8 year old cat will urinate in box but not deficate in it

My 8 year old cat has recently started deficating on the carpet in front of the liter box - but he will put his front paws and head in the box while he poops outside of it! He goes in the box all the way to urinate. If I pick up and put the feces into his box he will actually scoop them back out onto the carpet! He is the only cat, I clean his box almost daily, we haven't changed liter, box, location, food, nothing that I can think of! He has also started defecating on clothes if we leave a bedroom door open and will put holes in the clothes with his claws trying to cover up the feces! We've had him since he was 2 months old, and this behavior has been going on for about 6 months or so! I'm frustrated and don't know what else to do.......

[PrettyKitty1]

Have you taken him to the vet?

[ieatcatlitter]

Do you have a cover on the box? Have you tried different levels of litter, unscented, etc? Sometimes cats experience trauma we aren't aware of and the only ways they know how to show it is by peeing and pooping in the wrong places. We ended up having to rip the carpet up in my whole house and put down hardwood floors because one of my cats peed. Keep an eye out for any changes in eating, behavior, or in stools/urine. It could be physical or emotional.

[Stef11slj]

Yes he's been checked out and he's overweight, but clean bill of health otherwise.
I have tried different levels of liter in box and the box is covered. I might try a bigger box since he is overweight. I haven't seen unscented liter, but could try that too if I could find it.

[PrettyKitty1]

Yes, try that and let us know how that goes. Hopefully he is just going through a moment in his life when he is being extremely picky!

Have you noticed if he has to strain hard to evacuate? He may be having some mild constipation issues.

[Stef11slj]

I bought a bigger box, it is covered - but I removed the door and part of the top (so now it basically just has three really high sides and partial cover on the back of it). I also went with a different scent for his liter (it's actually the one we used when he was a kitten, we had just been using the other scent for so long I didn't think it could be the problem). Anyway, I'm happy to report he has not pooped anywhere but the box for a week!  We also moved his box back further from his food - I had tried to move his food a couple months thinking that might be the problem, but he wouldn't eat anywhere else! He would just sit by where the food used to be and meow. I would show him where it was, he would sniff it, then run back to where it used to be and sit and meow. lol Creatures of habit! Anyway, I moved his liter box back and I think this may have helped too.   Thank you for your suggestions and concern!  :)