Back in June of 2012 I wrote a blog post titled “Tub Pooper C.” It was only my eighth post and it talked about how Chris would poop in the bathtub if the litterbox was not perfectly clean. He went from pooping in the tub to pooping on the floor. It was a problem for years. He was four or five years old when he finally stopped doing that. I previously had litterboxes in separate rooms. When we moved to the place next to the marina, I combined two litterboxes in the same room. That solved the issue.
Now, years later, Chris is pooping on the floor again. It started a few weeks ago when Chris pooped under the dining room table while Rose was sitting at the table working. Since then, the number of times he pooped on the rug under the table or on the living room rug has increased until it was happening at least once a day, sometimes more.
I suspected that some of Chris’s age-related issues, such as arthritis and obesity, has made it difficult to use the litter box. Perhaps walking to the next room or climbing into the box has become too much. Of course, he can do it when he has to pee and he can also get up on a relatively high perch, but I still thought a lower litterbox closer to the dining room might help.
As an experiment, I picked up a disposable litterbox at the Grocery store on Friday and set it up under the dining room table.
As expected, our other cats used it, but Chris deposited his calling card on the rug a few feet from the box Saturday morning.
I ordered a large stainless-steel litterbox from Amazon that morning which is only four inches tall. It arrived Sunday. By then we had removed the rugs and washed them. We didn’t put them back because it seemed that Chris was targeting the rugs. I didn’t want to put the new box under the table, so I found room in a nearby bathroom.
It is now 2:00 p.m. on Monday and I have not seen a stray poop. I don’t know if Chris used the new box or if he didn’t poop because he only likes pooping on those rugs. Either way, I’m hopeful.
Bad Cat Chris 
Good luck! The late Dougy urinated on the carpet next to the litterbox. Every time I thought I fixed the problem, he’d do it again. I don’t think he ever ended doing it. He didn’t have medical issues that his veterinarian discovered, but I suspected (eventually) he was upset that Andy used that litterbox, too. Andy and Dougy had territorial issues to settle and Dougy claimed everything!
I think it’s better to have too many litter boxes if you have room for it.
I agree! I have one in each of the bathrooms and one in the front room. The latter was place there when Andy and the late Dougy were kittens and I was new to how messing that’d be. Of course, that’s the one the preferred to use.
Purrayers that this solves the problem
Thanks.
Years ago, one of my cats used to go in the bathtub, too. My vet was perplexed. We tried to figure it out, but never could. Eventually, it stopped, but my gosh, it was a nightmare.
Sometimes it is very difficult to understand a cat’s behavior.
Do you think maybe Chris needs a litter tray with one side missing, so that he can walk in without climbing? Like a walk-in shower rather than a shower over the top of a bath? You could try cutting one side out of the disposable litter tray, and of course litter would come out so you’d need a mat under it, but it would be better than him going in your carpets?
That is exactly why I bought that stainless steel litter pan. It is only four inches high (about 10 cm.).
Hope it works. Snoops has started pooping in the boys’ play area. We are pretty sure it’s an editorial comment, so we’re trying to de-stress her.
Good luck.
Something about the ‘old’ litterbox wasn’t working, so you’ve tried other things.
Good for you!
Here’s hoping you’ve found a solution.
P.S. Those plastic cement mixer pans at the hardware stores are excellent for large-sized cats with a lower clearance edge.
I probably could have saved money trying that first
We hope Chris gets back on track and makes the deposits in the correct bank!
Thanks. So far, so good.
Here’s hoping the new litterbox is working its’ magic. I had a cat many years ago who would only go in the bathtub – she would not use any kind of litterbox and I tried them all back then. Once I stopped being obsessed with it she started using the box – I think she was just seeing how far she could push me. LOL
Hugs, Pam
My mother-in-law keeps her litter box inside the bathtub. I’m not sure if she started doing that because she had a cat that would use the bathtub but maybe.
That’s a good idea actually…..at the time we lived in a one bathroom home and it was more than a little inconvenient to “share” the tub with the cat. Putting the box in the tub would have been SO MUCH EASIER……..
I can see the advantage but I would worry about getting litter down the drain.