I adore our cats BUT..

picklepick · 3 March 2010 at 3:42PM

Right, so you shout at the kitten when it poos in the garden and then you shout at it when it poos in the house.... no wonder the poor little thing is confused!!! Just get a litter tray.

Clean the floor where they've been pooing and weeing with biological washing powder to get rid of the smell.

madget_2 · 3 March 2010 at 3:46PM

As others have said, don't you think it's unfair to expect your cats to go and poo in someone else's garden? They have to do it somewhere. If you have cats, you should expect them to behave as cats.

I do have sympathy for you, though, as one of my cats has a digestive disorder and used to diarrhoea all over the place until we got it under control with food that agreed with her. She also poos in the kitchen when she is stressed. It's not fun to deal with, but she very rarely ever does it now (usually only when we're away on holiday). We persuaded her to stop by being calm and gently lifting her into the litter tray when she looked as though she was about to poo on the floor. Now, whenever we see her doing her business in her litter tray, we praise her and make a fuss of her. It really seems to have worked.

By shouting at them and (even worse) rubbing their noses in it, you risk traumatising them. And when cats are stressed, they're more likely to do their business where they're not supposed to. You may even find that they become so afraid that they try and hold it in, which can make them very ill indeed.

Why not set up a poo-friendly zone in the garden. Maybe place some fine gravel or bark chippings in one area to encourage them to do their business there? But if you have outdoor cats, then I feel it would be very unfair to expect them to poo elsewhere. The poor things won't know what on earth they're supposed to do if they keep getting into trouble for it.

picklepick · 3 March 2010 at 3:51PM

Madget is right, if you shout at a cat when it poos somewhere you dont want it to, all they'll do is try and hold it in. Or they'll just make sure they poo in places where you cant see them. Like under your sofas.... or in your wardrobes!

mozzyc · 3 March 2010 at 4:00PM

Our cat's poo in our garden. I usually have an area of upturned soft soil that i have 'designated' for their business. Easier than going round the whole garden with poo bags! I make sure it's clean and usable for them, and they have taken to it well.

Pixiechic · 3 March 2010 at 4:20PM

Gosh, I really feel sorry for your poor cats. Where exactly are they suppoesd to go to the toilet then? Not in a box, not in the garden, not in someone else's garden, so where exactly have you made provision for them to go? Also, do you have a cat flap? I got the impression from your post that they have to ask to go out. What if you are not there and they can't get out?
You need two cat trays in the house or you need to allow them proper access outside. I have absolutely no sympathy for you here, it is cruel to not allow them anywhere to go to the toilet and then shout at them when they have to go. We all have to go to the toilet and if you had no toilet to use and no access to one, you would be doing it on the floor too. Your frustrations here are probably mirrored 100 times by your poor cats. This is also after both your cats have been unwell too, I question your ability here as a pet owner, I really do. If they annoy you this much because you cannot or will not provide for such a very basic need (that we ALL have) then I have to question that.
Some people...............:(

kindofagilr · 3 March 2010 at 7:17PM

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Did your mum shout at you when you were potty training too? Rule by fear, fantastic.

Dont be so pathetic and try and comment on my mother's mothering skills, she is the best mother anyone could ask for.

Some people on here are a !!!!!!! joke!

All I did was state what worked for us and Pip Squeak (who lived a very happy and long life of 18 years with us) and you have the nerve to try and comment on my mam's mothering skills!

And the two people who have thanked you (so far) are just as pathetic!

gabyjane · 3 March 2010 at 7:25PM

Ok was going to reply individually but i'm not! I would just like to say sometimes it would be nice for some advice, not being had a go at all the time when i am asking for help?

Basically the issue we have is they have NEVER pood in our garden..now i'm sorry but if this was a thread the other way round the cat people would all be defending themselves as ive seen hundreds of times before.

The older cat doesn't poo in the garden as far as im aware dd says she may have seen him once but im not convinced..the kitten (1yr) is now pooing and i am not sure why? whether he poos in ours or not really is not the answer i was after as to why he is 'suddenly' doing it? I agree with the whole thing over then ruingin other peoples gardens but they don't (i know where they go!) my neighbours have cats and only one person 2 doors up has kids so i do sympathise but speak to them and as far as im aware in 2+ years we have had no poo in each others!

Today i have cleaned poo from the sink twice, the bath and the kitchen floor..and no until a couple of days ago no one was getting cross with him he was just picked up and put outside as i know it would traumatise him..still he doesnt get shouted at but yes maybe there is an atmosphere over having to clean 24/7 there must be a reason for him doing it in the house though as he goes out and then comes in and poos not the other way round.

As for 'asking' to go out..well what's wrong with that? not everyone has a cat flap and we dont feel like we need one (never had one) as he/they are not recently outdoor trained etc and shouldnt really need one..90% of the time there is someone here so i dont think him needing to go out is a prob..like i said he goes out..does nothing then comes in and poos? (thats when he's not doing it inside)
I also forgot to say he has weed in all the baskets and uses them as toilets too so we have got rid..why though is the asnwer i'm after not criticsim over the rights and wrongs of him using our/someone elses garden?

Think we have made the prob even worse by putting bark down last night (not for the cats replacing pebbles) as just got home and younger one was sat in it having dug and flung it everywhere..his new toilet?

Like i said seems odd after a long time of them being in the same habit.

gabyjane · 3 March 2010 at 7:34PM

Pixiechic wrote: »

Gosh, I really feel sorry for your poor cats. Where exactly are they suppoesd to go to the toilet then? Not in a box, not in the garden, not in someone else's garden, so where exactly have you made provision for them to go? Also, do you have a cat flap? I got the impression from your post that they have to ask to go out. What if you are not there and they can't get out?
You need two cat trays in the house or you need to allow them proper access outside. I have absolutely no sympathy for you here, it is cruel to not allow them anywhere to go to the toilet and then shout at them when they have to go. We all have to go to the toilet and if you had no toilet to use and no access to one, you would be doing it on the floor too. Your frustrations here are probably mirrored 100 times by your poor cats. This is also after both your cats have been unwell too, I question your ability here as a pet owner, I really do. If they annoy you this much because you cannot or will not provide for such a very basic need (that we ALL have) then I have to question that.
Some people...............:(

Lol at the above bits??? really have you read it back..i think your ebing a little extreme!!

Ok first highlighted bit..what if we are not there and they cant get out..ok fair enough we DO go out (shock horror) and they stay in BUT most of the time they are out (this is for the short periods we are out)..if we aren't i am at home from 8-830 and dh otherwise, then he goes to work and im at home as work from home, when i go to school he comes home so you see there is 90% of the time someone here..i ahve no issues with them being trapped in?!they always have access outside.

Why do we need to go back litter trays? is that not like having a child and saying 'oh well because they wet themselves they need to go back in nappies'?? no we would be going backwards a step not forwards. LOTS of people dont have litter trays.

Again you have no idea about my life or how our cats are looked after..i asked for help not criticism on how you 'think' we look after our cats and for your information you are way off the mark..they are very loved animals.

madget_2 · 3 March 2010 at 7:47PM

I did give advice re calmly lifting the cat into a litter tray when they look as if they're about to poo on the floor, then praising the cat when they use their litter tray, and also about creating a poo-friendly area in the garden. (You wrote in your first post that they both now seem to poo in the garden.) I also expressed my sympathy as I've had to deal with pooing indoors on floors, etc.

Anyway, let's get back on track. The first question we really need to know in order for us to offer any advice is where do you ideally want your cats to poo? Outside or inside in a litter tray? I'm a bit unclear from reading your posts.

You're right about the bark chippings as cats absolutely love them. We spread bark around all of our garden beds and several of the neighbourhood cats use them as a loo - although we don't mind as we love the cats and encourage them into our garden, so it's not a problem for us. You may well have to remove the bark chippings, unfortunately, and have a re-think over what to put down instead. Are the chippings around plants or do they form a pathway?

For the cats to be pooing inside, it does seem consistent with stress. Again, I'd very strongly advise you not to rub their noses in it and not be tempted to shout at them. This will just make matters worse as it will stress them further. The key is to stay calm. If you do want them to use an indoor litter tray instead of outside, then gently place them onto the tray when they seem as though they're about to poo elsewhere. Then praise them when they get it right.

You can buy a stain and odour remover (I think by Simple Solutions) which neutralises the smell and stain or faeces and urine. If the smell sticks around, then it will encourage them to keep on soiling the same areas.

The sudden presence of the kitten could well be stressing out the older cat - this is a common occurrence. Then the kitten could be learning from the older cat - another common occurrence.

How are the two cats getting on now? Are they interacting together well, or at least tolerating each other?

madget_2 · 3 March 2010 at 7:50PM

Just read your last post. Am I right in thinking that you want them to do their business outside? If so, you'd definitely be best off creating the poo-friendly area in your garden that I mentioned.

I adore our cats BUT..

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