I have two beautiful American tiger cats. Daisy uses her litter box all the time, but my male cat Sketch, only pees in the box and uses the side to finish his business! I've tried 2 litter boxes, citrus scents, everything! But he won't use the litter box to poop! Please help.
I use both a pee bucket (old dispan lined with a section of newspaper) right next to wide layers of fresh newspaper for the poo. It has worked for over 20 years for my cats of all sorts. I change it daily. Good luck and God bless you and the cats He has created. : )
I agree with the other posters that sometimes an added box can help; unscented litter is preferred by most kitties; they dislike citrus scents.
I have several female cats and one male. I have noticed or should say I've seen it happen that the male cat has poor aim. He squats to do his thing and typically it is over the edge of the box. But I watch him settle in to the box and move around, its not intentional.
My solution was to purchase a different type litter box. Over the years the following has worked well with my boy: the round boda dome box but I honestly know they don't like the covered boxes they did use it; have also tried a covered box with high sides and tossed the top; I recently purchased high sided box with a low front at Petsmart which is great because my boy is a bit older now so he can get in do this thing and no accidents!
Since its poop you can also try either laying newspaper around the box so its easy to gather and toss or a cardboard box/old flat pan to catch the accidents. With the high sided boxes, so far he hasn't had another accident.
It takes patience and time. Remember mild soap to clean boxes; replace boxes when they get to scratched up at bottom (once a year) and use unscented litter. Good Luck!
I have two inside cats one male 9 years old and one female 2 years old - I have four litter trays as the old male cat is extremely fussy and won't use the tray if it has been used - I also change the litter regularly and clean out the pee and poop often throughout the day.
They sell a litter called P-Pod, which is made from pea-pods & has a natural mint scent which is supposed to draw cats to the litter box because mint is in the catnip family. They also make a catnip spray you can spray on your litter. Also, there are many Lavender scented litters on the market, one being "VetBasis" that are supposed to calm & mellow a cat... The 2 litters I mentioned above are natural composting litters (only as mulch for flowers, not for growing veggies). VetBasis is made of corn & as I said P-Pod is made of just that, peas. I use a litter called "Cat country Elite" that's made from wheatgrass & is the absolute best in neutralizing odor (I live in a very small trailer & nop odor from the cat box!) it's because of the chlorophyl in the wheatgrass.
My cat occasionally poops outside of his box too, this is because when he squats, his read-end hangs over the catbox. It's not on purpose though. Could this be the problem? Or is he actually stepping OUT of the litter box to poop? I put contact paper over cardboard & placed this under his box for when his butt hangs over & he misses. It helps in clean up. You could also use a folded garbage bag or cut a shower curtain from the dollar store into 4 or 6 pieces for easy disposal.
Another suggestion would be to use several litters at once as a test. A different litter in each of 3 boxes. Use 3 different textures & types & see which one he prefers. For example, the crystal kind, a natural (maybe wheat based) litter & a regular clay based or clumping litter.
I also agree with what SusLuvsVintage said about some males not wanting to share a box with a female. As you most likely already know about the "catbox rule" of having 1 box for each cat then an additional one. This means if someone has 4 cats, they'd need 5 boxes, etc. So you need 3 litterboxes because you have 2 cats. I agree with SusLuvsVintage, she gave you some very good info. I also agree with Kizzybear, Citrus is only supposed to be used where you DON'T want a cat to go, like near or on a Christmas tree or on a houseplant or shelves full of knickknacks, etc. Also, I'm sure you know to clean the box daily, or even twice a day if need be.
As a last idea, if your male cat is stressed out, you may want to try a product called "Bach Flower Remedies - Rescue Remedy". This is sold in pet stores (for pets) & in health food stores (for humans). Either one will work. It's great for mellowing an animal before going on a trip (plane, train or car) or to the vet. My mom's vet recommended it before her cat got his daily IV & before that when they moved their cats from Seattle to Dallas. There's absolutely no side effects & it really works! Read more about it here: http://www.caberfeidh.com/Flowers.htm http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=13775 http://www.preciouspets.org/newsletters/articles/bach.htm http://www.bachflower.com/Pets.htm
My cat changed his litter box habits after he got into a fight with a much bigger cat. He started peeing on any plastic or paper bag I left on the kitchen floor after shopping. I finally broke down & got a litte rbox for my kitchen. I figured having a box in my kitchen was better than him peeing in or on bags on the floor. He used that box for a few months then went back to using his regular box & also goes outside during the daytime. The good thing is that ever since that fight, he sticks very close to home & usually stays on the front porch (watching the birds) where I can keep an eye on him. The strange thing about your cat is that cats may pee in other places, but they almost never poop where they can't bury it (in litter). I sure hope you find something that works to stop this bad habit!
Some cats are very picky. You may actually need to get 3 boxes. Males can be the hardest, especially when they are paired up with a female. Some cats like to pee in one and poo in the other. Some cats will not go in a box that the opposite sex has gone in. In which case your cat may have both issues. Put two boxes next to each other in one spot and one box in another spot. Make sure the litter is always clean and you should place the boxes in a safe place where there isn't any traffic or anything that will scare them.
We've used citrus scents in our home to repel our cats from areas we don't want them. Don't know if that's why yours doesn't like the litter box or not. Cats are so finicky! I love mine but they both get finicky about their litter box as well as other things. We have to keep ours quite clean or they retaliate and use the floor. Good luck!
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