I’ve just watched Cash in the Attic where Pat Gledhill was trying to raise money to pay for a cat behaviourist to solve the problem of one of her cats crapping in corners. I’m not sure how much the behaviourist cost but it was something exorbitant like £120 an hour. The solution the behaviourist came up with – fit a cat flap. I’d have told them that for a fiver and I wouldn’t have needed to call at their house to tell them that.

Lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :d

I saw that too and couldn't believe it! I'm doing a psychology degree at the mo - think I'll specialise in cat psychology now so I can charge silly money for pearls of wisdom like that

Sounds like a good plan.

I nearly fell off my chair laughing.

Sell valuable antiques so you can spend £120 to be told that your cat needs a cat flap to avoid her crapping in the house. I do hope Harry Hill picks it up.

Problem being, fitting the cat flap could make the cat pee in the house instead!!

(Some cats will feel nervous if there is a cat flap as it gives other cats access to their 'territory' so 'mark' their territory by peeing on it)

I'd have recommended an extra litter tray - and to clean the trays out more regularly. And I'd have only charge £100

That's an interesting point. Cats living with us must (usually) suppress their natural instinct to mark their territory. I'm glad that's the case, but I wonder why they agree to it. (And no, I'm not paying a cat behaviourist to find out!).

You can get cat flaps which only allow access to the authorised cat. In fact, I read about a new design recently that reads the RFID chip of the approaching cat...

The only time my cat has crapped in the house was when I was renovating the lounge and had left piles of plaster debris in a corner. She obviously thought I'd installed a new litter tray!

A litter tray also works.

They have been around a while. I have one.

Try Feliway which mimics a cats pheromones and returns your cat to being a cool dude or dudette.

http://www.feliway.uk.com/feliway_uk.nsf/Page?OpenForm

http://www.ciao.co.uk/Reviews/Feliway__5318409

It wasn’t mentioned whether they had a litter tray.

I wonder what they would have said about MY cat, Phoebe. She's gorgeous, happy and affectionate and a little darling but she always craps on the carpet. We have a cat flap and FOUR strategically placed litter trays (which she uses for weeing in), which are kept beautifully clean - but she still craps on the carpet.

She's only 5 and this is her third home because of this problem. We're not going to send the poor little thing away to someone else. We love her dearly but it IS very annoying.

Does she always go in the same place or does she dot it around?

My three have never (touch wood) gone in the wrong place.

It's always EXACTLY in the same spot.

We spray it afterwards with stain and odour remover and scrub the area, but it makes no difference. Fortunately she only eats dry food so her little turds are hard and quite easy to pick up and don't leave any mark but it's annoying just the same.

Have you tried putting a tray in that spot (no matter how inconvenient it may be) and placing the turd in it and leaving it for long enough for her to see it there.

The room she does it in already has 3 trays in it now!!!

Each one was put in a spot where she used to crap!
If you cover up her place on the carpet with a tray she just seems to look for a different bit of carpet!

The funny thing is she NEVER does it if we're around. If we are there she goes and craps nicely in the tray. She waits till there is no-one in the room or the middle of the night before she does it.
No-one has ever caught her in the act!

She's the original phantom crapper!.

She seems to last about eighteen months to two years in a home before they give up on her and send her back to the rescue centre.

Our's is her third home and she's been with us exactly two years! We are not going to send her away but I think it's impossible to change her now.

Sounds like she’s making a statement.

She knows it’s bad but she still does it.

How do you respond to her after a phantom crap?

Reminds me of Fat Freddy's Cat. He used to crap in Freddy's shoes as an act of coolly calculated revenge. But only when Freddy wasn't looking, obviously.

Artymags, you could try joining a cat owners forum and see if anyone has solved a problem like this. Catchat.org was one I looked at.

I found out a lot about the cause of the problem (anxiety):

Reassure your cat
Help your cat feel comfortable in his home territory. Play games with him and talk to him frequently in a low and reassuring voice. Give him positive attention and affection and reward him when he uses the litter tray. A confident, secure, and relaxed cat does not need to relieve anxiety and stress by such extreme measures as urine or faecal marking and spraying.

The use of remedial products may also be considered such as Feliway, or Bach Flower Remedies (see under Remedial Products below).

But very little about an effective solution.

I should imagine Phoebe is anxious with having three homes and owners.

I have certainly praised her when she has used the litter tray for crapping and I have never been cross with her or made any comment at all about turds on the carpet.
No cat could possibly have more love, affection and cuddles than she does.

I tried Feliway but gave up on it as it seemed to have no affect.

She has been with us for two years now and seems totally settled. She is a very happy little cat and loves company and is full of fun and very playful.

I know what you're saying but I have kept cats - usually disturbed "rescue" cats all my life and have had loads of experience with all sorts of problems and read all the books.

I have the feeling that Phoebe was taken from her mother much too soon and has never learned about trays and such as a kitten.

Whatever happens she's with us for good now though and we will just have to put up with little turds on the carpet every morning!.

I will certainly try that cat forum you mentioned though. They might have some other suggestions.

Thanks a lot.

No probs.

I have to put up with little turds on the carpet, too. Not because the cats put them there but because my dog gets them out of the litter tray with her mouth. That’s another story.

Dried cat food turds are very inoffensive, though, and putting up with them may be the only solution.