Cats are wonderful companions that many people wouldn’t want to live without. If you are a cat owner, then there’s a good chance that you love your cat a lot and want to take care of it to the best of your ability.
This is why it’s a good idea to pay attention to your cat’s behavior. If you’re like most people, then you probably want to ensure that your cat handles its business in a litter box, but some people also let their cats outside.
While this might not be ideal in many ways, it is something that some people do. Are you noticing that your cat only wants to poop on your lawn?
This is actually a pretty common situation, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t problematic. Most people aren’t going to like encountering cat poop on the lawn when they’re trying to do work in the yard.
Could there be a reason why your cat is drawn to pooping on your lawn? Keep reading to learn more about this so you can decide what to do moving forward.
It’s Often Territorial in Nature
Cats will often decide where they want to handle their business based on territorial instincts. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to hear that there are many cats in your neighborhood.
Generally, there are going to be a lot of stray cats in any given area, and your cat is able to tell that other cats are around by their scent. Your cat thinks of the lawn as its territory, and by pooping on the lawn the cat is marking its territory.
Of course, cats mark territory by spraying and doing things like that. Pooping is just another way of marking their territory, and it can definitely be related to being territorial.
If you notice that your cat only seems to want to poop on your lawn, then it could very well be related to some type of territorial thing. Cats get like this and it can be kind of hard to get them to stop sometimes.
This does mean that it can be kind of annoying since cats will go back and forth with this pooping action. You might even find that stray cats will poop on your lawn in an effort to mark the territory.
Needless to say, this is going to be less than ideal when you wish to use your lawn. It means that you’re going to have to be careful where you’re stepping when you’re outside, and you’ll also likely need to go around picking up the cat poop every so often.
The Cat Might Simply Like the Spot
Another thing to consider is that the cat might simply just like the spot in the yard where it’s pooping. If your cat seems to poop in similar spots each time it has to go, then this might be the case.
It isn’t unusual for cats to have favorite spots where they feel comfortable doing certain things. Cats will find spots where they like taking naps, and they’ll also find spots where they will enjoy pooping.
Your cat might see that portion of your lawn as its normal dedicated pooping spot. This might be inconvenient or annoying as far as you’re concerned, but your cat doesn’t feel that way.
If you take steps to keep your cat from pooping in that spot, then it might move on to pooping in another spot that you don’t find to be ideal. For example, many people have problems with cats pooping on their carpets.
When your cat is allowed to go outdoors, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see the cat pooping on the lawn. This is pretty normal behavior overall and there isn’t much that you can do to keep it from happening unless you’re going to try to deter the cat from going in specific spots.
Is it worthwhile to deter cats from pooping on your lawn? Well, that’s going to be for you to decide.
You Could Plant Garlic Plants
For whatever reason, cats seem to really dislike garlic plants. The powerful smell of garlic plants can help to keep many pests at bay in your garden area, and it might help to keep the local cat population from wanting to get too close as well.
If you don’t have a large yard, then planting garlic plants could help to keep cats from pooping on your lawn. Many people use this as a simple prevention method to keep the local cats from making too much of a mess.
Cats have noses that are too sensitive and that means that potent plants like this will make them want to go away from the area. This is a useful thing to do when you’re trying to deter cats from toileting on your lawn.
However, it might be worth it to consider whether or not this is practical when it’s your own cat that is the problem. If you have a cat and you choose to let it roam outside, why would you want to plant things that make it not like the yard?
This might be a more practical solution when you’re trying to keep stray cats from pooping on your lawn. If your own cat is causing you problems, then you might wish to approach this situation from a different angle.
It’s also worth noting that garlic plants aren’t the only types of plants that can keep cats at bay. You could also choose to plant things such as citronella plants, rue, germanium, and chives.
Essentially, most plants that have strong scents will be good for keeping cats away from your garden areas and lawn. It’s an easy solution to your cat poop problem that might work out well if you have lots of cats in your neighborhood.
Stop Letting Your Cat Outside
Of course, one solution to this issue is to simply stop letting your cat outside. Some people find it convenient to let cats roam around outdoors because they like stalking and it gives them exercise.
However, this might not be a good idea when you really start thinking about it. First, cats can encounter many different things outside that will put them in danger.
When you allow your cat to roam around outside, it’s going to have to contend with certain predatory animals that could harm it. Also, your cat could kill something and attempt to eat it.
Cats that eat prey animals outdoors could wind up getting sick. This is likely not something that you want to have to deal with since veterinary bills can be quite costly.
When you let your cat outside, it’s going to have a greater risk of contracting diseases such as rabies. Your cat could get many different infectious diseases and it’d be heartbreaking to know that your cat became ill because you decided to let it outside.
You’ll also find that many cats will have problems with fleas and ticks when they spend time outdoors. This can bring those pests back into your home and could become a problem for your other pets.
If you don’t want all of the pets in your home having to deal with fleas and ticks, then it might be best to keep your cat indoors. You won’t have to worry so much and it’ll be easier to keep your home free of fleas.
There’s also the fact that cats are invasive and not good for the natural ecosystem. Cats are predatory animals that aren’t meant to be roaming North America.
They can throw things off and cause significant issues in local ecosystems. Granted, your cat is just one of many, and this problem won’t disappear if you decide to stop letting your cat outside.
Even so, it’s good to know that letting your cat roam around outside might not be the wisest thing to do. If you love your cat, then you might want to think about whether letting it outside is truly a good idea.
Train Your Cat to Use a Litter Box
Training your cat to use a litter box is going to be the most practical solution to this issue. If your cat seems to only want to toilet outside on the lawn, then it’s likely that you haven’t attempted to litter train your cat.
Some people might find training a cat to use a litter box to be tough, but it doesn’t have to be. Ideally, you should litter train your cat while it is still a kitten.
Cats are very smart and they’re going to be able to figure out how to use a litter box very well. This situation is significantly more convenient than having to pick up cat poop from your lawn.
If you take the time to litter train your cat, then you’re likely going to have a better experience moving forward. Keeping your cat indoors and ensuring that it understands to use a litter box might be the best course of action to take.
You will have to regularly clean the litter box and change the cat litter out. Cats simply won’t be willing to keep using a dirty litter box, and that does mean that you’ll have some work to do.
Most cat owners are going to get used to doing this as part of the normal household chores. It might be a small price to pay for the companionship of your feline friend.
Picking the Right Type of Litter
Picking the right type of cat litter is going to help things to go smoother. Cats are generally going to have a preference for fine-grain litter, and you should use that information when picking out which litter to buy.
If you notice that your cat doesn’t seem to like the litter in its box, then it might be wise to change things up. Finding the right litter should help you to limit any problems with cats toileting outside of the litter box.
Some litter materials just might not be as appealing to your cat. It can take a bit of time to find the perfect litter that your cat gravitates toward, but it won’t be too tough overall.
If possible, it might be good to get a litter that clumps since it’ll make it that much easier to clean the litter box. If your cat doesn’t like the clumping litter, then you might just have to deal with it for the sake of keeping the cat happy.
Litter isn’t too expensive either so this is a good option. If you’d like to keep your cat indoors to solve the problem of the cat pooping on your lawn, then pay attention to the cat litter itself to have a better experience.
Final Thoughts
It isn’t going to be ideal if your cat keeps pooping on your lawn all the time. If you’re tired of walking in your yard and having to step over cat poop, then you might be looking to keep this from happening again.
Stray cats often poop on lawns and this can make your yard very messy if there are many stray cats in your neighborhood. When you let your cat outside, it’s possible that it will start pooping on the lawn as a way of marking its territory.
Of course, cats just also might like pooping on your lawn. If your cat thinks of your lawn as a good pooping spot, then that might be all the reason it needs to continue handling its business there.
You could try to deter local cats from pooping on your lawn by planting garlic plants. Citronella plants will also work, but this might not be practical when your own cat is the problem.
The ultimate solution might involve keeping your cat indoors. You should ask yourself whether allowing your cat to roam around outside is truly the best thing to do.
At the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide what’s best. Just be honest about the situation and figure out what you want to do.
Now that you know everything that you need to know about the topic, it’ll be easier to make a choice. Take care of your cat and just enjoy it even if it does things that annoy you from time to time.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Film/Video/Media Studies, as well as an associates degree in Communications. I began producing videos and musical recordings nearly 15 years ago. I am a guitarist and bassist in Southwest MI and have been in a few different bands since 2009, and in 2012 I began building custom guitars and basses in my home workshop as well. When I’m home, I love spending time with my three pets (a dog, cat, and snake) and gardening in my backyard. I also like photographing wild birds, especially birds of prey.