Pooping outside box

[Joanne kawecki]

Hello, my cat will use the litter box for a bm, then jump out as quickly as possible. She will clean herself and then about 15 minutes later she will poop again outside of the box. Any one else have a cat that does this?

 

[stephanietx]

My cat prefers a clean box, like scooped after use every single time. If it's not up to his level of cleanliness, he'll poop on the floor. Try adding a second box to see if that helps.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Are the poops both inside and outside the box normal in terms of consistency? It seems odd that she has to poop a second time within 15 minutes of her first 'round'. It almost sounds like she is either leaving the box prematurely, or going too soon to the box and can't complete bowel elimination all at one time. It could be related to the beginnings of either constipation or diarrhea, so make sure the stool consistency is what it should be (not very hard, not very soft).

What is going on with her peeing? Any changes recently to food or her litter/box? How is she doing otherwise? How old is she? If older, she may be experiencing some pain/discomfort from arthritis while trying to use the litter box. Many times cats hold a different position when peeing and pooping, so that position she holds when pooping might be bothering her.

 

[Joanne kawecki]

Hi. Thanks for replying. We are switching her from all wet to kibble to try to get some weight back on her. She was on a feeding tube for over 2 months due to anorexia and nausea from pancreatitis or ibd. We never got a diagnosis. She was on about 8 different meds. She recovered from the worst of it, but developed diabetes shortly after her recovery. She is on b 12, 1mg Budesonide and 1 unit insulin. Her second poop is soft and sticky. She is also peeing out of the box occasionally. I am leaning more towards constipation.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Poor baby! She's been through a lot! Dry food can be a factor in helping to create constipation if you don't try to compensate for the lack of moisture she is getting through the wet food. So, multiple water dishes around the house, perhaps even a fountain. It might be worth it to consider seeing if she will eat the A/D Recovery food (most vet carry the cans in their place of business), and add that to her current diet. Lots of calories and much better than dry food. There are also nutritional pastes to add to her existing diet if she will eat them. You might also ask the vet if a very small dose of Miralax would be appropriate to help with your suspicion of constipation. If her litter box behavior is due to that, then getting her stools more normal might stop her from going outside the box.

What is the purpose of the Budesonide? As I am sure you are aware it is a steroid and its use is cautioned when being administered to a cat with diabetes. Depending on what the reasoning is for giving her this med, maybe the vet has some other options of offer in lieu of a steroid. For example, there are non-steroidal anti-inflammatories should that be the reason for Budesonide. Just something you might want to discuss with the vet.

The intermittent peeing outside the box could be coincident to when she has to also poop. I would see if that is the case. If so, hopefully when you can resolve her possible constipation issues, the inappropriate peeing might stop as well. One of the possible side effects of Budesonide is increased urination - maybe that has something to do with it?