Cat pooping by the door

by Chellie. Jones
(Liverpool, England)

My house trained kitten, Clive, has suddenly started pooping by the door every time I'm not in the same room or go out. How can I stop this?

My thoughts: I'm sorry to hear your cat is having problems and you're dealing with the dreaded clean up. As a general rule, cats often stop using the litter box due to medical problems, or as a response to stress or anxiety.

Assuming your vet says your cat is healthy, then I would assume it's stress or anxiety causing the problem.

Given that your absence is a factor here, this case sounds suspiciously like separation anxiety to me.

There could be other factors at work, however, so I would keep an open mind at this point. For example, if there are cats outside that your cat can smell, hear, or see, this can cause the "pooping at the door" syndrome, as I call it.

Going on my suspicions, though, I recommend reading what Dr. Sophia Yin had to say about separation anxiety syndrome in cats.

I would also consider why this may have started. As I often say, cats hate change. What might have changed from your cat's point of view?

Did something change in your schedule? Has there been a new addition to the house? Are you paying less attention to Clive than you previously did? And so on.

I hope that helps, and please keep us updated on your kitty's progress.
-Kurt