Cat doesn't cover poop, but covers pee. Vets couldn't find anything wrong. Help?

Basar

My parents' 12 year old cat has a new habit. She has decided to not cover her poop in the litter box. This has been going on for 3 months now. She has been using the same brand of litter all her life (clay). They took her to several pets to get her checked out for any medical problems but none of them could find anything wrong with her and actually she is in perfect health.

So I am doing what any logical person would do and ask here on PA for help. Any ideas? This is a concern because her litter box is in the bathroom and her poop stinks.

Thanks.

knitdan

Was the litter box in a different place before? She may not feel secure with it out in the open.

Also you may want to take a close look at her paws, I've seen suggestions that cats can develop an aversion to the texture of the litter.

Basar

knitdan wrote: »

Was the litter box in a different place before? She may not feel secure with it out in the open.

Also you may want to take a close look at her paws, I've seen suggestions that cats can develop an aversion to the texture of the litter.

The litter box has been in the same spot for the past 10 years. I'll ask my parents to check her paws but I think at least one of the vets they have been to would have noticed something if anything is wrong. Thanks.

Mr Obersmith

Having just gone through something similar with one of my cats I found that it had to do with 2 things. 1, he didn't like the amount of litter in the box, so I added more. 2, all of a sudden he didn't like having a litterbox with a lid (which he's had for the last 5-6 years. Taking the lid off ultimately took care of the problem.

Iruka

My cat does this when I don't put enough in or I haven't fully changed out the litter and cleaned the box in a little too long.

Jasconius

my cat has never covered her poop in her long life. i have no idea why (many different boxes and litters over her life)

luckily my other cat will follow her and do it for her

so... add more cats???

I don't think this is a clinical issue. it's a behavior thing. I think the other suggestions in the thread are pretty reasonable. I wish one of them worked for me!

Cog

We have two cats. One of them covers everything like a proper gentleman.

The other one rockets out of the litterbox the very second he has completed his business like he has committed a crime and is afraid of being caught in the act.

To be fair, from the way it smells, he has.

Cats be weird. Do a full change on the litter and scrub out the box. Maybe try a different litter. Otherwise you might need to accept that your cat just doesn't give a shit about his shit anymore.

Rend

I think I remember reading somewhere that the alpha cat doesn't cover their poop because they want the box to smell like them. No idea if it's true or not but anecdotally I have observed this being the case.

Could be that your cat either is the alpha or thinks of themself as the alpha. I am pretty sure based on her behavior that my little kitty thinks of me as the top of the pecking order, followed by her, followed by my girlfriend.

mts

one of my cats doesn't do it, but he is a giant cat and kind of chubby so i think its hard for him to turn around

dispatch.o

Some cats don't like being in a position to be surprised, so if they poop toward the front of the box and have to turn their back on the rest of the room to paw at the litter to cover it, they will just run off. It could be that at some point it was in the box and got startled and now it's a bit nervous in there. You could try a box that occupies a larger physical floor area, but really I doubt anything will change.

Soggybiscuit

As others have said, cats are weird.

My older cat never covered and had a weird habit of bringing me 'gifts' every night and leaving them next to my bed for me to step on. My dad said she no longer does the gifting thankfully.

The cat I have now covers like a gentleman, but eats grass whenever he goes outside because he apparently enjoys the taste. Unfortunately he also forgets to chew so I have to clean up dingleberries every once in a while.

Basar

Thank you all for the suggestions. I think my parents scoop up the litter daily and she has a huge litter box, the largest one I've ever seen, so maybe emptying the box and scrubbing it and then filling it with fresh litter might help. I'll let you all know if this helps. Thanks again.

Rend wrote: »

I think I remember reading somewhere that the alpha cat doesn't cover their poop because they want the box to smell like them. No idea if it's true or not but anecdotally I have observed this being the case.

Could be that your cat either is the alpha or thinks of themself as the alpha. I am pretty sure based on her behavior that my little kitty thinks of me as the top of the pecking order, followed by her, followed by my girlfriend.

I have heard about this before but she is the only feline in the house and is indoor only so I don't know to who she is proving her alphaness Thanks though!

dispatch.o

Basar wrote: »

Thank you all for the suggestions. I think my parents scoop up the litter daily and she has a huge litter box, the largest one I've ever seen, so maybe emptying the box and scrubbing it and then filling it with fresh litter might help. I'll let you all know if this helps. Thanks again.

Rend wrote: »

I think I remember reading somewhere that the alpha cat doesn't cover their poop because they want the box to smell like them. No idea if it's true or not but anecdotally I have observed this being the case.

Could be that your cat either is the alpha or thinks of themself as the alpha. I am pretty sure based on her behavior that my little kitty thinks of me as the top of the pecking order, followed by her, followed by my girlfriend.

I have heard about this before but she is the only feline in the house and is indoor only so I don't know to who she is proving her alphaness Thanks though!

Honestly cats are assholes. They push things off shelves while looking you dead in the eye. Attempt to trip and kill you the instant you pick something up that obstructs your view of the ground in front of you.

All that being true, there are boxes that will automatically scoop and such that people seem to love and I've actually considered. Though they are expensive and I actually pay attention to the poop to monitor my idiot cats health and such I am still in the same boat.

One of my two cats can ruin dinner and doesn't cover. If you find a trick, let me know.

Basar

dispatch.o wrote: »

Basar wrote: »

Thank you all for the suggestions. I think my parents scoop up the litter daily and she has a huge litter box, the largest one I've ever seen, so maybe emptying the box and scrubbing it and then filling it with fresh litter might help. I'll let you all know if this helps. Thanks again.

Rend wrote: »

I think I remember reading somewhere that the alpha cat doesn't cover their poop because they want the box to smell like them. No idea if it's true or not but anecdotally I have observed this being the case.

Could be that your cat either is the alpha or thinks of themself as the alpha. I am pretty sure based on her behavior that my little kitty thinks of me as the top of the pecking order, followed by her, followed by my girlfriend.

I have heard about this before but she is the only feline in the house and is indoor only so I don't know to who she is proving her alphaness Thanks though!

Honestly cats are assholes. They push things off shelves while looking you dead in the eye. Attempt to trip and kill you the instant you pick something up that obstructs your view of the ground in front of you.

All that being true, there are boxes that will automatically scoop and such that people seem to love and I've actually considered. Though they are expensive and I actually pay attention to the poop to monitor my idiot cats health and such I am still in the same boat.

One of my two cats can ruin dinner and doesn't cover. If you find a trick, let me know.

Don't be like that My own cat is the sweetest soul ever. He is a lap cat, never objects to being hugged, snuggles in bed with us, never tries to steal food from the table, etc. Seriously, he is as cool as a cat can ever be.

Obligatory photos:

bwanie

Yeah the only reason I'd give this a second thought is that she apparently used to cover. Which indicates a behavioral change that might indicate something.

The uncovered poop itself is a non issue, because as many have stated, some cats just don't cover at all.

Lovely

Do you only have one litterbox? This might his way of putting in a request to add another.

azith28

Jasconius wrote: »

my cat has never covered her poop in her long life. i have no idea why (many different boxes and litters over her life)

luckily my other cat will follow her and do it for her

so... add more cats???

I don't think this is a clinical issue. it's a behavior thing. I think the other suggestions in the thread are pretty reasonable. I wish one of them worked for me!

Yeah my two have the same issue. Ones just lazy about it. The other is like a mother picking up after her spoiled kid.

Magic Pink

Soggybiscuit wrote: »

The cat I have now covers like a gentleman, but eats grass whenever he goes outside because he apparently enjoys the taste. Unfortunately he also forgets to chew so I have to clean up dingleberries every once in a while.

Cats eat grass because it's actually a requirement for their diet. Pet cats usually barf it up because they don't get it regularly.

Cog

Rend wrote: »

I think I remember reading somewhere that the alpha cat doesn't cover their poop because they want the box to smell like them. No idea if it's true or not but anecdotally I have observed this being the case.

Could be that your cat either is the alpha or thinks of themself as the alpha. I am pretty sure based on her behavior that my little kitty thinks of me as the top of the pecking order, followed by her, followed by my girlfriend.

So.... you don't cover it when you shit in the litter box... is what I'm getting from this...?

Djeet

Magic Pink wrote: »

Soggybiscuit wrote: »

The cat I have now covers like a gentleman, but eats grass whenever he goes outside because he apparently enjoys the taste. Unfortunately he also forgets to chew so I have to clean up dingleberries every once in a while.

Cats eat grass because it's actually a requirement for their diet. Pet cats usually barf it up because they don't get it regularly.

Cats are obligate carnivores. They don't eat grass for nutritional value (they cannot digest it). It's said they've learned to eat it to barf up undigestible elements of their diet (feathers, bones, fur).

dispatch.o

Djeet wrote: »

Magic Pink wrote: »

Soggybiscuit wrote: »

The cat I have now covers like a gentleman, but eats grass whenever he goes outside because he apparently enjoys the taste. Unfortunately he also forgets to chew so I have to clean up dingleberries every once in a while.

Cats eat grass because it's actually a requirement for their diet. Pet cats usually barf it up because they don't get it regularly.

Cats are obligate carnivores. They don't eat grass for nutritional value (they cannot digest it). It's said they've learned to eat it to barf up undigestible elements of their diet (feathers, bones, fur).

This all being true, some do love wheat grass. I'm not sure why. Maybe just the taste?

bwanie

it's a cat's equivalent of sticking a finger down your throat.

and some grasses contain trace chemicals/are just plain stimulant in nature to them, which some cats seem to enjoy.

ClannMorgan

Yeah, I also had a cat the never covered her poo...she would also poo right on the corners of the box. She was a strange cat. My other cat always covered. I tried moving the box, more litter, less litter, different boxes, cat grass. Nothing worked. As long as the cat is cleared medically by the vet then you may just have to live with the cat's decision not do cover.

Super Namicchi

Chiming in to say my old guy does the same thing. Cat the Younger basically has been trained to be Cat the Older's poo butler

it is definitely a social/behavioral thing

Magic Pink

Djeet wrote: »

Magic Pink wrote: »

Soggybiscuit wrote: »

The cat I have now covers like a gentleman, but eats grass whenever he goes outside because he apparently enjoys the taste. Unfortunately he also forgets to chew so I have to clean up dingleberries every once in a while.

Cats eat grass because it's actually a requirement for their diet. Pet cats usually barf it up because they don't get it regularly.

Cats are obligate carnivores. They don't eat grass for nutritional value (they cannot digest it). It's said they've learned to eat it to barf up undigestible elements of their diet (feathers, bones, fur).

Eh. I've read lots that disagrees and, strictly anecdotal, my cats have never barfed grass and love to eat it. Of course, some won't touch it either.

Iruka

This vein is probably a bit of a tangent for the topic at hand, and you can find very conflicting material on the topic. I don't think continuing is likely to help @Basar with his issue.

But I can tell you what this thread lacks, which is a photo of the offender.

knitdan

It's hidden behind a spoiler halfway up the page

dispatch.o

knitdan wrote: »

It's hidden behind a spoiler halfway up the page

Point of order, that's his cat. The parents cat is the one with pooping issues, but cats are great so fine.

Basar

Iruka wrote: »

This vein is probably a bit of a tangent for the topic at hand, and you can find very conflicting material on the topic. I don't think continuing is likely to help @Basar with his issue.

But I can tell you what this thread lacks, which is a photo of the offender.

Ask and you shall receive!

Here's the elegant lady (aside from poop issues):

Dhalphir

Two out of our four cats don't attempt to bury their poops, the third one sometimes fails to do so because she tries to bury it by scratching the wall of the litterbox instead of the litter itself and when that fails she gives up.

I don't think it's much of a problem, you just have to deal with it.

If you aren't already, switch to litter crystals over clay/paper litter. It's much easier to handle anyway, and traps a lot of the odour. It'll still get smelly with uncovered poops, but not anywhere near as bad.

Psykoma

I've had the same, and couldn't figure it out. The closest guess I have is that she covers her dumps sometimes and doesn't other time, and generally on the times that she doesn't, I've noticed a stray cat wandering around my backyard, and when she does cover her poo I don't see the cat. In my case maybe it's a territorial thing with what she perceives as another cat invading her space, and maybe similar with you?