Total Litter Box Avoidance/running While Pooping

[KR4ZINE]

My 5 year old (spayed) female cat has developed some very odd behaviors over the past couple of months. It started with running wildly through the house while pooping but still using the litter box to pee. Vet visit number 1: ran a fecal sample, felt for constipation, the verdict came back as totally normal. Then she started peeing around the house too, in very random areas. In the middle of the floor, under the couch, under my son's bed. Vet visit number 2: tests urine, comes back with a UTI. Antibiotics are administered. She still runs around the house while pooping every day, pees on the couch and other areas very randomly, and tries to get outside (she has always been a house kitty who fears the outdoors so trying to get outside is new and strange behavior). Vet visit number 3: No bacteria in the urine, UTI has cleared. Behavior ruled as a mental breakdown of some sort by the vet and she is prescribed Anxitane (half a pill twice a day) to calm her down. The Anxitane works to make her sleepy, but her behavior hasn't changed. I added 3 more litter boxes to the house in different areas. Even put a litter box under the couch to give her that option. Bought new litter of different types and textures, all unscented so some boxes have the old brand of litter, some new. I have a total of 7 litter boxes all over the house now but none are being visited. Nothing major has changed in the household, or even minor for that matter. At night she climbs all over my husband and I for affection. ALL NIGHT, relentlessly, so we barely get any sleep. During the day she mostly hides who knows where because she's impossible to find. Has anyone experienced this or anything remotely similar with their cat? Any input is greatly appreciated.

 

[susanm9006]

Pooping outside the litterbox is one thing. Pooping while running is either because something is terrifying her which seems sort of unlikely, or she has something going on that causes her pain and she is running to get away from it. Did the vet do X-rays and scans of her belly? I would personally start with those if they haven’t been done.

You might want to get a large dog kennel and confine her to it so you can see if she will poop in the box under those circumstances. She may also calm down some if confined.

I would also mix a teaspoon of pure canned pumpkin into her wet food. This can soften up her stool and help if she is having pain passing it,

 

[KarenKat]

Our IBD kitty Trin often has an upset tummy or mild to moderate diarrhea. If he's having a more upset tummy that day, he will go into the litter box and then as soon as he's done he will race away. No other cat/person/noises are around to bother him, it's more likely his discomfort. Once in a while he's has a "false start" and he's not quite finished going yet.

Has your vet every done bloodwork and checked for issues like IBD? Our diagnosis came from elevated liver enzymes and low B-12. An ultrasound can also be done to check for inflammation, and the official diagnosis needs to be done with a biopsy (we opted out for this, since we started treating for B-12 and it worked).

If all medical issues are ruled out, calming products may help like Feliway or Sentry calming collars.

 

[maggiedemi]

What's her diet like? Is she getting canned food every day?

 

[KR4ZINE]

She does get canned food daily but she won't eat pumpkin unfortunately. My other cats seem to like it but she turns her nose up at it. Her poos don't seem particularly hard or soft and the vet did do blood work with nothing strange to show for it. We have not had x-rays done, just the feel test by the vet to see if she had a blockage. I suppose x-rays are the next step and if nothing turns up, Feliway. I had a diffuser get really hot on me in the past so I haven't used them since, but I might have to take my chances to see if it helps. Thank you for all your input on this! The most likely thing I can think of since she's been to the vet so many times with no physical results is that she was in pain from the UTI and the box scares her now. Not sure how to get over that mental hurdle. Cats are so complicated!

 

[molly92]

I would get x-rays done. This immediately sounded like constipation to me, and I've had vet visits where everything felt normal but x-rays revealed she was actually backed up quite a bit.

There are a number of constipation remedies if that ends up being the case. Personally I've had great success with probiotics, which if she's had antibiotics recently, might be a good idea anyway.

 

[nazzurai]

I hope you get everything sorted

All the best

 

[sabrinah]

Did the vet check her anal glands? Impacted or infected glands can be incredibly painful.

 

[KR4ZINE]

She did take a look at the anal glands and all seems to be well. I am ordering some probiotics for her and I also bought Cat Attract litter. It arrived Monday so I just started using it, but so far she hasn't had an episode of pooping while running. Maybe she is turning over a new leaf? It's too early to say but I have high hopes the special litter will draw her back to the boxes. I have 5 cats so it's a little hard to ascertain who is pooping when and in which box at any given time, but with no poops on the floor in the past two days, I am optimistic! Thank you for all your help!