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Cats/Cats Defecating on Furniture

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Expert: - 1/18/2010


Question
Norman,

I have two well-behaved Bengal kittens. I keep them down in my basement during the day while I'm at work, and then they come upstairs with me during the evening. Yesterday while I was in the basement, I noticed that there were about 5 defecation spots on an old chair I had down there.

I checked and there are no accidents anywhere else. Also, they have not peed anywhere other than the litterbox.

I'm confused about what might be causing this. It doesn't look like a habit because there were only a few spots on the chair.

They are about 3 months old. Do you think they could have worms?

This worries me because I definitely don't want it happening on any of my good furniture upstairs.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Answer
Hannah,

The first thing I would do is to have them to your vet to check for worms, or other intestinal parasites, or impacted anal glands, or the like.

It could also be that someone used the old chair at some point to defecate and one or both of the kittens have discovered it. You can clean up inappropriate pooping with an enzyme based cleaner specifically for pet stains and pet odors (available at most pet supermarkets or farm stores).

If the behavior does not continue on then it was a one time happenstance.  If they get a clean bill of health and the behavior expresses itself again, you can try sprinkiling some "Cat Attract" litter in the litter pan.  It may even make sense to get rid of the chair and see if the litter pan behavior returns to normal.

Please let me knbow how it goes.

Best regards... Norm.  

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Norman Auspitz

Expertise

I can answer most non-veterinary questions about cats. My particular expertise is pedigree cats, breeding and showing. However, I am versed in feline behavior, cat breeds and their characteristics, general feline husbandry, and the like.

Experience

I judged for the Canadian Cat Association from 1975 until 1982. I am currently an approved allbreed judge for the Cat Fanciers'' Association (the world''s largets cat registry), and have been judging for them since 1991. I have been breeding pedigreed cats since 1971 and have been exhibiting pedigreed cats in shows since 1970. I obtained my first pedigreed cat in 1970 and have never looked back. In 1971, I obtained my first Abyssinian which has become my primary breed. In addition, I have bred Manx and Persians. Currently, besides the Abyssinians, I am also breeding Maine Coons.


Organizations
Cat Fanciers'' Association, inc. (CFA) and the Manx, Maine Coon, and Abyssinian breed councils. I am currently Abyssinian breed council secretary.

Publications
Cat Fancy Magazine, The Abyssinian Chapter in The Cat Fanciers'' Association Complete Cat Book, and Articles for various editions of The Cat Fanciers'' Association Yearbook

Education/Credentials
I received a B.S. from Drexel University in 1968, a M.Math from University of Waterloo, in 1970, a Ph.D. from University of Waterloo in 1975, and a MBA from McMaster University in 1980. I received my approved allbreed judging status in the Cat Fanciers'' Association in 1999.

Awards and Honors
We have produced a number of Cat Fanciers'' Association (CFA) National winning Abyssinian and Maine Coons. We have produced a number of Abyssinian and Maine Coon Distinguished Merit females (an award for a top producing cat), including the first Distinguished Merit Abyssinian in the red (sorrel) color. I am the CFA Abyssinian breed council secretary and belong and/or hold office in a number of cat clubs. I am also a member of the CFA Judges Association.

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