New pet

[PokerMan]

Hi - i hope somebody can answer my query regarding cats...
About 18 months ago, we got a (then 5 year old) male domestic cat from a re-homing centre. In all the time we've had him he's been a little superstar. My query is this - after a few days, he started to leave us little 'presents' - small faecal deposits (about the size of a large pebble). This only happened once or twice a week for a month or so and we're quite certain they were all picked up and discarded! As i say, he's a really great pet. He's not destructive and loves company (lap cat) and he's well-loved but i just wondered what made him do that. We've never had a cat before and can't compare his behaviour to dogs that we've had in the past. Is this something to do with cats re-adjusting to home life or is it territorial?
I realise i may have just answered my own question there but i would love to know from someone who knows as he has not done it since.
Looking forward to your comments... thankyou in advance!!!

[boxtops]

It could well be territorial when he moved in - and to be honest I would rather have had the odd small poo than the mass spraying which I had at one time when our stray Rover first moved in. It was either him reminding the resident cats he was here, or the residents asserting their occupancy. It's a lot better now! I suspect your cat was a bit uncertain and perhaps just wasn't sure where to poo, so marked his ground where he could. As long as he's not still doing it, I wouldn't think you have anything to worry about.

[PokerMan]

Thankyou for your speedy reply boxtops. The thing was, when we got him home, we did the usual advised preparation and gave him 2 new beds to choose from (one in the lounge and one in the kitchen; in the kitchen, his food bowl was at one end, his litter tray at the other and his bed in the middle. Admittedly, it's not the biggest kitchen in the world but i think we had set it up correctly for him. Incidentally, he did actually use the litter tray for a number 2 not long after arriving,but he's never used it since. I forgot to mention the fact that we didn't have a chip-enabled cat flap until a fortnight after we had him

[wolf63]

When I first read your query I thought that it was a infrequent problem, but I see in your answer to boxtops that it is a regular habit.

My friend had the same problem and he moved the litter tray to another location, the problem was resolved almost instantly. Perhaps your kitchen is too buy for him or perhaps he doesn't wish to eat and crap in the same room. When he has a wee he can be in and out of the tray quickly.

Sit him down and have a man-to-man chat with him about this and I am sure he will completely ignore you.

They are really strange animals. ;-)

[PokerMan]

but he was fine with the flap and the 'present' scenario continued even though he was free to come and go as he pleased, and even had the use of the litter tray

[PokerMan]

wolf63 - from your avatar i see a cat so i trust your opinion. i think i may have worded my query incorrectly - it isn't a regulat habit - it's something that happended several times over a relatively short period and hasn't happened again in about 13 months. when i said he hasn't used the tray since, i meant that he used it once and then started using the flap to do his business outside. thankyou for your input and apologies for the confusion :-)

[boxtops]

That's OK pokerman - your room layout for him may not have been to his liking. When I've had a tray I've put it in the bathroom, my cats eat in the kitchen and sleep dozens of other places. Sleeping and eating in the same place as you poo is not liked by cats in general, IMO. As long as he's not doing it now, I wouldn't worry about it.

[wolf63]

Frankie is the boy cat in the avatar. His sister Merlin is long haired and stupid, she has been known to wander around the house with poo stuck to her behind. This usually drops off somewhere.

You might never get to the true reason why he is doing this. Cats are easily stressed and it could be due to something in his 'estate' that has upset him.

He isn't going to be too keen on going out in this weather anyway - it must be a cat's nightmare.

Merlin advises me that it is bed time - and the only way that will shut up is for me to go to my/our/their bed.

[PokerMan]

thanks again boxtops - < Sleeping and eating in the same place as you poo is not liked by cats in general, IMO> - i agree completely but i just wondered why he did it in the first place. he's settled in brilliantly and although it's not a problem now, it's something i have always wondered about and have only just thought about asking on here. i appreciate your comments. thankyou :-)

[PokerMan]

wolf63 - thankyou - i have to say that frankie doesn't look too dissimilar to my own bundle of fur. you're probably right, i suppose we will never get to the 'bottom' of this (excuse the pun!) the thing is, he rules our household and comes and goes as he pleases but i have seen him being bullied in the back garden kingdom (estate) by a bigger, older ginger tom. yet he never seems to be stressed at home and the 'present' thing has not manifested itself in over a year. i thank boxtops and yourself for your comments and advice and admit defeat in knowing that they are truly superior animals and we shall probably never know what makes them tick.

thankyou once again for your comments

p.s. i'm gald it's not just me who lets them sleep on my bed. little characters :-)