two days ago Leo went #2 outside the litterbox 1 feet away from it
today he went #2 outside the litterbox 3 feet away from it in a corner

any suggestions? nothings changed with the litterbox, he's had it for a few months now without any issues

considering throwing away both boxes entirely and getting new ones

First of all, was his #2 normal? If it was soft in any way, it could mean a parasite. If it appeared completely normal, then this could be behavioral. Anything else change in the household? New people visiting? Furniture moved around? The least little change can set off a cat, a bengal especially. If nothing else has changed, then there would be something about the litter box. When they poop, they want to "dig", go and cover. Not sure how that might have been accomplished near the litter box. I'm guessing he goes #1 in the box? My first inclination would be to clean out the litter box completely and try different type of litter. If the behavior continues, I'd add a litter box right where he is pooping on the floor, which would be next to the other litter box. I would try a different type of litter box. Hooded if you have an open one, or open if you have a hooded one. Any time a cat starts going outside of the litter box, you need to add more boxes. It is inconvenient and they take up space, but cats are fastidious about litter boxes -- and they could simply decide that they no longer like the one they have. The best thing about hooded boxes is that you can remove the hood and it becomes an open box.

It could be a lot of things, and you haven't given us much info to go on. Possible reasons:

1. Medical.
2. He's rejecting the litterbox/litter
3. Stress
4. The box is "owned" by another cat.

You need to do some sleuthing to figure this out. Like Sherry said... what does the poo look like? Any blood or mucus? Is it too soft or too hard? Does it have an extremely strong smell? What was the state of the litterbox when it got rejected? Was it clean, or dirty? If it was dirty, did it have pee or poo or both in it? Remember that some cats don't like to pee and poo in the same box.

When he goes outside the box, what does he do? Does he first sniff around the box, then decide to go elsewhere? Or does he march right over to where he wants to go and does his business?

Other questions: how large is the box, and how large is the cat? How many boxes are in the proximity of where he went outside the box?

Also, do you have other cats?

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The little monsters 3

I watched an episode from last season's My Cat From Hell with a cat who pooped right outside the litter box. Supposedly, the cat had pica and was eating string and it was coming out in the poop. Now, I don't know how much of the show is staged, but have you looked closely at the poop to see if there is anything unusual in it? Maybe worms? The other thing you can do is to take a sample to your vet and have them check it. There is definitely something going on with the litter box and going to the bathroom.

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The little monsters 3

Ok, so my thoughts on this:

I would definitely bet money that he's a "good kitty", that he knows he's supposed to go inside his litterbox, and that he usually does, but between the discomfort of having runny, smelly, occasionally bloody poo, and the stressful routine of him having to get his butt cleaned all the time, and undboutedly picking up on your frustration with this as well, that this all is causing some litterbox avoidance problems. Also, I'll bet he's really really stressed about this at this point, which makes the whole thing worse, and I'm surprised it hasn't gotten a lot worse than it has.

I think the game plan should be:

1. Figure out what is giving him the runny, bloody, smelly poo (could very well be a parasite, or could be something like a food allergy), and solve that first. I doubt you'll make any headway on this until this is 100% solved.

2. Try to "de-stress" him as much as you can. Be real careful about getting unhappy with him, or making the bottom-washing thing too unpleasant. Give him some extra play and affection whenever possible, and keep in mind that he's not doing this to spite anyone, he's just trying to find his own remedies to a problem that he is unable to solve on his own.

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The little monsters 3

forgot to update this thread, the food may have been the primary culprit

i got him back on chicken soup for the cat's soul and he's been doing great since

super dry non smelly poops and no more going outside the litterbox

Always happy for updates -- and always happy to hear that things have improved!!!