My cat is pooping outside the litter box since the baby arrived. Why?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female
My daughter just had a baby 2 days ago. She and her husband have 2 cats, Linus is a male and Lucy is a female. Both cats are about 12 years old. When my daughter was around 6 months pregnant, Lucy started to occasionally not use the litter box and poop on the carpet in the rec room which is near both litter boxes. They will bring baby home from the hospital tomorrow and don't know what to do if Lucy keeps popping on the carpet. Is she acting out because of this new change at home? Thank you.
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on July 19th, 2017
Changes at home can cause stress and anxiety in cats. You could try a Feliway diffuser or spray or try Solliquin chews and see if that helps. Otherwise, talk to your vet about trying an anti-anxiety medication, like Prozac or Trazodone. Congratultions on the new baby! http://www.feliway.com/us/#redirected http://www.solliquin.com/
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on March 23rd, 2018
Sometimes cats can feed off the stress in the household so this could be the reason. They will sometimes act up if something has changed in the household. If anything has changed or if the environment has changed, this could be why. I would consider using some feliway diffusers and vetriscience composure chews to help "de-stress" her. Feliway is a cat pheromone that can have a calming effect but not always. You can also add a litter box close to the area that she is now defecating to help redirect her. Finally, if this doesn't work I would talk to your vet about starting her on an anti-anxiety medicine to see if this helps. I hope this helps!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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