Cat playing with poop

We've been having all-around poop problems with our six-year-old cat for about a year and a half now. She started out by pooping outside of the litterbox. We took her to the vet for a thorough checkup and they could find nothing physically wrong with her. We were told to quarantine her to a room by herself for two weeks, with her food, water and litter box in the room. We've done that several times, and each time it works for a few days and then she's right back to pooping on the floor. This last time, though, she hasn't pooped on the floor, and it's been about a month. In the last few days, though, she's started taking a small ball of poop out of the litterbox and batting it around like a toy, going all through the house and down the stairs with it. It seems she goes from one odd thing to another! Help! Is she already getting senile?

Oh, and one other thing I forgot to mention, behavior-wise. Our cat has always been very friendly, more like a dog than a cat. She goes right up to new people or even workmen or delivery people that come in our house. For the last year, though, she's started picked getting aggressive toward people for no reason, growling and hissing. This, together with the poop problems, have us thinking she's losing her mind.

Well, I don't really have any good advice. I've never seen or heard about this type of behavior before. But I'm sure someone with good advice will come along. Good luck!

Is it possible that she gets consitpated? It's been my experience that cats who are having trouble "going" for one reason or another, will prefer to do their business elsewhere.

Whenever there's inappropriate elimination going on, I consider the number and location of the litterboxes. Is there ANY possible reason that she might not want to use the box(es)?

Some cats prefer to pee in one box and poop in another. If she doesn't already have 2 boxes, I would try that.

Did anything significant change in her environment when the pooping started?

I'm not sure about the issue w/playing with the poop.

Originally Posted by beandip

Is it possible that she gets consitpated? It's been my experience that cats who are having trouble "going" for one reason or another, will prefer to do their business elsewhere.

Whenever there's inappropriate elimination going on, I consider the number and location of the litterboxes. Is there ANY possible reason that she might not want to use the box(es)?

Some cats prefer to pee in one box and poop in another. If she doesn't already have 2 boxes, I would try that.

Did anything significant change in her environment when the pooping started?

I'm not sure about the issue w/playing with the poop.

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No, nothing really changed when the pooping started. I may try the two litterbox tip if she starts pooping on the floor again (which I'm sure she will!).