Hey guys, long time no see. I'm liking the look of the forums - looks much different than "back in the day" when I used to frequent this place! I didn't even think I had an account here, but when I put in my usual username, it said it was taken, so I tried logging in with a password I figured I would have used back then...and here I am again!
Anyway; sorry for blabbering on - I have a problem kitty. I'm really sorry, it's gonna be a long post.
Stratus is a 9 year old DSH neutered male cat I've had all of his life. He flew over here to Australia in April of this year, from the United States, to continue living with me after I moved here in January. All of his life, he has had soft stools - I've always figured there could be a few reasons for this : poor diet (we had anywhere from 4-7 cats at any given time, so my parents bought the best cat food they could afford, which wasn't always a great food), stress (lots of cats, not much space AND the other male bullied my male ceaselessly until I installed a microchip-activated cat door into my bedroom so Stratus would have a safe place to go), and maybe even just complications from being handfed kitten milk as a kitten, and possibly improperly weaned onto regular food? I'm not sure if he has sensitivities to food - I haven't yet noticed any differences in stool hardness or anything when trying different foods with him.
Anyway, from April until the very beginning of August we lived in a hard-floored apartment, and he used the litterbox just fine. It is a large tupperware storage box with high sides, no lid (he's tall, and has never liked covered boxes). Never ever pooped (or peed, for that matter) anywhere he wasn't supposed to.
We moved apartments in early August. Everything was great - the apartment is lovely, it has soft carpet that he LOVES to scratch even though it's so dense he does no damage to it (yay!); he actually gets SUNSHINE here (the other place looked out to...the building next door, which blocked all sunlight); he can go out on the balcony (supervised, of course); it's quiet; there are no other animals, or even other people other than myself and my fiance, who Stratus adores; he gets fed twice a day and loves his food; we play a lot; etc.
About mid September, he had an intestinal upset (lethargy, no appetite which was very abnormal for him as he LOVES his food, vomiting, and diarrhea - during which he would actually gag in the litter box as he was trying to defecate) and went to the vet, who, even though I told her he doesn't go outside (he wasn't allowed onto the balcony at this time), decided to deworm him (and I did tell her he had been fully and repeatedly dewormed in the US because of requirements by AUS importation of pets) and give him antibiotics (specifically metronidazole, and an oral dewormer), as well as the equivalent of the US "Forti-Flora" to mix into his food. She also did his blood work and all of his numbers were good.
Now, he's back to his old self - running around, being a silly boy, enjoying life and food, yet still having the same kind of soft stool he's had all his life...but he's pooping about 50% of the time on the floor right in front of the litterbox. On Saturday, he pooped 100% on the floor (I cleaned up the carpet 5 times that day), but before that, and since then, about 50% of the time it's on the floor, a few cat-steps away from the box. He still pees in the box. When I do catch him pooping in the box, I praise him lavishly and give him treats. I haven't caught him in the act of pooping outside the box yet.
I've taken to putting potty-pads down over the area he's been pooping in...and he ALWAYS manages to poop RIGHT on the edge of it so I still need to clean the carpet. I don't know how he angles his butt to miss it by *that* much, to be honest with you - it's like he's aiming, haha (I laugh, but I'm getting very frustrated). I dumped the entire litterbox and washed it out yesterday, and put in brand new litter. He's still pooping outside about 50%. I've seen him go in...sniff around....leave the area hurriedly, and then when I come back later (10-15 mins), there's poop on the carpet.
I did notice today, the FIRST firm stool I've seen from him in YEARS (if I've ever seen one from him, I honestly can't think of a time that I knew he had firm stools), and it was in the litterbox, but all other stools since that, and before that, have been mushy, soft, or even downright liquid-y (which is what I am used to seeing from him).
Things I'm going to try - I'll try doing a second litter box (I don't know why he'd suddenly decide he wants to poop elsewhere while peeing in one place consistently, but I'll give it a try), and I'll try experimenting with new litters even though this one is the nicest flushable, non-scented litter I've found (AUS is starting to get rid of plastic bags in my area, and I'm not sure how else to dispose non-flushable litter?). Might try moving the regular box to a different location (maybe the bathroom where the floor is a tile, so maybe if he does continue doing this, at least cleanup won't be so difficult...ugh). Also going to go to the pet store to find an enzyme cleaner, because I cannot find one at the regular grocery store, which sucks since we don't have a car...
My question is - how do I know if this is a behavioural issue (maybe he associates the box now with the pain and unpleasantness of his being sick?), and how do I fix it if that is the case? I don't understand why he would use it sometimes, if he associates it with pain. Thank you for thanking the time to read all of this, and again, I'm sorry it was so long!
Anyway; sorry for blabbering on - I have a problem kitty. I'm really sorry, it's gonna be a long post.
Stratus is a 9 year old DSH neutered male cat I've had all of his life. He flew over here to Australia in April of this year, from the United States, to continue living with me after I moved here in January. All of his life, he has had soft stools - I've always figured there could be a few reasons for this : poor diet (we had anywhere from 4-7 cats at any given time, so my parents bought the best cat food they could afford, which wasn't always a great food), stress (lots of cats, not much space AND the other male bullied my male ceaselessly until I installed a microchip-activated cat door into my bedroom so Stratus would have a safe place to go), and maybe even just complications from being handfed kitten milk as a kitten, and possibly improperly weaned onto regular food? I'm not sure if he has sensitivities to food - I haven't yet noticed any differences in stool hardness or anything when trying different foods with him.
Anyway, from April until the very beginning of August we lived in a hard-floored apartment, and he used the litterbox just fine. It is a large tupperware storage box with high sides, no lid (he's tall, and has never liked covered boxes). Never ever pooped (or peed, for that matter) anywhere he wasn't supposed to.
We moved apartments in early August. Everything was great - the apartment is lovely, it has soft carpet that he LOVES to scratch even though it's so dense he does no damage to it (yay!); he actually gets SUNSHINE here (the other place looked out to...the building next door, which blocked all sunlight); he can go out on the balcony (supervised, of course); it's quiet; there are no other animals, or even other people other than myself and my fiance, who Stratus adores; he gets fed twice a day and loves his food; we play a lot; etc.
About mid September, he had an intestinal upset (lethargy, no appetite which was very abnormal for him as he LOVES his food, vomiting, and diarrhea - during which he would actually gag in the litter box as he was trying to defecate) and went to the vet, who, even though I told her he doesn't go outside (he wasn't allowed onto the balcony at this time), decided to deworm him (and I did tell her he had been fully and repeatedly dewormed in the US because of requirements by AUS importation of pets) and give him antibiotics (specifically metronidazole, and an oral dewormer), as well as the equivalent of the US "Forti-Flora" to mix into his food. She also did his blood work and all of his numbers were good.
Now, he's back to his old self - running around, being a silly boy, enjoying life and food, yet still having the same kind of soft stool he's had all his life...but he's pooping about 50% of the time on the floor right in front of the litterbox. On Saturday, he pooped 100% on the floor (I cleaned up the carpet 5 times that day), but before that, and since then, about 50% of the time it's on the floor, a few cat-steps away from the box. He still pees in the box. When I do catch him pooping in the box, I praise him lavishly and give him treats. I haven't caught him in the act of pooping outside the box yet.
I've taken to putting potty-pads down over the area he's been pooping in...and he ALWAYS manages to poop RIGHT on the edge of it so I still need to clean the carpet. I don't know how he angles his butt to miss it by *that* much, to be honest with you - it's like he's aiming, haha (I laugh, but I'm getting very frustrated). I dumped the entire litterbox and washed it out yesterday, and put in brand new litter. He's still pooping outside about 50%. I've seen him go in...sniff around....leave the area hurriedly, and then when I come back later (10-15 mins), there's poop on the carpet.
I did notice today, the FIRST firm stool I've seen from him in YEARS (if I've ever seen one from him, I honestly can't think of a time that I knew he had firm stools), and it was in the litterbox, but all other stools since that, and before that, have been mushy, soft, or even downright liquid-y (which is what I am used to seeing from him).
Things I'm going to try - I'll try doing a second litter box (I don't know why he'd suddenly decide he wants to poop elsewhere while peeing in one place consistently, but I'll give it a try), and I'll try experimenting with new litters even though this one is the nicest flushable, non-scented litter I've found (AUS is starting to get rid of plastic bags in my area, and I'm not sure how else to dispose non-flushable litter?). Might try moving the regular box to a different location (maybe the bathroom where the floor is a tile, so maybe if he does continue doing this, at least cleanup won't be so difficult...ugh). Also going to go to the pet store to find an enzyme cleaner, because I cannot find one at the regular grocery store, which sucks since we don't have a car...
My question is - how do I know if this is a behavioural issue (maybe he associates the box now with the pain and unpleasantness of his being sick?), and how do I fix it if that is the case? I don't understand why he would use it sometimes, if he associates it with pain. Thank you for thanking the time to read all of this, and again, I'm sorry it was so long!
), it's on the floor. Also, if he does poop in the box, he runs out immediately, he doesn't cover it at all. Yet, if it is on the floor or on potty pads on the floor (also still in the same place), you'll hear him trying to "cover" it with carpet, potty pad, etc.
Sounds like we begin to head in the right direction, at any rate! IBS is a real bear, and the earlier you catch it, the better off you are. We have several members whose cats have IBS and/or megacolon, so if that should be the issue, there are experienced members to help you along this journey. If it becomes necessary, I'll flag a couple of them to come here. Early days for that yet, though! Let's pray for food allergies!
