Kitten pooping outside box, and weird belly thing?

Hi! I'm new to this board, and wanted some advice on my five-month old kitten, Dory. For the past few months every once in a while she's been pooping outside her box. Now, we do have another cat, so it took me until yesterday to figure out it was her and not our older cat. I caught her doing it yesterday. This seems to coincide with a litter box that is not completely clean, but that's not always the case. It seems to be getting more frequent. I'm going to take her to the vet for this problem, because I know it can be a sign that she is sick. However, she is acting completely normal otherwise, so I guess I just never go overly concerned about it. Thoughts?

My other questions is about her belly. Right up against her back legs her belly hangs down very low. When I touch it it just feels like fat, and it very "swingy" if that's even a word. Know what I mean? Is this normal? Our other cat is male, so I wasn't sure if this was a female thing or what. I'm worried that the pooping outside the box and the swinging belly are related. Anyone have any idea? Thanks in advance!

Cort

Cort,

You don't need to take your cat to the vet. You need a bigger litter pan, and another one as well, or get a covered one.. I use those big sweater storage bins that slide under the bed? Bigger than a normal litter pan and they work well.

The belly is called a spay sway, and is fairly typical in cats. You can slowly increase her activity play time and help her exercise, but it will not go away fully. Again, cats need one litter pan apiece, and an extra one besides, and this is not a vet visit unless the stool is really runny, foul smelling or bloody-

Ok, well cats can be particularly fussy about using the litterbox if it's not 100% clean. So you may be right that it coincides with this.

Also, how many litter boxes do you have? With two cats, you should have at least two, preferably in two different spots in your house. This will relieve any tension, whereby the new kitten may feel intimidated by the other cat if they are in the area.

How far out of the box is it happenning? In a completely different part of the house?

That being said, you are doing the right thing by getting a vet check out anyway.

Not sure on the belly thing...my boys have something similar. They are otherwise vey lean, but have a little swingy bit of fat there when they are lying down.

hehehe, i must have been in the process of posting as hissy was!

Hey, great minds think alike!
I would just add that some cats do not like covered boxes, so you might make your new boxes the open type. My favorite type is the one with the rim. I buy the jumbo ones and the rim holds the liner in place. Be aware that if you use liners, some cats don't like that either. So you could have one covered box, and one open with a liner and one open without a liner and then do a study on which one gets used the most. You might find that one gets used for urine and one for stool too. Becky

Hi Cort - What a picture of Dory & Vader!!! They are just gorgeous!!!

Thanks! I don't know how my husband captured such a peaceful moment. Normally if they're awake they're fighting!