new little feral kitty named Mohammed

[Mari333]

a couple of months have passed since my friend handed me little feral kitty who was found under her front porch with others in the freezing snow. He has since really come a long way, when he arrived, he was terrified and hissing and spitting in corners and hiding.
He is now on the warm front porch here, has picked a special spot where he stays, and lets me pet him and he purrs. the other 2 cats go right up to him and clean him and he lets them. so thats all a plus. he knows hes safe, but still wont come out and run around with the other cats. he stays in his little corner.
problem is, he wont use the litter box. its no more then a foot away from him, and he has occasionally seen the other cats use it (they both have their own litter boxes in the basement).. I mean, he literally shits right where hes laying. I have to clean him up, and I have placed him in the litter box to show him, and he has seen the other cats do it, but this is all to no avail. I am going to assume that at some point he will use it. the vet says hes healthy, hes eating and drinking, but hes still very fearful..anyone have a kitty who did this? I will just hope eventually he 'gets it'. He doesnt seem to want to unfurl himself from his little ball in the corner to actually get up and use the box. he cant be that dumb, or maybe he is. I dont know. anyone with any knowledge at all ...

[siligut]

1. Thank you for adopting a little feral kitty!

I don’t know what psychological reasons might cause him to be incontinent. However, if you can, take a look at his anal sphincter. Using a gloved hand, test if it reacts to touch.

Is his stool formed? Have you discussed the problem with your vet yet? The vet can test his stool for parasites or other microbes.

We had a sweet chow that actually developed colitis when he was really upset and it made him have bloody, uncontrollable diarrhea. We gave him medicine for it and it really worked.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

2. Muhammad my friend

Muhammad my friend
It's time to tell the world
We both know it was a girl back in Bethlehem
And on that fateful day
When she was crucified
She wore Shiseido Red an dwe drank tea
By her side

everything in the lounge reminds me of tori amos lyrics today

[Aristus]

3. I once had a Jewish girlfriend who sent me a teddy bear when I was in the Gulf.

I named him Menachem. B-)

[DeepBlueC]

4. maybe he thinks the other cats have claimed "his" litter box

But there is definitely something amiss with a cat who poops in his bed. I have never heard of that. Is it possible to enclose him with a fresh box that the other kitties won't use, at least until he has used it first? I do know that cats express territoriality about litter boxes. My latest street cat wouldn't use a box until I got him his own; he'd whine desperately to go outside. They all use it now but he also uses the other 2 boxes in the house but when I got the new box I put him in it first and he accepted it in a short time. You'll have to wash out the litter box that is with him now thoroughly to get out scent of your other cats then start over. It's not a great suggestion, but it's all I've got. Mystifying.

[DevonRex]

5. Pick up some of his poop and put it in the litter box. Do that every

time he poops. He'll get the idea.

[DeepBlueC]

7. good idea!!

[DeepBlueC]

6. how old was he when he was separated from his mother?

I remember being told that mama cats clean up their babies' butts while they are nursing...in the way that cats clean themselves, by licking. Maybe he just never got to the next phase where she teaches him about pooping in a separate place. Even as I venture this guess I am not much convinced by it myself but I can see you have really have a puzzle happening here. But maybe you are mama cat to him and he expects you to clean his butt? So maybe you have got to be more proactive by putting him in the box, demonstrating scratching (I did this with my new one Mickey but he is an adult about 18 mos old; still he had never used a box before & seeing other cats did not trigger learning as I thought it would). It's worth a try, and another and another. Maybe he'll get fed up enough to learn.

Good luck & keep us informed.

[KamaAina]

8. Muhammad is said to have loved cats

there is a tale that he had a cat named Muezzin (the muezzin is the guy who climbs the minaret and calls the faithful to prayer, though usually not with "Meow!"). One day Muezzin fell asleep on the sleeve of Muhammad's long, flowing robe. When the time came for Muhammad to leave the house, rather than wake the cat up, he cut off the sleeve! :-)

[regnaD kciN]

9. Mohammed? Harboring a feline terraist, eh?

:rofl:

[sammythecat]

10. This looks like some good info on this problem

http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:1aT4wG0F6oEJ:www.charleston.net/news/2008/jul/17/cat_wont_use_litter_box47732/+cat+%22won%27t+use+litter+box%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=us

I just googled -- cat "won't use litter box" -- this was the first one I checked out and seems to cover a lot of scenarios. Too bad your vet wasn't more helpful.

[DeepBlueC]

11. maybe try some Feliway to make him feel at ease

It's a spray of feline facial pheromones and it is helpful in integrating a new cat into the household, at making a fearful cat feel comfortable, even at settling down a dissatisfied customer in the vet's office. It helped me deal with inappropriate furniture peeing and also with introducing a new cat to the household. It may not have any direct effect on the litter box issue, but if this guy starts feeling comfortable he might start doing more exploring and claiming something for his own, like a place to poop. It's expensive, but I thought worth it. Follow the instructions though and don't spray it right into a place when the cats are there.

He sounds a bit insecure, hugging his little corner. If you spray this stuff around it might extend his comfort zone.

[Mari333]

12. thank you all!!

i have so many great tips on here..i took the hood off the box, and i think i will keep the other cats off the porch for a while so mohammed can use the box all by himself. thanks. it will just take patience i think. hugs to all of you.