Cat stands in box and poops over side

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Robotech_Master - 04 Mar 2007 21:28 GMT

When my cat isn't pooping on the bathroom floor (as mentioned in
another thread), she has an annoying habit of standing in the
litterbox and pooping over the side. She seems to think her
requirement for pooperie is met by having all four feet in gravelly
substance, and doesn't seem to care where she points her butt.

Any ideas?

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Lynne - 04 Mar 2007 23:27 GMT

on Sun, 04 Mar 2007 21:28:43 GMT, Robotech_Master <robotech@eyrie.org>
wrote:

> When my cat isn't pooping on the bathroom floor (as mentioned in
> another thread), she has an annoying habit of standing in the
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Any ideas?

Try a litter box with higher sides.

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Lynne

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cindys - 05 Mar 2007 01:24 GMT

> When my cat isn't pooping on the bathroom floor (as mentioned in
> another thread), she has an annoying habit of standing in the
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Any ideas?

----------
In the last year or two of her life, my cat, Molly, started doing something
like this. She would be squatting in the litterbox but in such a way that
the urine would end up outside the box on the floor. I mentioned this to my
sister, and she said her aging cat had done the same thing. She said she had
discussed the situation with her vet who told her it had an anatomical basis
(although she couldn't remember what it was). My own personal theory was
that there was some weakness in the muscles of her hind legs and she wasn't
able to balance very well while squatting close to the litter, so her butt
was up higher than it should have been. I tried a little box with higher
sides (as Lynne suggested), but the urine still ended up on the floor. Then,
I tried surrounding the litter box with puppy training pads (the urine had
already ruined part of a hardwood floor). That did the trick, but I got
tired of picking up the wet pads. So, I went to a covered litter box. I have
posted about this before, and several other posters responded that this was
a bad idea because the odor under the hood is very strong. All I know is
that I used cat litter with absorbant crystals and kept it clean, and I did
not detect a strong odor. It might not be a good solution for every cat, but
it was a perfect solution for my cat.

A few months ago, another poster posted with a similar problem. I told her
the same thing as I said above, but I also reminded her to take the cat to
her vet to make sure that her cat didn't have a urinary tract infection.
Later, she e-mailed me and told me that it turned out that her cat did have
a urinary tract infection. When the infection was cured, the problem
resolved. (FTR, I had also had my cat checked for an infection at the time,
and she did not have one).
Good luck. Let us know what happens.
Best regards,
---Cindy S.

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Marissa - 05 Mar 2007 01:30 GMT

My Liz (17) stands and pees as it runs outside the box. I tried the bigger
box and it didn't work. She does have arthritis, so it probably does have to
do with not squatting properly. I put a plastic garbage bag underneath the
box and just mop the floor.

Don't really know about the poop thing, but good luck.

Maria

>> When my cat isn't pooping on the bathroom floor (as mentioned in
>> another thread), she has an annoying habit of standing in the
[quoted text clipped - 34 lines]
> Best regards,
> ---Cindy S.

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kraut - 05 Mar 2007 14:06 GMT

> When my cat isn't pooping on the bathroom floor (as mentioned in
> another thread), she has an annoying habit of standing in the
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Any ideas?

One of my four used to do this and all I had to do is get a bigger box
with higher side.

If the cat can not comfortable stand in the box with room to more
without touching the sides then it is time to get a bigger box.

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cindys - 05 Mar 2007 14:27 GMT

>> When my cat isn't pooping on the bathroom floor (as mentioned in
>> another thread), she has an annoying habit of standing in the
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> If the cat can not comfortable stand in the box with room to move
> without touching the sides then it is time to get a bigger box.

----------
In the case of my cat, it wasn't about the size of the box or the height of
the sides. She was a small cat, and we already had a jumbo box. It was the
same box she had been using most of her life, and she did not touch the
sides. When the problem began, I did try getting a box with higher sides,
but the urine still ended up on the floor. Sometimes, if I would hear her
enter the box, I would reposition her (she didn't seem to mind that), and
then the urine would stay in the box, but I couldn't spend my day following
my cat around to see if she were going to go in the litter box. As I said, I
still think the issue was anatomical (that she couldn't assume/maintain a
position where her butt was close enough to the gravel, possibly because of
arthritis or muscle weakness). At any rate, the covered box might not be the
solution for everyone, but it was the solution for us.
Best regards,
---Cindy S.

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Lesley - 05 Mar 2007 15:04 GMT

>When my cat isn't pooping on the bathroom floor (as mentioned in
>another thread), she has an annoying habit of standing in the
>litterbox and pooping over the side. She seems to think her
>requirement for pooperie is met by having all four feet in gravelly
>substance, and doesn't seem to care where she points her butt.

My Sarrasine used to do this and we tried everything we could think of- got
to the point where I think I located this group to ask for advice and my
first post was on the subject. Lots of suggestions- none worked,

Then one day when I was cleaning the box I accidentally tipped what I thought
was too much litter in the box

Problem solved, she just loves to bury the evidence real deep!

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs

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