Why is the cat doing this?

While we were away on a trip for a week, one of my girlfriend's two
male cats began defecating on the tile floor in the foyer by the door.
Now that she is back, he still sometimes does it, despite his litter
box being clean. We spray the area with a cat deterrent but that
provides only a temporary fix.

Any insight into this behavior would be most appreciated.

Jeff

Jeff Harper
Tampa, FL

In article ,
(Jeff Harper) wrote:

While we were away on a trip for a week, one of my girlfriend's two
male cats began defecating on the tile floor in the foyer by the door.
Now that she is back, he still sometimes does it, despite his litter
box being clean. We spray the area with a cat deterrent but that
provides only a temporary fix.

Any insight into this behavior would be most appreciated.

Have you had him checked out by the vet?

Priscilla
--
Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum,
minutus carborata descendum pantorum.
(thanks be to topfive.com)

In article ,
(Jeff Harper) wrote:

While we were away on a trip for a week, one of my girlfriend's two
male cats began defecating on the tile floor in the foyer by the door.
Now that she is back, he still sometimes does it, despite his litter
box being clean. We spray the area with a cat deterrent but that
provides only a temporary fix.

Any insight into this behavior would be most appreciated.

Have you had him checked out by the vet?

Priscilla
--
Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum,
minutus carborata descendum pantorum.
(thanks be to topfive.com)

From: Priscilla Ballou

In article ,
(Jeff Harper) wrote:

While we were away on a trip for a week, one of my girlfriend's two
male cats began defecating on the tile floor in the foyer by the door.
Now that she is back, he still sometimes does it, despite his litter
box being clean. We spray the area with a cat deterrent but that
provides only a temporary fix.

Any insight into this behavior would be most appreciated.

Have you had him checked out by the vet?

Priscilla

Yes, I would definitely have him vet checked just to rule out any physical
cause. Also, I would definitely add another litterbox. Some cats like to pee
in one and poo in the other.

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

From: Priscilla Ballou

In article ,
(Jeff Harper) wrote:

While we were away on a trip for a week, one of my girlfriend's two
male cats began defecating on the tile floor in the foyer by the door.
Now that she is back, he still sometimes does it, despite his litter
box being clean. We spray the area with a cat deterrent but that
provides only a temporary fix.

Any insight into this behavior would be most appreciated.

Have you had him checked out by the vet?

Priscilla

Yes, I would definitely have him vet checked just to rule out any physical
cause. Also, I would definitely add another litterbox. Some cats like to pee
in one and poo in the other.

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

olitter (PawsForThought) wrote in message ...

Have you had him checked out by the vet?



Yes, I would definitely have him vet checked just to rule out any physical
cause. Also, I would definitely add another litterbox. Some cats like to pee
in one and poo in the other.


Thanks for the input and concern for Curly (long haired & pitch
black). What kinds of health problems could cause this behavior?

The timing of it--happening when Ashley was away for awhile--made me
think the behavior might be due to separation anxiety. And I was
thinking that it might have continued after her return as a bad habit.

Having a vet check him out seems like the safe thing to do. Problem
is, a trip to the clinic and an exam would be very traumatic for this
little fellow. We'd like to avoid it if the problem's root is not
physical.

Jeff

Jeff Harper
Tampa, FL

olitter (PawsForThought) wrote in message ...

Have you had him checked out by the vet?



Yes, I would definitely have him vet checked just to rule out any physical
cause. Also, I would definitely add another litterbox. Some cats like to pee
in one and poo in the other.


Thanks for the input and concern for Curly (long haired & pitch
black). What kinds of health problems could cause this behavior?

The timing of it--happening when Ashley was away for awhile--made me
think the behavior might be due to separation anxiety. And I was
thinking that it might have continued after her return as a bad habit.

Having a vet check him out seems like the safe thing to do. Problem
is, a trip to the clinic and an exam would be very traumatic for this
little fellow. We'd like to avoid it if the problem's root is not
physical.

Jeff

Jeff Harper
Tampa, FL

In article ,
(Jeff Harper) wrote:
olitter (PawsForThought) wrote in message
...
Have you had him checked out by the vet?
Yes, I would definitely have him vet checked just to rule out any physical
cause. Also, I would definitely add another litterbox. Some cats like to
pee
in one and poo in the other.

Thanks for the input and concern for Curly (long haired & pitch
black). What kinds of health problems could cause this behavior?

I don't know. I'm not a vet. Which is why you need to take him to one.

The timing of it--happening when Ashley was away for awhile--made me
think the behavior might be due to separation anxiety. And I was
thinking that it might have continued after her return as a bad habit.

Well, sure, but without checking to see if he's well, one can't know if
that's the cause or not. He could be unwell in some way totally
unrelated to his bowel habits but continuing the inapropriate pooping as
a way of articulating that something's wrong. Just as your going away
had nothing to do with his bowel habits, but he used it to express that
something was amiss in his world.

Having a vet check him out seems like the safe thing to do. Problem
is, a trip to the clinic and an exam would be very traumatic for this
little fellow. We'd like to avoid it if the problem's root is not
physical.

You can't rule it out without a checkup. Do you have any travelling
vets in your area? Where are you?

Priscilla
--
Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum,
minutus carborata descendum pantorum.
(thanks be to topfive.com)

In article ,
(Jeff Harper) wrote:
olitter (PawsForThought) wrote in message
...
Have you had him checked out by the vet?
Yes, I would definitely have him vet checked just to rule out any physical
cause. Also, I would definitely add another litterbox. Some cats like to
pee
in one and poo in the other.

Thanks for the input and concern for Curly (long haired & pitch
black). What kinds of health problems could cause this behavior?

I don't know. I'm not a vet. Which is why you need to take him to one.

The timing of it--happening when Ashley was away for awhile--made me
think the behavior might be due to separation anxiety. And I was
thinking that it might have continued after her return as a bad habit.

Well, sure, but without checking to see if he's well, one can't know if
that's the cause or not. He could be unwell in some way totally
unrelated to his bowel habits but continuing the inapropriate pooping as
a way of articulating that something's wrong. Just as your going away
had nothing to do with his bowel habits, but he used it to express that
something was amiss in his world.

Having a vet check him out seems like the safe thing to do. Problem
is, a trip to the clinic and an exam would be very traumatic for this
little fellow. We'd like to avoid it if the problem's root is not
physical.

You can't rule it out without a checkup. Do you have any travelling
vets in your area? Where are you?

Priscilla
--
Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum,
minutus carborata descendum pantorum.
(thanks be to topfive.com)

(Jeff Harper) writes:

Thanks for the input and concern for Curly (long haired & pitch
black). What kinds of health problems could cause this behavior?

One of my cats poops on the floor when she's having problems with her
anal sacs. This is a problem the vet can "fix" in about 2 minutes, but
if it's left alone it can develop into a nasty abscess which needs to
be treated with antibiotics, etc.

Having a vet check him out seems like the safe thing to do. Problem
is, a trip to the clinic and an exam would be very traumatic for this
little fellow. We'd like to avoid it if the problem's root is not
physical.

Well, you won't know whether the problem is physical unless you take
him to the vet, right? And if it is a physical problem, not having it
taken care of could turn out to be even more traumatic for both you
and your cat.

-Sandra