What to do when cat keeps shifting infront of the litterbox

Make sure your litter box is clean, and that your cat thinks it's clean. Cats want to be able to bury their waste, and if there's too much in the box for the cat's liking, they'll go somewhere else, and it's often right outside the box if there isn't something else they could use. It's important to understand that it's the cat's opinion that matters here, not yours: you may need to scoop it every day, even if there's only a little in it.

You may also need to move the litter box and clean the previous area, including and most importantly the place outside the litter box that gets used. Use vinegar if you can: it has a strong smell that cats don't like, but it won't hurt them like bleach can. Lemon juice works well for this, also. What this will do is make sure that this area doesn't smell like a place they have used as a litter box before.

When cats shit outside the box, they’re trying to communicate something. Unfortunately they don’t speak English and sometimes resort to speaking Catshittese.

Are there enough boxes? You should have n+1 litter boxes, where n is the number of cats in the home. Also they should be scooped two or three times a day (before work, after work, and bedtime is a good routine). The litter should be about 3”/8cm deep: they need enough to bury their piss and shit, but too deep feels unsteady beneath their feet.

Is she a really big cat? She might want a bigger box. I once had a big fuckoff tabby who needed jumbo boxes with extra-high sides.

Maybe she’s having digestive pains. Does her shit look normal? If not, put the misplaced turd in a zipper baggy and have your vet check it out.

It could also be an emotional issue, like loneliness or anxiety or dominance, but make sure the litter boxes and digestive health are all in order before deciding that’s what’s up.

Cats are quirky and can have many reasons to do that. If she is an older cat she may have arthritis and the walls of the box could be high for her to easily get over. Some cats hate covered litter boxes. If you changed litter brands recently she may not like the texture or smell. The box could be too small; I bought a large metal litterbox for mine before they quit peeing over the sides on the wall.

Emotional issues can cause outside box use too: new pet, roommate, someone moved out. All can have an effect.

Feliway has a pheromone spray or diffuser you can use that is supposed to help with issues like urinating outside the box which may help with the poop problem. Another brand called Comfort Zone has a "spray and scratch" that's slightly cheaper.

If the vinegar or peroxide that others recommended to clean the potty spot don't seem to do the trick, then you can buy an enzyme cleaner like Nonscents "stain and odor eliminator" to see if that will work.

Have you seen the cat take a shit outside the box? How close is the shit to the box? My cat sometimes craps outside the box but it is just due to him not walking far enough into the box before squatting, so his ass is sticking out. The poop ends up just outside the door or smeared on the lip.

Have you tried a larger litter box? Are you cleaning the box regularly?

Is your cat declawed? Sometimes cats that are declawed might not want to use the litter box. It's one of the problems with declawing.

Declawing cats is a horrible practice and should never be done.

How bad does her shit smell? My cat has Inflammatory Bowl Disease. When she has a flare up, her shit smells absolutely horrific, she strains a lot, and poop often ends up outside the litterbox.

The other suggestions in this thread are great. I'd add take her to the vet and explain the situation. Also see if they can express her anal glands. My cat also had massively clogged anal glands which didn't help anything.

Good luck.

Typically I would show dominance by taking my own shit in front of the box.

I have 2 kitties and this happened all the time. I had to introduce a third litter box for it to stop happening. And as others have said, clean them out every day. #poofreefloor

It's also possible she doesn't realize she's missing the box... we had an older cat that started doing this... she would get all her feet in the box, squat and shit on the floor right next to the box, then try to bury it. Got her a bigger box with slightly higher sides (still low enough she could easily access), and it fixed the issue

We had this problem recently; we took her to the vet because we thought it was a medical issue, but they found nothing wrong with her. Instead, they said it seemed like she was depressed and anxious, so they gave her a prescription for a teeny tiny cat-sized dose of Prozac every night, and it totally cleared the issue up. Turns out she was just really down a lot and didn't know how else to communicate it to us.

What kind of car does the cat drive? Maybe its time for a new clutch?

Our 16 year old cat with worn out hip joints started doing the same a while ago. A much bigger litterbox solved the problem.

Maybe try changing her litter? Sounds like she doesn't like it.

Already some good suggestions about making the litterbox way cleaner than your human senses would be able to appreciate. But I was just wondering if your cat is a tortoise shell? Seems to be a common behavior in those quirky girls.

I would also recommend that if you know there is going to be kitty poop in front of the litter box then you should avoid standing in it

in addition to what others have said: this is also a classic symptom of territorial insecurity so maybe there's a stray cat spraying the outsides of the walls of your home.

Buy a second smaller litter box and put it where she keeps shitting and then, once she is used to it, slowly move it into the normal litter box.

You should get a Litter Robot thingy. They don't look like there's enough room to do something like that and it would theoretically clean everything up everytime so there probably wouldn't be any issue in terms of fussiness with prior mess

Is the cat older? My oldest cat couldn't step up into the litter box anymore so I ended up cutting the front of it so the step over was much smaller. You could also put a brick or build a wooden step which makes it easier for her to step into the box. It has to be heavy and sturdy enough to where it won't move when the cat steps on it.

Also check that the box is clean. I would dump qll the litter and hit the inside with a hose to make sure it is clean. Dey it, and then refill it with fresh litter. And make sure you scoop out all the poop out of it every day. Cats tends to be very clean animals and don't like a dirty box.

Another thing to consider is if the box is too small for them. One of our cats is rather large so we had to get a larger litter box for them.