Cat keeps going to the toilet on stairs.

[Typhoneus]

Hello

I live at home with my mother, brother, and two wee cats. They're both just over a year old now and we got them both as kittens but from separate homes.

The problem is that one of them keeps doing the toilet (both kinds) inside the house, and not in the litter tray when there is one there. My mum is now threatening to get rid of her (the offending cat) because she keeps going on the stairs.

I've seen the cat use the litter tray, but even if the door is open, tray is down, she still mostly uses the stairs for her business.

My mum claims she's trained the cat to go outside, and the other cat does do this with no problems. The offending cat was hmm... I guess you could say the runt of the kitten litter? She's quite small, and when we took her to the vet in the first instance, were told she had delicate kidneys. Could this be a factor? Also, my mum has said that she got the offending cat from a less than clean house in the first place when she was a kitten, and that she didn't think the mother cat she got it from had trained the kitten when it was born to use the litter tray... is this a thing?

My mum's been redecorating recently but has stopped now. I know that changes in the home can make cats stressed, but now that she's stopped, why is the cat still doing this?

I really don't want to get rid of her, I think sending her to a cat home is a poor solution to a problem which we should try to fix. My mum hasn't bothered to look at any sort of online homework, just claiming she knows what she's doing... maybe someone has some ideas?

[Diana]

Hi

Can I ask how many litter boxes do you have? Usually you would have one litterbox per cat and if possible an extra one. Some cats don't like to share. I have one box inside and one out because luckily our cats don't mind sharing but the majority of cats like their own space to go toilet.

Try a extra box. Also what litter do you use? Some cats aren't fussy, some are in the sense of what litter you use. Some cats like it softer as it's soft on their paws.

[Typhoneus]

Hi

Can I ask how many litter boxes do you have?

Also what litter do you use?

Hi! Thanks for the response

We only have one, and the other cat uses it frequently when it's down. I changed the litter once late at night so it was clean, and the offending cat used it when I placed it under a table too. Had seen that cats prefer a bit of privacy so I moved it under there and she used it. But yes, just the one.

We use this litter: http://bit.ly/Zo8B43" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - it's called Thomas litter.

[Diana]

Ok, I suggest getting an extra box if you can and maybe change the litter...to something like wood pellets? I use that and its brilliant. It starts off as small pellets that look hard but it's soft on the paws and when the cat starts weeing in the box, the pellets then break apart and it starts looking like sand.

Try these suggestions first, it may help. Other then decorating...is there anything that has changed?

Also...when your cats do a poop, scoop it out right away, try not to leave it.

[meriad]

welcome to CatChat and thank you for trying to help your cat

How long has your cat being using the stairs as her toilet? First off I'd get her to the vet to make sure there is no medical reason she's doing this.

If the vet confirms that your cat is totally healthy then there are other things you can try - but it will need joint input and patience from EVERYONE in the household, including your mom

1. Litter trays: As Diana says - a lot of cats don't like sharing their litter box and also don't like using the same one for both wee's and poo's. So if you can definitely try a 2nd litter box

2. clean the area where she is toileting with solution of biological washing powder and vinegar and wipe down with surgical spirits. That should hopefully break down the smells left by your cat. Don't use bleach as that actually attracts some cats

3. Depending on where your cat toilets, cover the area with foil, most cats don't like walking on that. Also put some food near where she toilets as again; most cats won't toilet where they are eating.

4. In case it's stress related due to the redecorating (and yes that can and will upset some cats) then get one or two Feliway diffusers and plug them in. They may help settle you cat


I wonder if in the process of decorating your mom has used something that smells wrong to the cat and she's now trying to cover that smell with her own smell?

Also, whatever happens, please make sure she doesn't get shouted at or punished when she does toilet where she shouldn't - she won't understand and it will only make the matters worse.

Best of luck - hopefully some of these ideas will help and you can get to the bottom of why your cat is doing this. And I'm sure there will be others with some more advice as well

[Diana]

Yes...Meriad is right. Please don't shout or point fingers with raised voices when they go toilet in places other then the litter box. Cats don't respond to shouting, it would scare them.

My Shelly would always go toilet near the box, or she would miss it bless her. Sometimes I would laugh, other times I would just look at her and think...'Really Shelly....' but I showed no aggression or upset at what she did, she was never told off.

[bobbys girl]

I have found that most cats will automatically use a littler tray (or something similar! One of ours has started using the new recycling box. )

When they were kittens, I encouraged our cats to use the tray by gently, wiping their bottoms while holding them over the litter. One or two times and they all go the hang of it.

We should have 6 trays for our 5 cats - but the house isn't big enough . So it's up to me to keep the trays clean. Sometimes, clever-clogs Purdy uses the bath.

[Typhoneus]

Thanks so much for all these replies, really useful info! I will try all of this. Really don't want to get rid of the wee cat, she's so lovely! She sleeps on my computer and everything, haha.

I will go to the shop tomorrow to buy her a new tray and litter, today I shall try the vinegar and detergent with foil and put some food near it. If I put vinegar and detergent down, with foil over it and food on top, that will be alright surely? She won't eat the detergent right?

[Typhoneus]

welcome to CatChat and thank you for trying to help your cat

How long has your cat being using the stairs as her toilet?

Sorry, better part of the year she's been with us. She has the runs a lot too, so I think it's worth taking her to the vet, yes. She stopped for a while, but it wasn't long. Maybe a fortnight.

[meriad]

I wouldn't leave the detergent mix down, it may ruin the carpet. Just give the area a clean as well as you can and when dry (and hopefully still clean) put the foil over

But if she's also got a problem with her tummy then I wonder if one of the reasons she's reluctant to use the litter tray is because she's associating it with pain? What do you feed her?

[Typhoneus]

We feed them both Whiskas meat in jelly (various kinds) and GoCat dried biscuits. Thoughts on that?

[meriad]

If I may be honest without offending - I'd ditch the Go-Cat asap. It really is not a very good quality food at all. If you look at the list of ingredients (unless things have changed) I think the very first one mentioned is some form of grain or starch or cereal. Feeding cats Go-Cat or Whiskas dry has often been compared to us humans having McDonalds or Burgerking on a daily basis. Tasty but not really good

If you can afford it have a look for a dry food that has an animal meat content listed as it's first ingredient. I know many may disagree but I prefer feeding a higher quality dry food like Royal Canin or Science Hill and would rather compromise on the wet food.

As for the wet - again another one to try is Butchers Classic; it's probably cheaper than the Whiskas but a much higher meat content and generally a very good wet food. See if your cats will eat that. If they do then fantastic.

As a by the by, mine won't eat the Butchers so I feed mine the Felix As Good as it Looks range and sometimes I'll try other things (without much success)

But definitely as a first off - change the GoCat. Do it gradually though otherwise you may end up with some upset tummies

[bobbys girl]

I agree with meriad. There are many other better dry foods out there. They are more expensive - but you get what you pay for! If you can shop around you can find some bargains. My lot like Iams (among other things). ASDA stock it and every so often it is on offer - that's when I pounce. They also do Felix AGAIL.

Good Luck

[JulieandBarney]

Oh dear 'go cat' or whisk as is not good food at all . . . I am not meaning to be picky but when you mention this poor cat who has a problem as an "offending cat " it doesn't come across very well . .he is not "offending" Poor puss may have health issues etc or stressed and doesn't mean to "offend". . I feel for him . . .maybe your mom is not ready or able to take on a cat with possible health problems. . This is why rescues are so inundated

[Typhoneus]

Oh please don't misunderstand, I just couldn't think of a term to separate the cats out. I didn't mean anything by offending cat at all. In fact, the reason I post here is I'm really against getting rid of the wee cat. Sorry if you read it wrong! I know the cat isn't doing it on purpose, and I'm here for solutions so it doesn't come to giving the cat up, which would really upset me.

Thanks for the comments on the cat food. I had a suspicion that it might be a bit cheap rubbish, but I don't buy it and have zero understanding of what is a "good" food for a cat and what isn't. (hence the posting!)

I'll have a look at ingredients a bit more closely, perhaps suggest we buy a different brand of food.

[meriad]

You obviously very much care about your cat (what is her name by the way ) and I'm glad you've found us for advice and hopefully we'll be able to help you help her.

As a mater of interest, what stores do you have near you? Most supermarkets will have a variety to chose from and one to look at that's easy to get would be either Purina or Iams.

Also, a food that seems quite good and (I think) very reasonably priced but is available from Pets at Home only is this one: http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/ ... th-chicken" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Please do let us know how you get on

[Typhoneus]

Her name is Tyson

The other's name is Mike... see what we did not my choices of names but they're funny all the same. Both girls though!

We have a few markets close to us, and I'm just going to show my mum this thread and all your helpful advice. I'll definitely update soon, so far so good with the tin foil and detergent mix. I also put lemons down which probably help too

[meriad]

fab names !!!

[Diana]

A great set of names! Love it.

Regarding the food, all supermarkets like Sainsburys and Asda sell Purina, Iams and Ulitma which are a good decent dry food. Or try Pets at Home, they sell really good descents brands such as Wainwright or James Well Beloved.

[Skyquake87]

We had a similar problem with a cat called Pepper whom we rehomed a couple of years ago. She constantly weed at the bottom of the stairs. She also ruined the banister by using it as a scratching post.

My girlfriend bought her home from some woods where she'd been living under a house with her mum. Her mum got run over, so Pepper came to live with us.

With her we worked out it was a combination of her not liking to share litter trays (although she did use them for number twos) and being a bit anxious around our other cats.

She now lives happily with a friend of ours whom has a big garden for her to run around in which she loves.


I would also like to second Butchers cat food. Our cats love it! We also switch their wet food around between brands so they don't get too settled on one thing which has been a help. I'd say Butchers and Felix are their favourites, with Asda's Tiger stuff a close third.

Good luck

[Typhoneus]

It's only been a couple of days, and mostly she is out at night time (I go to bed really late and my mum is up really early, so she's not out for hours and hours) so there's not been much time she's been "alone"... but no accidents so far with the changes made!!

She was kept in tonight because it's terrible weather and she's just a wee thing, and being left alone she has used the litter tray!

I don't think I've ever been this happy over something doing the toilet haha!

Thanks so much for the advice again all, seems to be working so far. Still early days but so far so good

[bobbys girl]

That's good news! I hope it continues.

[Typhoneus]

Hello

I just wanted to say thanks once again for the good advice here. Little Tyson went about 4 weeks of using the litter tray, and she seemed to improve a lot too in terms of her leavings.

Unfortunately, she started doing it on the carpets again, and my mum has now given her to a cat home...

I'm absolutely heart broken

[lilynmitz]

I'm really sorry to hear this. You did your best, and it's such a shame that your mum had had enough. I do hope she finds someone who can sort her out. I'm sure she'll find a good home again.

[meriad]

I also am very sorry - you really did your best. One day when you have a home of your own I'm sure you'll make an amazing pet parent.