We have 9 mos old neutered brothers. At least one in the last month has begun to go to the bathroom outside the litter box. These small little gifts are left every few days in small amounts (and then sometimes not for a while); sometimes just 1 or 2 droppings. We use one litter box for the two as we have from the time we got them at 2.3 lbs. They're now 10.5 and 11 lbs and I suspect the problem may be not enough room. I am a bit worried though that something more serious is wrong.

Anyone have any advise?

-- Anonymous, July 28, 1999

Answers

I doubt there's anything "wrong" with your cats. If the stool they leave is normal, I wouldn't worry about the cats. You should look around the environment and figure out why they are missing the litter box. Where is the litter box located? Is it in a place of high traffic? Mabe your cat wants more privacy. Try using a covered litter box if you don't have one. If you have a covered litter box, mabe try removing the cover. Is the litter box cleaned out daily? A dirty litter box will annoy them. The litter itself may be heavily scented with perfumes which can annoy cats. Try using an unscented litter.

Also, with 2 adult cats, you should probably get another litter box. Place it in a different room in a quiet area. Show them where the litter box is by placing them in it. They'll get the idea and probably won't miss.

Another thing is stress which leads to litter box misses. Is there construction going on? Is there a new cat/dog next door? While you can't do much about that...it's something to consider.

Ed

-- Anonymous, July 29, 1999

You should definitely have more than one litter box, and put them in different places. Some animal behaviorists even suggest one more box than the number of cats -- which means you should have 3 boxes. Also, what type of litter are you using? Cats are very sensitive about the kind of litter in their boxes. Is the problem related to just one of the cats? I'd take him to a vet just to make sure there are no physical problems. Also, I'm assuming that the cats still urinate inside the box. If not, then there definitely may be a physical problem that should be looked into before assuming that it's a behavior problem.

-- Anonymous, July 29, 1999

It also could be a simple hygiene issue with needing a slight hair trim to help the cats out to avoid hangup if they have long hair and the droppings are catching

-- Anonymous, July 29, 1999