Cats pooping on the carpet.

Dr. Marie replied:

Goodness, I am so sorry to hear that you are having such a frustrating time. It sounds like you are doing all of the recommended things!

You've described everything I usually recommend in regards to trying different types of boxes and litter.

I'm not sure if I have a magic answer for you, but here are a few of my thoughts.

One thing you could try is to place a litter box in each room that they are pooping in and see if they use it. If so, very gradually, move the box a few inches each day towards the place where you want to eventually keep the box. Sometimes this works.

Another thing you can do in conjunction with the above, or on its own is to offer litter boxes of different types that have carpet in the box rather than litter.

Another thing you can try, if they won't use the litter boxes placed in the rooms is to place incontinence pads around the house. These are "pee pads" that people use for bedwetting issues. I have found that many of my clients' cats will willingly urinate or defecate on these. Then, you can start the process of gradually moving them to the place where you want them to eliminate.

Another thing to look into is a product called feliway. Feliway is a pheromone which helps cats to feel good and reduces stress levels.

I really do think that this is a behavioral issue, likely due to the changes in the house with small children being around.

Personally, I do not prescribe Xanax for cats. You may want to ask your vet about trying a medication called amitriptyline. I have found that many cats with behavioral issues do well on this medication. At first they may be a little sedated but this usually wears off after a few days.

If all of this fails, it certainly won't hurt to keep them segregated to one small room for a few days or even a couple of weeks to see if they can retrain their brains to use a litter box.

I really hope things improve soon!

Dr. Marie.


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Dr. Marie replied:

Oh, one other thing that I forgot to mention is to check out the Indoor cat initiative website found at:

http://www.vet.ohio-state.edu/indoorcat.htm

There are lots of ideas there of ways that you can help to reduce stress levels in your cats' lives.

Dr. Marie replied:

You're very welcome and thanks so much for the bonus!

I think the idea of the smells is that once a cat urinates or defecates in one spot the smell tells them that this is the appropriate place to eliminate. So, if we can get rid of the smell of urine or stool in an area then this is a good thing to do.

My husband is laughing at the request for us to take your two cats. We have 4 cats and any more would not be wise!

I really hope you can rectify your problem soon!

Dr. Marie.

Dr. Marie replied:

There are a number of good products that I recommend. One is a product called Urine Erase. It is a little time consuming as there are many steps but as long as you know where the accident is, it usually works well to get the odor out.

Something else you could try is to visit an industrial cleaning supply store to see if you can get some of the cleaning material (such as a product called Liqui-Bac) that is used in nursing homes to get rid of urine odors.