Cat pooing in the house

[lisawheely]

Hi I need help,
My cat is now 12 she is neutered and in the last year or so has started to poo in the house.
I have the same routine and has never changed in over five years now, I let her out at 7 in the morning after breakfast feed and she comes back in when I leave for work at 8:30 I arrive back home at 1:30 and she goes out all day till I arrive back at 6pm to feed her dinner and she can come and go till bed time at 11 although I don't have a cat flap I leave a window open while I'm in. But just lately in the last year or so she waits till she comes in and poos all over the house even ignoring the cat litter tray. Even if she goes out for a few hours she will come in to poo.
She has no medical conditions that I know of.please all help will be much appreciated,
Lisa.

 

[scratch n dent]

Just a few questions.

Has she ever used the indoor litter to poop before?

Do you know where she poops outside and has anything changed in that location?

 

[lisawheely]

She used the litter tray before, she would use it once then poo or pee beside it and she used my neighbours garden it had little stones but nothing has changed there though.

 

[scratch n dent]

OK. My first guess would be that she is no longer happy with her usually outdoor potty place. She is now feeling safer to go indoors (or holding it until she can't any longer and must go indoors). It sound like there is also something she is not liking about the indoor litter setup. I would suggest more than one litter box, both without lids, both big, and with two different types of litter. Clean them 2 times per day and see what happens. Good luck.

 

[molly92]

It's also very possible that she could be developing constipation. The pain from straining causes cats to seek out different places to defecate, because they associate the pain with the litter box. Is her stool hard and/or small? Other signs include straining, yelping, pooping less frequently, vomiting, loss of appetite, and lethargy. If she develops those last three, or she goes more than 2 days without pooping, she needs to see a vet. Otherwise you can try adding a spoonful of canned pumpkin (not pie filling, just pure pumpkin) to her food, and increase her water intake by feeding more wet and/or using a pet fountain. If that helps, she still might avoid the litter box because she thinks it will cause her pain again, so offering a new litter box in a different place might be necessary.

Although constipation is the most common and is more likely to develop as cats get older, there are several other medical issues that can cause pain during defecation as well. Because cats are very adept at hiding their pain, it would be a good idea to take her in to the vet for an exam just in case.

 

[lisawheely]

She isn't constipated if anything the stools are rather soft

 

[lisawheely]

Thanks will try the litter thing but was hoping to loose the litter tray as she can go out whenever she wants and is only kept in for no more than 4 hours at a time

 

[Columbine]

Especially with older cats, a litter tray is unavoidable. It may well just be something you'll have to adjust to.

You say she has no medical issues that you know of. Have you taken her to the vet about this problem? The first step with any kind of litterbox avoidance is a vet check - the root is so often physical. Going all over the house is definitely concerning.

Also, some cats are VERY fussy about their litter trays, and refuse to use a box that's been used even once. There are two ways round this - scoop after every use, or add in extra boxes so she always has a clean one available. I know this probably isn't what you want to hear, but it's one of the realities of older cats.[article="32366"][/article][article="32424"][/article][article="0"][/article][article="22302"][/article][article="32341"][/article][article="22489"][/article][article="32493"][/article]