Old Kitty going mad? lol

My cat, Kaity, is 16 years old. She's always been a very healthy cat. Never been to the vet other than for vaccinations. She's never been sick, and I mean never. lol Lately, she's been driving me nuts. She REFUSES to use the litter box. She's always had a thing for not wanting to poop in her box, but lately she's been peeing as well as pooping all over my bed. She is an only cat and she's always been an indoor cat. There are no new pets and no new people around. I tried putting her on different cat food a friend recommended. Said it helped her cat's attitude. That didn't work. She gets tons of attention (as she won't have it any other way lol), she sleeps with me (I have to share a pillow with her ), clean box or not, she doesn't care... I just don't know what else to do. I've tried disciplining her by putting her in her box when I see she's about to do something bad, or locking her up in the bathroom with her box and food and water while I was at work (Of course, I let her out when I'm home and can keep an eye on her). And she KNOWS it's bad. When I come home and she's done something bad, she runs and hides from me. Other times, when she's been good, she'll greet me at the door.

So at this point, I'm begging for any other suggestions. Is she just getting old and losing her mind or is there something else I should be doing or am I doing something wrong? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

I would make a guess and say that there is a high likelihood that she has developed an infection that causes her pain when she uses the litterbox and that she is therefore avoiding it as she associates the box with hurting. She needs to see a vet, and probably have a course of antibiotics. You are lucky to have a cat that has been healthy for 16 years, but at her age it is not surprising that her system may not have the immunity she used to have.

I have to agree that it sounds like she might have an infection. A vet visit is the only sure way to find out what is wrong and get Kaity on the mend!

wow, I've never heard of that before. Thanks!! Are there any external signs that I can look for?

So say she gets on some antibiotics and such, how should I go about reintroducing her to the litter box without the negative association?

There are often no external signs, though sometimes the urine has a stronger colour or smell than usual. The vet will take a sample and let you know. If you get her onto antibiotics for a couple of days she will likely just start to use the box again. If it doesn't happen then it is best to buy a new litterbox with no previous associations. Whatever you do, I recommend a very thorough cleaning of the box, to get rid of germs and smells.

There could be other problems as well, but often kidney disease is what comes up at that age (even if her urine looks clear) and only a vet can tell you.

PLEASE take the cat to the VET ASAP ..... while there get a senior blood panel ....

As kittys age they sometimes change there HELP signals

Yeah, she's headin to the vet this weekend. She's due for her kitty pedicure as well. I'll come back and update when we get back. I'm not too too worried as she seems to be eating, drinking, sleeping, pooping, peeing, and running off with her treat bottle rather normally.

Thanks for all the help again and I shall return with an update.