# Cat pooping on the bed!



## Abbie (Jan 13, 2011)

Hello there! I need some advice about an inappropriate little box problem!

We adopted a 2 year old Ragdoll, Evie, on 1st January, so we've had her nearly two weeks now. She was initially ill with conjunctivitis and the sneezes, but has no overcome this with medicine. Evie has now, however, started to poop on the bed. She started on the spare bedroom bed, but is now doing it on our bed. She even did a poop on the bed whilst we were sleeping in it! As you can imagine, we're really rather worried about this behaviour. Evie is an indoor cat only, she has a litter tray that is accessible at all times- I clean her tray out once or twice per day, so it's always fresh. 
She has pooped previously in her tray, once today in fact, whilst also going on the bed! She always urinates in the tray, with no problems. As she is new to us and our home, I am aware that this is likely stress-related behaviour. Evie has been to the vet and she is showing no physical problems. I have ordered a Feliway Diffuser to try and de-stress her!

Has anyone ever experienced a cat showing similiar behaviour? What could be troubling Evie? 

We really need some advice on what to do next and try and stop this inappropriate pooping!
Thank you, Abbie.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

I have no similar experience, so I can only speak to what I've read -- namely, some cats don't like to pee and poop in the same box. That might not be Evie's problem, but it might be worth putting down a second litter box, just in case that solves things. It presumably can't hurt.


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## morea (Feb 8, 2005)

My vet recently gave me a handout with some tips and general information about inappropriate elimination (going to the bathroom outside the litter box). You can see that here.

I would suggest that you contact your vet and see what he or she recommends as a first step, as this behavior can sometimes indicate an underlying medical problem. 

Best wishes in resolving the situation, it's definitely not a fun one to deal with!


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## Dave_ph (Jul 7, 2009)

I hope the linked list says : Try another brand of litter because your kitty doesn't like the texture of that litter.


Welcome to being owned by a Raggie. You will never go to the bathroom alone again.

Has Evie been spayed?


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## mimitabby (Apr 20, 2010)

as Dave said, try changing the litter. Some cats HATE certain brands of litter and WILL NOT step into it if they don't have to.


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## morea (Feb 8, 2005)

it covers several ways of "troubleshooting" the problem... and it's only a click away.


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## Abbie (Jan 13, 2011)

Thank you for your replies. The vet did check over Evie's tum, but obviously didn't take a 'sample' for testing, this might have to be the next step- we have an appointment to see the vet next week at the moment anyway.

I've read the leaflet advice, thank you morea.

I've closed the doors to both bedrooms where Evie likes to 'go'. She has since used the tray twice for both types of elimination, so she doesn't appear to have any problems with the tray or litter itself. She hasn't inappropriately eliminated anywhere else in the house- the third bedroom is always open to her, she frequently sleeps in here, but has never toileted in there, she also has free run of the rest of the house with no problems. I've removed the blanket/bedding she used, to eliminate the smell so she doesn't return. I'm also going to buy her a second litter tray tomorrow, and put it in a quieter place to see if that helps. 

Dave- Evie hasn't been spayed. We are keen to spay her, but are going to wait until late Feb/March upon the vet's advice to make sure Evie is fully settled in first. I have also noticed she likes to accompany me to the loo! She follows me constantly!

Evie has a habit of meowing, rather loudly, quite frequently- particularly at night. It sounds like a lonely meow, but human company doesn't seem to solve it- I think she might be missing other cats! We adopted her from a multicat household (over 10 cats) so I think she is having difficulty adjusting to being an 'only cat'. Maybe this is affecting her, and she's trying to tell us by her inappropriate elimination habits? So, we are considering getting a second Ragdoll (infact her breeder is selling several of her other adult Ragdoll's, so we could adopt one of her 'sisters'), but we're unsure as to whether this would just unsettle or stress her further?

Sorry this is so long! Thank you all for your help. x


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

Given the loud meowing, could she be in heat and "calling"? If so, then her being in heat will only add to her stress levels. 

Both of my girls accompany me to the "loo", and they don't like it if I close the door!


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## Abbie (Jan 13, 2011)

I did wonder if she's in heat! The breeder did say she might start calling as she's in a new environment, poor thing.

Evie's like that, she'll sit meowing behind the door until I let her in. 

The Feliway plug-in has arrived, so we'll see if that helps at all, fingers crossed.


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

I would say to either keep her confined with her litter box when you can't be around to watch her- bathroom, spare room- or keep the doors closed to the rooms where she's been having accidents. You just want to make sure she doesn't form any patterns or habits with pooping on the bed because once a habit is formed it can be hard to break.

My dog spilled my litter box once, and the litter on the floor caused my cat to poop on the floor. She's been using the floor right next to the box ever since, and I have tried EVERYTHING to get her to stop, but to no avail. She checks out with the vet, our only conclusion is that she's put it into her head that pee goes in the box, and poop goes right next to it. :-/


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## Time Bandit (Aug 17, 2010)

I've never had problems with poop, except for the occasional miss of the litter box...urination I could help ya with though, hehe. If she's already been checked at the vet, my suggestion would be Dave's...maybe she doesn't like the litter. I had to change litter types 5 times until we got it right for Rochelle (I guess this makes her a Tidy Cat now! ).

My girls love to follow me into the bathroom...all three of them will do it and hang out around my feet. Alice just takes things a bit further...she hops right in my lap and just stands there looking at me...makes things a little more difficult than they should be, lol. XD Alice also has a fascination with her litter boxes and she has to 'help' me every time I clean them...I always ask her "Where's your poop going, Alice?" and she gets all excited and starts running around me and pawing at the litter, haha!

Cat crying at night. Now this IS something I can maybe help you with. When we first brought Samantha home, she cried non-stop all night, and she was *loud*...she wasn't allowed in the bedroom at the time and I think this had a lot to do with it (she wanted to be close to me at all times and would literally freak if she couldn't find me). It was starting to affect both my boyfriend's and my sleeping schedules and was making us tired for work. We tried a few things and the combination seemed to do the trick. First, we let her in the bedroom at night to sleep with us...a lot of the crying stopped, because she just wanted to know where I was. Then we adopted Rochelle, and they became fast friends...their first meeting was only a few days after we brought her home. Once Samantha had a friend to keep her company, the crying pretty much stopped. I also feed kitty dinner late now too (shortly before I go to bed), because it's supposed to help with keeping rambunctious night activities to a minimum (cats tend to sleep on a full stomach).

If Evie isn't spayed yet, then yes the crying could be because she's in heat. I've never had to deal with an un-fixed kitty before, so I really can't give you any tips on making her more comfortable. Hope some of this helped!


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## Dave_ph (Jul 7, 2009)

My girl had a pooping on the bed problem when she was in heat. Its' the stress.

She's always going to follow you to the loo, that's what Raggies do. Follow you everywhere.


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## Abbie (Jan 13, 2011)

Aw, Alice sounds like a right little character! We do let Evie in the bedroom with us, but she just runs around, scratchs the bed... and then pooped on it the other night! We shut her out for the first time last night, and it seemed to work- from about 3am she woke up and started 'crying', but as we ignored her, she stopped after a while- even if she did wake up every hour and start again! I'm going to try feeding her at bed time tonight too, fill her up a bit! 

She's definitely in heat, she's shown pretty much all the symptoms today (I've been able to keep a close eye on her as I've been home all day), so I guess we'll have to live with it 'til we can get her spayed in about a month! 

We're still considering getting a second Raggie as a playmate (both for Evie, and for us!) as Evie is still going to be home alone while we're at work, so we're on the look out for adult Raggie's now!

Thank you for all your help, my mind's more at ease now!


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

Don't leave her spaying too long after she's finished her heat. She may come back in heat again in two weeks. All the best!


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## Abbie (Jan 13, 2011)

Thank you, we won't! She's getting spayed in 10 days time, as she had her leukemia vaccination today, and the next one is in three weeks- so the vet recommended spaying her right in the middle, so her second vaccination will co-incide with her spaying check up.


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