Help needed - Outdoor Cat pooing inside and have small baby!

[JennieWO]

Hi, Desperately in need of some advice!! We have a lovely Cat called Coco who is 4 years old. He is a rescue cat (from Afghanistan) and has always loved human contact and affection. He is an outdoor cat and for the last 2/3 years has not had a litter tray inside and we have had no accidents at all. Last year we had our first baby (now almost one) and moved house. Coco responded well to this big transition and after a little bit confinement we removed the litter tray and he happily continued to go outside.

At the end of October we went away for 10 days and our neighbour fed Coco, we have done this before and it has never really been a problem. When we came back Coco then started pooing in the house, pretty much on a daily basis (not urinating), in various different places but when he could on our daughter's stuff - on her playmat/buggy cover etc and if not just on the carpet/floor. Obviously horrible for anyone but we are particularly concerned because our daughter is now crawling and putting everything in her mouth.....

So....what to do?? My husband tried the putting his nose in the poo and putting him outside (I disagreed with this strategy and have now got him to stop!). We swapped him from wet food (felix) to dry food (go-cat) to stop the poos being so watery (sorry to be graphic) and so they are easier to clean up. My plan now:

- take Coco to the vet to check him out (but I am pretty sure it is behavioural not medical)
- Move him off gocat having read this forum about how bad it is - I will try Purina and some of the other brands.

If anyone has other suggestions we would be VERY grateful....not even considering getting rid of him at the moment but we have to find a way to stop this before it actually gets dangerous for our daughter...

Thank you so much!!

[claire_lee]

It would be a good idea to get him checked out by the vet to make sure there isn't any underlying health issue that is causing this. It sounds like there may be an issue as wet food doesn't in itself cause watery poo and moving to totally dry food without veterinary advice could cause further complications.

However it looks like you should have a litter tray or 2 for him inside - possibly something happened while you were away and there is another cat or something outside coming into the garden or wherever he uses as a loo that he feels threatened by so he doesn't feel safe going outside.

Appreciate that litter trays and young children don't sound like a good mix but if you can, put the litter tray somewhere where your daughter cannot access it (somewhere it can be closed off with a stairgate ) but where he can still have access. Try and keep her stuff separate to areas where he is as well if you can.

Hope you can sort it out.

Sadly your OH's (well-intentioned) efforts will have probably made the situation worse. Cats are naturally fastidious animals and putting Cocos nose in it will only stress him more (as will putting him outside if that is what has kicked off his problems).

[Jacks]

If an outdoor cat starts defecating indoors when he was going outdoors (and is not ill) it's likely there's a new cat on the block and he no longer feels safe about advertising his presence outside (which of course poop does).

To test it out, get him a litter tray inside. If he starts using that in preference to soft surfaces (buggy top, carpet, bedding) then you've got your answer - he's been spooked and wants to go in the safety of his home. You will need then to provide him with litter facilities your baby can't get at until such time as he regains his confidence.

If he continues to go inappropriately, and has a preference for your daughter's things, it could be that he's trying to cover her smell with his smell - although it's more common I think for cats to 'wee' in this situation but it could be that your cat is jealous of the new baby or uncomfortable about the poopy smells which babies inevitably leave. It could be that he thinks he has to show that it's his territory, not the babies - and the baby is of course leaving poop markers (in terms of smell) all over the place - buggy, playmat, etc... I would suggest trying a Feliway plug-in spray (it reproduces cat pheromones which only they can smell) or rubbing a cloth on his cheeks and sides and then rubbing the cloth over some things in the house that your cat might consider baby territory, so that he instead feels like baby is 'one of the family'. He will not have had a problem with your toileting because it goes straight down the pan and doesn't leave a smell, but a baby is a whole different ballgame!

But first, try a litter box!

[elastu]

I would agree that in cases like this the first course of action is a vet check. However, it is always advisable to provide a litter tray even if it is not used much In fact it is one of Cats Protections conditions when adopting a cat. If the cat has a problem it will used the tray ot at least try to. If you can keep an eye on what your cat is passing, you can spot many problems, e.g. cystitis is very common in cats and needs urgent Veterinary treatment. It is shown up if the cat uses or tries to use the tray frequently and/or passes blood, I have known cats with other serious problems and it was only the fact that a litter tray was available 24/7 that the symptoms were noticed. Something you would never know if you didn’t have a tray. Ideally one litter tray per cat + 1 extra is the best option in multi cat households.
Some time ago it was necessary to have Trudie a long term CP cat PTS due to bowel cancer, I would like to think that Trudie's untimely death has not been in vain as a lesson can be learnt from it and that is the reason why everyone should always provide a litter tray (apart from the litter tray evidence there was no reason to suspect Trudie had a problem, she looked so well) no matter how old the cat and irrespective of the fact that it may go out.

[JennieWO]

Many thanks for your advice!! So, we reinstalled a litter tray and Coco is immediately using this with no problem at all...no more accidents. I have also moved him back onto a mixture of wet/dry food rather than just dry.

I don't think it seems necessary to take him to the vet considering this. However, I would appreciate any advice on how to now build up his confidence to go outside again. I appreciate all the comments on having a litter tray inside etc but given we live in london, no space etc, having a litter tray permanently in our kitchen (the only place it can go...) is not really a feasible long-term option with our daughter. Given Coco used to go happily (for three years) outside I would like to try and get him back to this if at all possible.

Thanks again for your comments!

[Kay]

do you have a garden? if so you could try digging him an earth pit near the back door for him to use, and gradually introduce some of the used litter to it, so he smells it

but if he does use your garden later you will have a problem with your toddler coming across buried poo, and that would be nastier than poo in a litter tray - a covered tray might be the best way forward, and there is an outdoor one, sold by Zooplus, he might use, which because it has a big overhang to keep the rain out would be difficult, I think, for a child to access

[lilynmitz]

Can you put a cat flap in the door to the understairs cupboard, and put the litter tray in there? Or even put a hook on the door at high level so it stays open enough to let the cat in but keep your little one out? My neighbours did this (one of their cats refuses to toilet outside) and this worked well for them when their little boy came along.

[sarie]

RE the outdoor litter tray - this is the one Kay was referring to I think

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_ ... ter/137335" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Kay]

that's the one - and it really does keep the rain out

only problem I found with it was that my rather oversized Tiffany found it difficult to get in and out, though she managed it when I put it on a paving slab to raise the entrance a little

[meriad]

I've got two of those and have mine raised on bricks to raise it up