After I moved to a new apartment, my cat, Nala, started pooping and peeing outside the litter box. Although she acted as though she loved the new apartment, the move must have stressed her out.

Cat Pooping Outside the Litter Box

I changed the type of litter I was using and made sure to have both litter boxes (1 per cat) fresh everyday. After a while, she caught on and was peeing and pooping inside the litter box again.

But then, after a month, she started pooping outside the litter box again!!!

She kept dropping nuggets on the floor by the toilet everyday (ironically), so I put a pee pad there. And sure enough, that’s where she always poo-poo’ed.

I consulted the Vet and upon sharing with her other behavioral info, she supposed that it was probably because my other cat, Charlie, was bullying her and being territorial.

So, I set up another litter box in the area she leaves her nuggets.

And, this seemed to do the trick!

The challenging thing is to make sure Charlie doesn’t use it. He isn’t shy about using the litter box, so he will literally just go where it smells like a litter box.

And of course, being a cat, he likes the fresh clean litter – which Nala’s always is because I’ve been trying to entice her to use it.

The only thing I really need to do here is to keep a close eye on Charlie so he doesn’t use Nala’s new litter box.

Cat Not Pooping But Acting Normal

But shortly after, I found myself another problem. I noticed that my cat is not pooping regularly even though she acts totally normal.

She played, slept, and had a good appetite, but she was going every ~2 – 3 days.

As a result, her poos were small and super hard. She literally drops deuces these days.

Because she just had a physical done and she was normal and seemed healthy according to the Vet, I knew this was a behavioral problem more than any physical abnormalities.

My next mission was Operation: Stimulate Nala’s Bowel Movement.

How To Stimulate Bowel Movements In Cats

As I mentioned, Nala seemed physically healthy, the doctor said. So, I didn’t want to get her prescribed any laxatives.

I wanted to try to stimulate her bowel movements in a natural way.

1. Wet Food Mixed With Water

First thing’s first. It’s important that your cat drinks enough water everyday. My cats tend to be sporadic about drinking water.

So, I have to make them drink water everyday by mixing it in their wet food.

For years, I’ve been giving my cats 1/8 can of wet food mixed with water for dinner along with dry food.

That way, they get a sufficient amount of daily water intake.

If wet food isn’t a part of your cat’s daily diet, then consider giving them a small amount everyday. Again, I only give each of them 1/8 of a can per day. And this ensures that they drink water.

2. Pumpkin Puree

From research, a lot of veterinarians recommend pumpkin puree as a natural way to stimulate bowel movements in cats.

It makes sense since it’s a great form of fiber even for humans.

I ordered the Weruva pumpkin puree on Amazon but after a week, the order just automatically got canceled. It was so promising!! Such a disappointment 🙁

So, I ordered this to pick up from my local Pet Smart instead. But when I went to pick it up, they said the order had been canceled! What in the heeeck!

That’s why I made my own pumpkin puree. They didn’t have any orange pumpkins yet, so I got this small Japanese pumpkin, which is in the same family as the orange ones.

I first scooped and discarded the seeds. Then, I cut the skin off and cut the flesh into 1-2inch blocks.

I boiled the cut up pumpkin in water for about 45 minutes until the flesh was soft. Then, I let it cool and used a hand immersion blender to blend the pumpkin in the water. I left the water inside, because I wanted the puree to be wet, so that my cats can get more daily water intake along with the pumpkin.

I made a lot so I can put them in small containers, freeze them and take out 1 jar at a time when I run out.

Now, I give them a scoop of this in their wet food everyday.

I celebrate every time Nala poops, because I know my effort is paying off and she’s able to have a good digestive plumping system.

3. Chicken Puree

I don’t intend on giving Nala pumpkin puree as a long-term regular part of her diet, but rather as a temporary solution whenever she gets constipated.

And, I already give my cats some wet food mixed with water everyday but it’s only for dinner.

I don’t want to give my cats too much wet food everyday because it’s highly processed and even though it’s not proven, I still don’t want to risk their teeth becoming weaker.

I decided to make my own puree made of real chicken and water so I can make sure they’re drinking water in the morning as well.

It was real simple to make. All I did was to buy chicken from the store. Good quality that I would eat. In fact, half the chicken in the package, I cooked for my own dinner.

The other half, I boiled it in water for about 30 minutes.

And as you can see, the ratio of chicken I use is very small compared to the amount of water. That’s because I want to make sure the cats are getting water with yummy flavor rather than giving them excess calories for the day.

I then used a hand blender. Obviously, you can just use a regular blender or a food processor to achieve the same thing. (I just like my hand blender because it’s easy to clean up.)

By blending it, the broth gets well incorporated with the taste of the meat that the cats are happy to eat/drink it.

Every morning now, I stir the puree because as it sits in the fridge, all the meat sinks at the bottom.

I feed them just 2 spoonfuls after they’ve finished their dry food breakfast.

This has really been helping to get Nala to go poo more regularly instead of holding it in for days.

4. Salmon Puree

I do the same thing as the chicken puree but with salmon. And the reason for that is because omega-3 is so good for their skin and to add a shine to their fur.

Instead of salmon oil, the salmon puree is just pure gold in helping their skin from drying out.

I buy good quality salmon that I would eat and boil it for 30min.

Again, I blend it with my hand immersion blender until it’s a creamy pink thick smoothie like water.

I alternate each week between chicken puree every morning for the week and salmon puree every morning for the week.

I really can attest to how much help this has been in allowing Nala to go pee and poo regularly. Before this, she held her poo in for 3 days! But not anymore. Now, when nature calls, Nala answers.

5. Relaxing Your Cat

It must be said every chance I can say it to make sure your cat feels relaxed. Your cat might be holding their poo or pooping outside the litter box, because they’re scared or stressed all the time. Help your cat gain confidence and creating a calming environment for him/her.

6. Massage Your Cat’s “Belly”

Finally, this one is a hit or a miss depending on your cat’s personality. Nala likes being pet when she’s sleeping or when she’s in a good mood.

But when she’s not feeling so hot, like if she’s constipated, she doesn’t like it when I touch her below her neck.

If you do have a cat who doesn’t mind you touching them, try massaging their intestine area. That is the large surface area  above their back legs. It’s where you would think their booty is. (Check out this helpful picture of a cat’s anatomy which shows where their intestine is)

A GENTLE massage for a few minutes at a time throughout the day might help their food to get moving along. *Please don’t be rough when you’re massaging your cat.*

I hope sharing my experience with stimulating Nala’s bowel movements and helping her to poop inside the litter box again is helpful! Good luck. Please share your experiences in the comments if you found other methods that are helpful! Let’s keep all our cats in this world happy and healthy!