# Food allergy & pooping outside of litter box



## Frizzle (Oct 4, 2013)

This is going to be a long story, but idk what info is most important in you all giving me the best possible advice.

I have two females that are about 7 months old, they have had their shots & been dewormed & all that jazz. As best as we & the vet can figure, the one has a grain intolerance that causes her significant digestive upsets. They were on Iams kitten kibble when the one, Zeppelin, started getting "poopcakes." Basically diarrhea the consistency of pancake batter, and then they turned bloody. Made the switch to Nature's Instinct (grain free, chicken based), & she had the best poops I've seen pretty much since getting her. They've been on the food for a little over a month now, & the consistency of her poops have been degrading steadily back to between a brownie/pancake batter.

So the litter box problem. She poops in them *most* of the time, but has started pooping in corners near the litter boxes. Not peeing. The best I can figure is that she has maybe developed a litter box aversion??? If pooping hurts, & you poop in a litter box, then the litter box is what makes you hurt type of a thing. How do I fix this?

We have two cats & two litter boxes, they get cleaned daily. Maybe add another litter box?

The vet suggested that different protein bases can give cat's different reactions, & so maybe I should try the turkey or rabbit or another brand entirely? I asked about tests to confirm whether or not it is a grain allergy & she said there was a skin test? but it is unreliable & she didn't recommend it. Zeppelin is a longhair, & while she collects a lot of dust, she doesn't have flaky skin.

Ugggg, I'm open to any suggestions.


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## BrianRunsPhilly (Feb 26, 2014)

I can only speak to the allergy piece. My vet put my cats on the Hills Prescription D/D food. It worked well, but it was very expensive. On a recommendation I tried the Nature Balance Limited Ingredient food, and they love it. Plus it's almost 1/3 the price.


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## Frizzle (Oct 4, 2013)

Just wanted to update this, I moved one of the litter boxes to one of her favorite pooping corners, as well as limiting her access to the bathroom (a favorite pooping spot), and she has had only around a half dozen "accidents" since last time.

Thank you for the suggestion Brian, I will keep it in mind for the future.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Kobi has IBD and before it was controlled, he would poop outside the box (on the vent for the hot air heating duct...lovely). Once he was on medication and food that settled his belly he started using the box again. I think it may have been a combination of associating pain and also the box being stinky because it hadn't been scooped since the previous diarrhea bout (even with 3 boxes available, 2 of them being huge storage totes). 

I think you need to get his belly under control before you can address the pooping issue, hopefully it will go away once the soft poop is gone. Yes, I would try one of the other proteins...chicken is a source of food intolerance for many cats.


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## Frizzle (Oct 4, 2013)

Thank you for that insight (poop in the vents, that would be awful!) & just did a quick google search on IBD & found some good information. It also led me to some information about Feline Colitis, what is the difference between them? What tests did your vet run to decide that it was IBD? What brand & protein source are you using?

I did think about posting this in health, but since it was a two part problem & I had already changed the food, I opted for here. I don't suppose that you/another moderator would be able to move this topic to health?


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## Tabbylove (Aug 14, 2011)

A few years ago one of my cats started randomly pooping outside the box and after trying lots of things I figured it she became sensitive to different foods, even ones she used to be with before. I've finally fixed the issue with The Honest Kitchen, Dave's canned chicken or turkey only and topping her litter with cat attract  I know how frustrating it can be I hope you find the cause soon!


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Frizzle (Oct 4, 2013)

Hey everyone, so an update on this.

We are implementing a really tall storage tote in place of one of the shallow, pan-like boxes. There has only been one accident outside the box so far (in two weeks!), & they are only using the shallow box to urinate. We switched the protein source over this week, & the poop quality has already drastically changed. I've also come to realized that my girl, Zeppelin, bloats up when she (as I can only guess) finds crumbs/kitchen scraps. In general, she's looking much more "deflated" then I've seen her looking before.


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## Frizzle (Oct 4, 2013)

Another update:

A few days ago I was in petco & they were having a sale on a lot of the Wellness feeds, & I picked up a 5 lb bag of Turkey & Duck kibble (since that is the protein source from Natures Instinct that we've been using). I've been pooring both for my girls, but in separate bowls because I was interested in seeing what they would choose. Zeppelin, my girl with the food sensitivity has pretty much only been munching the Wellness, & today, the most amazing thing happened!!! She pooped a lovely, solid poop, AND IT DIDN'T SMELL. I literally had to stick my face in the litter box to get even the faintest whiff. Are these not-smelly-poops what everyone else experiences? It is beautiful!


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## Frizzle (Oct 4, 2013)

Update:

We've moved to a different local, and besides some really ripe BMs in the first few days (of which a cat friend of mine assured me was normal for a stressed cat) my cat has continued to have great poops since switching the kibble! I'm really glad I found something that works, I just wish it didn't cost so much... Oh well, my next step is to scour the internet sites for the cheapest Wellness I can find.


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

I'm so glad that you found the food that worked, and without having to test a zillion other things first! So no more issues with pooping outside of the box either? Yay! 

I like chewy.com - they usually have lower prices than other places.


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## larsan (May 3, 2014)

Frizzle said:


> Update:
> 
> We've moved to a different local, and besides some really ripe BMs in the first few days (of which a cat friend of mine assured me was normal for a stressed cat) my cat has continued to have great poops since switching the kibble! I'm really glad I found something that works, I just wish it didn't cost so much... Oh well, my next step is to scour the internet sites for the cheapest Wellness I can find.


I see you're in Wisconsin. Are you anywhere in the northern part so you would be able to hit the Drs Foster & Smith store? They have some good prices - at least they did before we moved away. Just a thought.


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## Frizzle (Oct 4, 2013)

Thank you both for the tip, I'll be sure to check them out! I'm actually Central Wisconsin, but maybe that business ships.


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## roskandy (May 30, 2014)

Yay! I'm glad the food switch has helped with the dietary issues!

Our kitty (who passed away) used to hate the feeling of litter--all litter--and so would crouch on the edge of the litter box and sometimes miss. We got her a covered box and the problems stopped. If your kitty is "missing" by only a little bit, it might be worth trying out a covered box to see if she's also doing a perch and poop or perch and pee or something!


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## Frizzle (Oct 4, 2013)

lol, silly kitty! When she used to miss, it wasn't crouching, she'd just back up into the corner & her runny poop would over shoot.

Update on this: I made the mistake of having my guy pick up their cat food, so we are now giving "Salmon & Turkey meal, with rice" a shot. I was planning on playing with their food a little down the line, like when we weren't co-habitating with other people, but I guess we're doing this now.  Still wellness so at least he got the brand right, lol.


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## larsan (May 3, 2014)

Frizzle said:


> Thank you both for the tip, I'll be sure to check them out! I'm actually Central Wisconsin, but maybe that business ships.


They do, in fact their main business is mail order. Good luck.


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