poop

Hey there.

I have been having this ongoing issue with my 13 year old cat for about 2 years now. I have taken her to the vet, done tests, had her on medication, changed her diet anything you could think of and none of it has helped. Here is the scenerio..she actually started doing this a couple years back when i lived by myself and unfortunatley I was not home very often. She started to poop (a diarreha-ish poop) in random parts of my apartment. I started to believe that more then anything it was stress related. I have moved since and there is now another cat with her who is 3. With 2 cats I have 3 boxes, so it shouldn't be a litter box issue. I was hoping that with new company and me being home more often that this behaviour would stop and it did for a short amount of time-but it has come back with a vengeance and I HAVE NO IDEA what to do. Its almost like she is JUST making it to her box and instead of pooping in the box - poops on the way to the box. Sometimes she'll wake up and just poop. Its like she doesnt even know she has to go until its too late. Sometimes I wonder if she is going senile. I have had her for her entire life, I have no plans of getting rid of her just because she is having this issue therefore, I would love to find a way to live with it or make it better for both of us. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Is the poop still loose? If so, what does she eat (brand, variety, wet or dry, etc)?

Originally Posted by beandip

Is the poop still loose? If so, what does she eat (brand, variety, wet or dry, etc)?

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Ditto and when was last senior panel blood work done/.... if over 6 months time to recheck

Even though my cats are indoor, one manages to get tapeworm. I had a minor flea problem just recently.

My cat did the same thing, poop on the rug in different spots, I got a sample and vet said it was tapeworm. The poop was runny.

It almost sounds like she's becoming incontinet or whatever from being old. I'm no expert but that's my guess.

The stool is still loose. She eats dry food. Its Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care. When I last took her to the vet he had her on wet Duck food, as he thought she developed a food allergy, for about a month and it didnt help the situation at all, actually it made it worse, so I went back to the dry food.

Also, when I did take her to the vet they did complete blood tests and stool samples, they found no tapeworms or parasites of any kind.

If you don't have night lites by your litter boxes, you might try using them because even though cats can see in the dark, they don't see perfectly and they don't see in pitch dark.

Another thing could be that your old kitty is getting arthritic and is achy when she wakes up. You might try a shorter box in case she associates the box with pain getting in(?)

Someone else already suggested food in case her poops are hurting her and she is associating the box with painful poos. That is a possibility, and in that case you will need to find something that doesn't make her pooping hurt.

Also you need to get Cat Attract litter; it is what almost everyone seems to be using lately for kitties who for whatever reason are going outside the box. I personally have 3 friends who used it successfully and I've read a ton of threads on this forum recommending it.

The other thing is that once a kitty poops out of the box, they will return to poop spots, having forgotten why they went there the first time. It just becomes an acceptable poop spot. You will want to put aluminum foil wherever she pooped and leave it there.

I had a cat who had this problem in the extreme and I know it is a hard thing to deal with. Is she pooping on the hardwood floor or carpet or both? I am just curious. Also have you witnessed her pooping out of the box and if so, what does she do (cry, run from it, nothing)? Last but not least, how does she get along with the other cat? Is your older one a crabby grammy cat and the younger one more energetic or they are fine? Are they best buddies? Or do they just coexist?

In the case of my cat, she seemed to have irritable bowel syndrome and anything that threw off her routine in any minor way caused her to poop outside the box. Any sort of stress brought it on. The food I used that seemed to work for her was Waltham wet food/rice and lamb. But they have since changed their brands to Royal Canin.

Here is a link to veterinary diets under Royal Canin. It is worth looking at to see what sort of food you may want to try and feed your girl in case this is diet related. You will need to scroll down and look in the sections on inflammatory bowel disease, feline, hypoallergenic and limited ingredients.

http://www.prescriptiondiets.com/rc.html

Thanks so much for all your ideas Barb.
I have heard about the Cat Attract and will have to get it!
Unfortunately, I have carpeting. I have done an amazing job keeping it clean despite our little problem. When she does poo, whether in or out of the box, she always runs away..like she doesn't want to be around it. And she is always embarressed when she has had an accident. I can tell by her posture.

As far as the younger kitty, she is very, very, very active. crazy as a matter of fact. My older cat has always been very reserved, very quiet and calm. I think the younger one makes the older a little nervous and uneasy. Sometimes she even walks the long way to avoid the younger cat. But they seem to have their lovey- dovey moments too. They sometimes groom each other, which is sweet.

My older cat also ran from the box right after she used it. I came to believe it was because she associated the defecation with pain/discomfort.

My second cat was also crazy (a kitten) and she did upset my grammy cat too. Our problem got much worse when we added the second cat. You might want to keep a very close eye on them when they are together or when the new one is crazy around the old one, and see what happens.

I am curious if the new cat has become in any way affected by the behavior of the older cat. My new cat took on the grumpy reactions of the older cat over time. This was before I learned it is not a good idea to put a kitten with a crabby grammy LOL.

If your cat has anything like irritable bowel, just having the younger cat doing unpredicable play-related stuff (pounces, sprints etc.) could upset the tummy of the older one and keep her all stressed out. In a case like that you might want to consider talking to the vet or a behaviorist about prozac or meds for your older one.

Thanks again Barb. My younger cat hasnt really been effected she has a very strong personality...hah. But, I will talk to my vet about the meds!