My 6 month old bengal boy keeps pooping right outside his litter box. First when we had this problem we change his litter to kitten attract. He seem to like it for about a week and then started again. Then I started treating him every time he went in his box. That didn't work either so then we got him a bigger box, like a plastic storage bin. He also liked that for about a week or two and he's still currently pooping outside of his box and we don't know what to do.

Sounds like your baby is trying to tell you something. There could be something medical going on, such as a parasite (how does the poop look? Normal?). Or, it could be stress. My advise would be to take a stool sample and Sam to the vet for a checkup. That way you can eliminate any health issues. Cats do prefer to use a litter box over going somewhere else. Since he goes just outside of the litterbox, there is really no point in adding another one. Yes, this could be an issue with cat litter, but most cats are not overly particular.

When he first started we noticed he had blood in his stool so we did take him to the vet and we sent a sample. He did end up having some kind of parasite from his water and we gave him medicine and after that he still had blood. We sent another sample and it was clear. They said maybe there was some mineral in our well water that caused the blood so I didn't let him drink out of the sink and he did not like that at all. So we got him a fountain, which he loves. And we filled it with bottled water and the blood stoped but he continued to go outside the box. He does pee in the box and sometimes he does poop in it but he mostly poops outside it. And when I caught him yesterday he tried to cover it but there's nothing to cover it with. So I don't know what's wrong.

Hi

In a previous post you mentioned having other cats as well. How many do you have and how many litter boxes? It should be one per cat plus a spare. Whilst most cats might not be particular about litter type, one of my Bengals most certainly is! And also will only use the litter box he made me move from the conservatory to the hall. Much to the other half's disgust. He will also only use it if it is literally spotless. Hendrix is not so particular. If there is another wee in there, he will still use it. Jagger won't. And he will only use the litter that is incredibly heavy - clay based clumping litter that closely resembles sand. We had used a different type for a good couple of years before but I changed it to see if it would make a difference and now he will use it without so much fuss and no out of box incidents.

So when he goes outside the box, is there anything else at all in there from another cat from your household? I sometimes have to put a fresh layer of litter on for Jagger to entice him to use it if he's making a huge fuss. We have two large boxes but both prefer the hall one unfortunately and Jagger considers this his and will guard it if he thinks Hendrix wants to use it for a poop

If there's still blood in his stool he may associate the litter box with pain if it hurts him to go so worth getting him checked out again. Hendrix used to have blood in his stool and I give him a probiotic every day and also changed his food to something really easy to digest as he seems to have a reaction to certain things which causes the bleeding.

Stress can also be a factor with litter box issues. I think you said he beats all your other cats up - how is his relationship with them these days? Has it improved at all??

It is definitely worth speaking to your vet. They may be able to offer some advice if behaviour or stress related, it takes time and patience though to work out what it is that's bothering them - you may need a referral to a behaviourist if all else fails. He's still young so you need to crack this before it becomes a habit.

Hope some of this helps!

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

A cat that is pooping right outside his litterbox, is in effect saying: "I know where I'm supposed to go, I want to use the litterbox, but I can't because...".

Reasons why that might be the case:

1. The litter isn't right (wrong feel, wrong smell etc)
2. The litterbox isn't right (too small, too big, too smelly, too scary, too difficult to climb into, closed when it should be open etc).
3. It hurts him to go, so he's trying to go somewhere else to see if the new location won't hurt.
4. The litterbox has been claimed by another cat (maybe it was even in use when he needed to go)
5. The litterbox isn't clean. Some cats won't poo where they pee, or pee where they poo. And certainly won't do it if another cat's stuff is in there.

I was actually surprised when I finally made the observation that my cats had a "pee box" and a "poo box".

Next time he does it, take stock of the situation: what is the state of the litterbox(es)? What does his poo look like (which might give clues about any discomfort he might be having and thus rejecting the box)?

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The little monsters 3

I'm sure your vet did not check for Tritrichomonas foetus as most vets don't have the facilities for this. And some vets aren't even familiar with it. It's a type of parasite that has only ONE medication that can treat it and it's difficult to get rid of. The fact that there is blood in the stool is a symptom of TF. Get back to your vet and get this taken care of. All parasites are easily transmittable to other cats and then there is the cross contamination that keeps the parasite coming back and back.