"Deuteros" wrote in message
...
I posted about this here several months ago:

I have a 7 year old male cat. He's had no behavior problems since
we've had him but several months ago he started pooping on the floor
in random places. He still poops in his litter box sometimes and he is
still peeing in the box (as far as I can tell). Other than that his
behavior seems normal.

He has two litter boxes because he likes to poop and pee in separate
boxes. I took him to the vet and spent $250 for them to do all sorts
of tests and conclude that he is perfectly healthy. The vet did tell
me to switch him to a high fiber cat food which I did and that seemed
to work for about two weeks and then he was back to pooping on the
floor again (today he crapped all over my couch).

And he doesn't just poop on the floor, he has to poop on whatever we
leave out on the floor, be it a magazine, shirt, book, etc.

I don't know what else to do and if he doesn't stop I'll have no
choice but to put him outside.

Does your cat show any signs of arthritis or pain in his paws? By any
chance, has your cat been declawed? I had a cat a number of years ago that
had been declawed on all four paws (done *before* I adopted her). She
eventually began to poop outside the litter box (and, still later, to
urinate outside the box). I watched her an finally realized that her feet
were tender, and it seemed that the coarse litter might be aggravating them.
I searched for the very *softest* litter I could find and settled on Better
Way. That solved the problem for several years. As she aged, she eventually
went back to urinating outside the box. Fortunately, she kept using the same
spot, so I did not have the problem all over the house. I considered that to
be a medical problem and not a behavioral problem (but not one that was
picked up by the vet), and I just kept cleaning as best I could. After she
died at the age of 16, I had that area of carpet and padding removed, sealed
the concrete underneath, and replaced the carpet (just a small square of
carpet--not an entire room). Anyway, if any of this is a possibility, you
might want to consider looking at the *texture* of the litter. You have
already said you use unscented litter, which is appropriate.

You have also said that the litter is scooped daily. It might be a good idea
to scoop at least twice daily and see if that makes a difference. How often
do you completely change litter instead of just adding litter on top?
Sometimes we make the mistake of not changing it often enough because our
noses are not as sensitive as a cat's nose.
I would also like to reinforce what Rene wrote. I am not a vet, but I do
know that high fiber food can increase the bulk and density of feces. That
can make it very uncomfortable for a cat, particularly if constipation is
involved. I have had my best results with a good quality *no carbs/grains*
canned food--NO dry food.

If you eventually decide that this is a behavioral problem, please do *not*
consider putting him outside. Instead, I suggest that you contact Tufts
consider the Tufts University Petfax Program (through their School of
Veterinary Medicine). The Tufts Petfax Program is a consulting service for
pet behavioral problems. I have read many positive reports about them, and
my sister used the service at one time. She had done everything she could
think of to solve aspraying problem, and her entire house reeked. This
service was very helpful. I think the original consultation is $250.00, but
it included an extensive written report and 3 follow-ups (with some options
for telephone consultation). She had great success after following their
advice. There is a report to fill out first, and the people who posted
about it stressed that it is very important to include *all details.*

Here are two links --
Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine Petfax Program:
http://www.tufts.edu/vet/petfax/
About the Petfax Program:
http://www.tufts.edu/vet/petfax/about.html

MaryL