Question about kitty poo habits

[huskerlaw]

Spencer is 4 years old, and recently started pooping outside of the litter box. At first it seemed to happen only when he was angry about something (I went on a trip, there were lots of people over, etc), but now it seems to be random.

A bit of background...Spencer is neurotic. Yes, even by cat standards. He does not like to be held by *anyone*. He will let me pet him if he initiates it, but otherwise will run away when anyone tries to touch him. It does seem like that has gotten a bit better recently though. He initiates contact more often, etc.

Ok, now about the poop...when the pooping thing started, about a year and a half ago, it was clearly in response to an annoyance and he would poo right outside the litter box. He has now moved to a corner of the living room...same corner every time he does it. Before, he would always do it in the middle of the night, but a few days ago, he did it while my roommate was sitting in the same room. And, again, there no longer seems to be an obvious precipitating event. This doesn't happen every day, most of the time he's perfectly content to poo in the box. The cleanliness of the box doesn't seem to be a deciding factor.

I have deep-cleaned the corner numerous times, and there is already a Feliway plug-in in the living room (though not in that corner). Thankfully it's a wood floor, so he's not ruining carpet, and he does not pee outside of the litter box (god forbid). But my roomie is understandably fed up with cleaning poo when I'm gone and I clearly would prefer that this not become a (more frequent) habit of his.

So, my question is...any idea how to stop this behavior? Especially since we almost never actually catch him in the act?

[hippywife]

1. For the short term,

I would move something into the corner that would bar him from it and see what happens. Long term, I have no idea. :shrug:

I have a different problem with one of mine. She goes in the box and then instead of scratching the litter to cover it, she scratches all over outside the box and on the wall. She will do this for the longest time and it can get annoying. I actually have to stop her sometimes.

[huskerlaw]

2. I have one that does that!

Well, he covers the poo in the box, but then he scratches the heck out of the sides and top of the box. I often end up yelling at him to stop. He probably thinks his name is, "Riley! Enough!" ;)

I'm thinking about moving their food to that corner for a bit...after I scrub the spot with ammonia and let it sit for a few days. But then I'm worried that he'll pick another corner, perhaps one even less convenient than this one. :shrug:

[hippywife]

3. That's a really good idea!

He's not likely to take a dump where his food is. Good thinking!

And I hate yelling at Lina or squirting her when she does all that outside scratching coz I'm afraid it will make her start going somewhere besides the box, but it really gets annoying! LOL And she doesn't cover hers at all. Lucy seems to go behind her and clean house. :rofl:

[badgerpup]

4. Riktor does that too...

Uses the box, and then scratches everywhere BUT the litter...edges of the box, up the wall...

I just laugh at him for missing the point, and if it's poop I tell him 'Not to worry, I'll deal with it (immediate scoop-n-flush)'

I think he doesn't like the feel of the litter on his paws, because when he's outside he doesn't have any difficulty with covering his...er...tracks.
He does seem to prefer grass and dried leaves though...it's probably a 'Riktor thing'. :shrug: