Cat Pooping On Carpet.

[Camper66]

A few years ago, our cat started having diarrhea outside the litter box. We took her to the vet and he gave her a cortisone shot. That stopped her from going outside the box for about 6 months. When she started doing it again, we took her back to the vet for another cortisone shot. This seemed to work again for a few more months. Every few months we have to take her back for cortisone shots.
We took her a few weeks ago, but the shots don’t seem to work anymore. In fact she pooped outside the box the day after the shot and has continued to do so every few days. The poop is not diarrhea and is normal. We don’t know what to do anymore. She is a sweet cat and don’t think it is out of meanness. Any ideas?
And yes, the vet has run tests on the poop several times and found no health issues. I will mention we do have 2 cats and 2 litter boxes for many years and they get along great together.
Thanks.

 

[daftcat75]

What is the shot of cortisone for and how old is this cat? If the poop is normal but she still poops out of the box unless she had her cortisone shot, that sounds like arthritis. It’s painful to climb into, out of, and/or squat in the box so she blames the box. Your vet can talk to you about options for arthritis. I thought GlycoFlex was very effective with Krista but it souped her poops. She started carpet bombing because she associated the boxes with those horrible poops. But maybe yours will have better luck with it. Or there are also Adequan shots. I don’t have experience with these but have heard good things.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Totally agree with daftcat75 . Even if your cat isn't all that old, you can't necessarily rule out arthritis. This is especially true if you haven't had your cat all of her life, some old injury could have caused premature arthritis.

Also, what kind of litter box do you have? Maybe a lower sided box would be in order?

 

[fionasmom]

I am also guessing pain. My now deceased old girl Fiona was unable to jump at all as she aged and my current diabetic cat with mild neuropathy (which is not exactly pain) cannot get into any litterbox. She uses the dog pee pee pads which I leave on the floor for her. That may not appeal to you, but if your cat poops close to the litterbox she might confine herself to a nearby pad. I have given Adequan to dogs, never a cat. I understand that it is now sub Q and not intramuscular as it used to be. If that is true it would be easier to use.

 

[Kflowers]

Joint supplements (cosequin, dashuquin, glexco-flex) will help arthritis. Why hasn't your vet told you what he thinks is wrong and why he is giving her the cortisone shots?

 

[Camper66]

Arthritis would make sense. She is only 7 years old, but within the last 8-9 months, she is needing to jump on my knee to get up to the window sill (using my knee as a stair step if you will). She used to be able to jump right up to the window no problems, but now needs an intermediate step to get up. I did not think my litter box sides were that high, and she does use it more than she doesn't. But when she does poop, it tends to be in the same 2 spots on the carpet.
If she is able to jump up to my knee 3' off the ground, I would not have thought going into the litter box would be a problem. I am posting a pic of one of the litter boxes so you can see how high the sides are.

 

[daftcat75]

That looks about what my 15 yo uses. So if it’s not climbing in or climbing out, then it could be squatting. My Krista squats lower to the litter when she uses the box whereas the couple of times I’ve caught her using the carpet, she wasn’t squatting quite as close to the floor. A bigger box might alleviate some of that but it may also create pee problems. If the box is too big, my Krista refuses to squat to pee.

Try Cosequin or GlycoFlex Plus for a few weeks. Or if they soup her poops like Krista, then that’s counterproductive. You can either try wild salmon oil for omega-3’s (not quite as effective as glucosamine-chondroitin but tolerated better by Krista) or Adequan shots. There’s also something called the Assisi Loop. I admit I haven’t read enough on this but I really want to try it for my Krista if it doesn’t affect her pooper.