# My cat is passive aggressive



## magicapple608 (Aug 28, 2013)

Hi all. 
I have a 7 year old Ragdoll whom I have adopted a year ago. Whenever he's upset, he would poop on my bed. 
This happens like once a month and I was wondering if there's a way to train him to stop doing that. 
What I recently started doing is to bring the poop to him or him to the poop. I do this because I need him to know why i'm upset. And then leave him in the bathroom for 1 to 2 hours. 
I was wondering if there's a more effective way. 
Note: My cat doesn't like treats, doesn't play with his toys. All he does is flop on the ground and relax. When you pet him or brush him, he purrs but doesn't stay still (hence I'm not really sure if he even likes it). 

I have also been able to determine why he's mad since his behavior is consistent. Most of the time is because I have to travel and leave him home alone for 3 days. Other times are for more minor things that I can easily fix myself. 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 
Thanks,


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## Heather72754 (Nov 1, 2013)

First of all, cats are not passive aggressive. That is a human thing that doesn't apply to cats. Second of all, bringing the poop to the cat or vice versa will never make him understand anything, nor will leaving him in the bathroom for hours at a time. Cats don't do anything because they are 'mad' or want to 'punish' us, they just aren't wired that way.

However, they do things like poop on the bed sometimes if they are stressed, which is what your traveling might make him. When you are gone do you have someone coming to take care of him? If not, that could definitely make him stressed if he is totally alone for 3 days.


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## magicapple608 (Aug 28, 2013)

I have a someone come in and check on him once a day and clean his litter box and brush him.
So i'm stuck with this behavior?


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## Heather72754 (Nov 1, 2013)

Not necessarily, there are some things you can try. First of all, did you clean all your bedding with an enzymatic cleaner? If not, your cat will still smell his scent and keep going back there to eliminate. Also, you can try to have the person that comes to check on him stay a while if possible, so he doesn't feel like he's alone for as long. You could try leaving out a piece of clothing with your scent on it where he likes to sleep, which might be comforting to him while you are gone.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

You are attributing a human emotion to an animal. Cats are not passive aggressive.
Showing him the poop so he can 'understand' why you are upset is not going to work. He doesn't have the capability to understand what you are trying to tell him.

If you leave him alone for 3 days it's probably because his litter box is nasty. If you walked up to the bathroom door and the floor was covered in your feces and your urine would YOU want to walk across it barefoot? NO, you'd find somewhere else to go.

How often do you clean the box when you are home?


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## magicapple608 (Aug 28, 2013)

Heather72754- I spray the things he poop on with the cat oder/stain remover. I thought that would be enough. It's not likely that person will stay long considering she's helping me for free... I might have to start paying someone to come in and stay for 1 hour... I haven't tried leaving my clothe out (I'm generally a very tidy person), I will try that next time. 
MowMow- Please read my 2nd post.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

As the others said, the methods you are currently using will not work as you are thinking like a human, not a cat. If this only happens when you travel and only on the bed...you could put a sheet of plastic over the bed (maybe a paint drop cloth) and then put an old sheet on top of it so he has something comfy to lay on. 

You could use a Feliway plug in...it contains synthetic calming pheromones. 

If you go away often, getting another cat for company may relax him.


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

Magicapple,

Just wondering from your cat's point of view... has he been medically checked? Sometimes constipated cats associate pain with their litter box, so that could be why he's not going there anymore. If his feces are round like marbles instead of log-shaped (sorry if it's too graphic ), you can help by slowly trying out some canned food, too. If you can tell us what he's currently eating, we could help you with the transition!

Best wishes for you and your kitty! What's his name btw?


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## Chloe92us (Mar 16, 2014)

magicapple608 said:


> I have a someone come in and check on him once a day and clean his litter box and brush him.
> So i'm stuck with this behavior?


Does he poop on your bed while you're gone or after you get back? My senior cat pees on my sofa if his box isn't cleaned every day, so I KNOW if the pet sitter came when they were supposed to, or not. I had one that did not and that one was fired. 

This MAY be what you're dealing with if the poop is there when you get home. If he does it AFTER you get home, then I have no idea! It may be he smells it on the mattress. If it only happens while you're away, he could also be scared of your pet sitter.


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## magicapple608 (Aug 28, 2013)

I'm sorry, I forgot to mention his name. 
His name is Landon. 
When I first got him, he was really stressed. He didn't much for 2 weeks (with dry food). When I bought him wet food, he loved it, but he would always vomit some of it. So I took him to the a Vet and she recommend I try other food. I ended up getting blue buffalo dry food for indoor cats, he ate it and didn't vomit at all. But he was still not eating a lot and was pooping maybe twice a week, so I took him to the vet again and she gave me probiotic to put in his food. The probiotic helped and eventually I finally got him off it after a month. 
Besides sensitive stomach which my vet said was due to stress because he was going to a new home, she said he was a healthy cat.

His next annual visit is in July, so I guess I can ask her if she thinks it's a medical issue. 

Oh and the poop on the bed is usually kinda marble-like, which I guess is linked to constipation which is liked to stress...


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

Aww, I'm sorry Landon is constipated. :sad:
So I guess it's the stress of you being away and not enough water intake is contributing to the problem. I'm glad we've at least started figuring something out! Now for solutions...
Do you have a fountain he can drink out of? I've seen this one, it's very big, and from reviews, you clean it out once a week: Catit Design Senses Drinking Fountain

Hopefully we can lessen his constipation with water and maybe trying a little bit of wet food?


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## tezster (Jun 4, 2013)

Depending on the size of the litter box, perhaps it needs to be cleaned twice a day? That's the first thing I would check. When it comes to a clean litter box, what I usually tell people is that this is one area where being OCD in keeping it clean can be a good thing. I mention this because a friend of mine had a cat with an occasional elimination problem. When I finally saw the layout of her apartment, the litter box was tiny and rather shallow, with no more than an inch of litter in it, and it had barely enough room for the cat to maneuver in. The litter box was also too close to the feeding area.


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## magicapple608 (Aug 28, 2013)

My cat has plenty of water, also the person who comes everyday makes sure to refill the water bowl and food bowl. 
As for litter box, I am kinda ODC. Whenever I go to the bathroom and I see my cat made a mess, I will scoop it out right away. I use those clumping litter so scooping is easy. 
I clean the box (add new fresh litter and was the box) about once a month. I also bought a very large litter box because he's a ragdoll therefore is rather large himself.


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

magicapple,

Out of respect for you and your cat-sitter, it's not the water availability. Cats are desert creatures and just naturally have a very low thirst drive. Having a water fountain will peak his interest in water. Cats prefer _moving _water to drink out of. My Maya loved to drink from the faucet and not the bowl. That's why I've suggested the fountain, if you don't like the idea of changing his diet. 

Of course, the rest will be up to you, since you're ultimately responsible now for his care.


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

Is it possible your pet sitter isn't scooping his box as frequently as you are?

If he's used to a spotlessly clean box (not a bad thing, IMO  ) then having someone only scoop once a day, or not at all is a HUGE difference.

It also may not be only one thing. It could be a combination of you being gone, his litter box not being scooped as often as he likes, his dinner being served at odd times, AND outside stressors like weather changes or outside cats.

I would explain to your pet sitter what's happening, and ask them to be extra careful when they're scooping out the box.

I second (or third, or w/e is next) the water fountain idea. It makes a HUGE difference in how interested my cats are in drinking water. None of my four will drink from a still bowl (though Doran will play in it and make a gigantic mess...lol).


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## magicapple608 (Aug 28, 2013)

thanks everyone. 
I will try leaving a clothing out, getting the feliway and/or water fountain. 
If this doesn't work, I will have to find a cover for my bed. 
Getting a 2nd cat is out of the question.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

A friend of mine has a couple Scat Mats on her bed. Works like a dream.

Amazon.com : Battery Operated Scat Mat Lrg 48x20 In : Pet Deterrent Mats : Pet Supplies


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## Chloe92us (Mar 16, 2014)

A cheap solution for keeping cats off furniture; go to the home improvement store. They sell carpet protection runners that you cut by the foot. They are thick clear plastic with "teeth" on the bottom side used to grip the carpet. Buy however many feet you need, but put it on teeth side UP. I used this when my cat was randomly peeing on the sofa. This was before we discovered he has just very high standards for litter box cleanliness. Once we figured that out, and scoop 2x a day, he never pees on the sofa anymore.


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## magicapple608 (Aug 28, 2013)

Hi All. 
Just wanted to let you know the progress. 
Feliway works!!


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

Oh, that is good news indeed. I hope Landon continues his progress to eliminate in his litter box and you don't have any more issues. 

Thank you for a great update! :smile: Always great to hear the outcomes of threads like these!


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