be able to shed some light :)

Please be gentle with your responses. I try with all my heart to give my boy the best home he could possibly want and I absolutely adore him. Thanks in advance :)

Oh if we could only get inside the minds of our kitties!!!!! Based on your list, it seems that you're doing everything right, except I would never MOVE a litter box. I would ADD another one. Cats are creatures of habit. That might not be the reason or the solution, but cats need to know where the litter box is. And because you have two kitties, you need at least three litter boxes. If you have a multi-level home, I'd have at least four. Two on each floor.

Know that food choice generally does not cause inappropriate bathroom issues. Stress does! So now let's look at what could be the issue. You are gone for a period of time during the day. Do your cats get along? Could there be any type of aggression between them? Things have not changed inside your home? You didn't move furniture around, introduce any type of new smell? No? Then let's move outside. Are there neighborhood cats that can come around the perimeter of your home that your bengal can see or smell? Bengals are highly territorial and can see and smell things you cannot! This results in marking, etc. inside your home. Check the outside perimeter of your home.

Feliway can make a difference. Purchase both the diffuser(s) and spray. I still use a diffuser in our bedroom where my bengal liked to mark the headboard while we were in bed (due to seeing another cat walk by our window). It has definitely helped but may not be the solution in your case.

So, what are we left with? Stress and litter boxes. Changing litter isn't always the BEST thing to do because what you purchased may be even more obnoxious to your kitty. Make sure you have three litter boxes and place one in the area the cat is using as one. In one instance of My Cat From Hell, Jackson had the owners put a litter box wherever the cat went. They ended up with SEVEN litter boxes. Then he had them remove the one that was used the least. The following week, remove the next one used the least, until they were down to the number of boxes they needed. It seemed to solve the problem.

Know that cats do not do this as punishment to the owner. Your cat is turned off by using the litter box for some reason. Check the areas that are being used to see if there is something there to attract him. There are owners that complain the cat pees on clothes that are laying on the floor. THEN PICK UP THE CLOTHES AND DON'T LEAVE THEM THERE. You need to start "thinking" more like a cat. There is a solution, but you have to find the cause first. Observe your cat and if you see the cat sniffing around, pick him up and put him in the litter box.

I'm sure there are books written about this and since you've already ruled out anything medical, we have to go with the environmental situation. So, open your eyes and senses and try to see what is going on from your cat's point of view.

On Sunday, my husband closed the door to the utility room where Raiden's inside litter box is located. He also has one in his outdoor enclosure. Raiden was crying up a storm and I couldn't figure out what was going on. He'd eaten, had treats, had his afternoon walk. He led me to the door. I was flabbergasted to see it completely closed. We always leave it open. I opened it and he immediately went into the litter box. I've never had an issue with my bengal -- and probably dodged one on Sunday. But now I know to check the door and make sure he has access.

I know this is a serious issue and the most prevalent complaint from cat owners -- not just bengal owners. A cat behaviorist may walk you through the same things I've mentioned here. I don't know that there is an instant solution, but working with Loki to get him back to using the litter box is the ONLY thing you can do. Praising him when he uses it is a good thing -- and last of all, I'm sure you keep the litter boxes spotless and completely clean the areas he has used with Natures Miracle.

Good luck! Keep us posted.

Hey Sherry,

Thanks for your response. I didn't get a notification for some reason though. Your comment 'think like a cat' has really motivated me to do a bit more detective work.

Our two get along quite well in my eyes, but I am not a cat. They play and sleep together, so I would hope that is a good sign :-) We don't have any other cats in the close we live in at all, so we've ruled that out.

I see your point about the food idea, but let me explain! It was happening a lot more regularly when he was not on a raw food diet. He was also a lot more unsettled before it also. The breeder I purchased him from used to feed him chicken wing and kibble (but he would never touch the kibble) Silly me, I listened to the vet who said that raw was bad for them and tried to change him onto various different foods (wet and dry), but he was having terrible stomach problems and often had blood in his stools (we had tests done, and there was no cause other than the fact his food did not agree with him). For this reason, I think he is a lot happier and less stressed since he is on a raw food diet, so it has helped the situation.

Sometimes it happens twice a week, other times not for a month, but it's been a problem since we got him, so perhaps he just has got himself into some bad habits and needs retraining again.

We're going to try some more litterboxes, litter attract and giving treats and praise when he uses the litterbox. After that we may have to think again.

Thank you for your advice! I will feed back when I get to the bottom of this, and with progress.

Enjoy the rest of your day <3

Veterinarians get very little nutritional training. Breeders feed the bengals and savannahs raw because the ALC and servial eat raw in the wild. Domestic cats can do fine on manufactured cat food, however, some owners prefer to stick with raw. Changing to a manufactured diet can cause digestive issues. The digestive system is not used to it. What is odd is that your baby is not doing the peeing and pooping outside the litter box all the time. If he does good with the raw, continue the diet making sure he gets all the nutrients either from the raw or adding a nutritional supplement for cats. You might want to add a feline probiotic to the mix as well. It seems that many bengals have sensitive stomachs (mine doesn't), but it has been mentioned many times in this forum.

You have to feel for the little one. Most cats prefer using a litter box. Something is definitely up with him. Continued good luck that you can find a solution.

_________________
The little monsters 3

Hi Brian,

Answers to your questions below:

* What does his poo look like? Runny? Overly hard? Blood in it?
Hard normal poo
* What is the state of his litterboxes at that time? Freshly cleaned? Dirty (at all?). I've heard some owners say that their cat is so fussy that he will only go in a freshly cleaned box.
He has done it when the litterbox has been a dirty, completely clean, and inbetween
* How far is the nearest box away from the spot where he went outside the box?
Right next to it
* What was going on in the house at the time? A lot of noise? Unfamiliar guests?
Nope, just me and my partner as usual
* What was his access to his litterbox like? Could it have been temporarily blocked off? Or something scary between him and the box?
Normal access

Other questions:
* How large are the boxes that you have for him? As a 10mo old bengal, I'm guessing he is a pretty big cat at this point? Big cat needs a BIG box!
VERY big boxes. We have the biggest storage box you can buy and both hooded and unhooded
* Because it is so infrequent, and because another cat is involved, is there a chance that the litterbox he wanted to use just happened to be "occupied" when he needed to go?
Nope, there was no cat in the litterboxes

So as you can see, it's a tricky one.

Your cat hasn't, by any chance, been declawed, has he?

_________________
~ Kyenta

I know there is a lot of information online about this -- so Google can be your friend in trying to track down what has worked for other people. You are willing to try anything and everything. You might also try some Feliway plug-ins in the area and see if that helps at all. Cat Attract may do some good. Kyenta makes a very good point. If the cat is declawed, their paws are extremely sensitive!

_________________
The little monsters 3

Hey all,

No, he's not declawed :O my heart goes out to all the poor babies that are :(

I say hard as in not runny. It's always a normal poo. Segmented and log-like.

Hmm, rejection of the box you say...That's another idea to ponder. I may purchase some different box types and see what comes of that. Feliway plug-in is an option - we do use the spray at times, but not sure if it makes a difference really.

Thanks for all the ideas! I really do appreciate it. As anyone who has had this issue it can be rather expensive and stressful to deal with. A bed, sofabed, rug and duvet have been chucked in this process of figuring this out, but I'm trying to stay patient. Otherwise we may just have to own plastic furniture from now on! :D

Maybe he doesn't like the litter you are using? My cats definitely prefer the heavy clumping clay litter. I am always looking for something that is not so heavy to pick up. I have two other types and I put the clay in their jumbo hooded box and they use that one for mostly pooing. The other large storage box has either scented World's best or a natural wood clumping litter where they pee exclusively. When i put World's best in the second box they don't use it very often, only when the favorite box needs scooping. I keep both of the boxes side by side in my office.

Cat's urine contains high content of ammonia. A cat's sense of smell is 14 times strong than humans, so what YOU can't smell, perhaps he can! Obviously, there is an odor that he can detect that he doesn't like. I know that some litters are fragranced. I use the unscented kind. I don't know if that will make any difference, but it might.

In this instance, I don't think it is the litter. We've used clumping, non-clumping, scented, non-scented, chick crumb and wood (which is what he has been on from a tiny kitten) and the problem still occurs.

We've had problems since we've had him (7 months) and it's pretty sporadic. If it was the litter I'd think it would be more obvious e.g. at times when we've changed to a different type of litter, but it doesn't happen just at those times.

I am going to go WAY out on a limb here. I'm sensing there is something neurological going on. Subtle, but maybe it's there. Cats are creatures of habit and routine and since this is not happening all the time, I sense that an issue is happening when he decides to not use the litter box. I am no expert by any means, but this has been happening for a while, yet infrequently. I can't say I know a solution -- for some cat owners, this is just the way things are. Yes, this could be behavioral but most cats with this issue do this all the time. I suggest you really watch his behavior and see if you notice anything happening with him. I know it sounds crazy and I could very easily be way off in my assessment. Sometimes the neurotransmitters in humans act weird, too. I just hope you can love him no matter what.

That's an interesting idea I'd not considered before.

He is my darling and I made a commitment to him when I got him to love him forever. I will always do my best for him.

Pic for attention! :)