Help!

[animallover6344]

I have a 10 year old female calico. She is very mild and doesn't play much. She poops beside the litter box all the time. She does pee in it though. Tonight she all of a sudden started meowing loudly, when I went to look she rain downstairs to her litter area and pooped beside the litter box. After that she went into a corner butt scooted and then sat in the corner and meowed. I left her knowing she would come back upstairs which she did. But the way she acted was out of character, she rain to the kitchen started to but scoot again, ran under the table and but scooted as well. Then proceeded to jump on a chair and lay down. She looked scared. Which is out of character for her. I picked her up and brought her back downstairs to see if she needed to pee since she hadn't yet. She just laid in the litter box. So I moved her to her bed which she then peed on. I left her in there for a few minutes to let her clam down. Right now she is acting scared with her tail low. I never seen her like this. Before all this happen she was sleeping on the floor in the living room. Does anyone know what is wrong or is it nothing to worry about? Thanks. 

 

[dandila]

I think it sounds like a medical issue.  My cat meowed loudly at the litter box when she had a urinary tract infection.  It could be her anal glands or her urinary tract.  She needs to see a vet.

 

[animallover6344]

I just posted a thread that is called Help! this is about a few hours after that happened. Right now I put her in a big bathroom because she has urine all over her bum. I can't wash her tonight since its really late so for the time being I moved her into it. She has water, a litter box and a post where she would normally sleep in. But she is hiding behind a cabinet in the corner. If I try to get her out she will hiss and scratch me, so I let her be. I tried to get her out by treats. This happened before, just not the previous. She has been in this situation where she would stay on a shelf and not come down for anything. She been to the vet about that but it wasn't anything to do medically. Does anyone else have this problem or an idea of what I should do? I'm really worried. Thanks again. 

 

[Sarthur2]

I read your other thread too.

It's definitely a medical issue. Something is bothering her. She needs to see a vet asap.

Could be a UTI or an anal gland issue. Could be something completely unrelated to her excretory system, but that is frequently how cats let us know that something is wrong - by going outside the box.

Please get your cat to the vet right away. Let us know what they say.

 

[animallover6344]

I have been to a vet before like I said before. The vet told me there was nothing wrong. But i am trying to convince my parents to take her to the vet. Thanks for replying!

 

[Sarthur2]

I think you may need to go to a different vet. They need to run some tests. I have trouble with a vet saying nothing is wrong without running any tests, especially since your cat is older.

I hope your parents will agree to allow you to take your cat to a vet. It could be blood sugar, thyroid, infection, etc. there is no way to know without tests. But your cat definitely has something medical bothering her. Your cat's behavior is not normal.

 

[Sarthur2]

Please take a warm damp cloth and wipe your cat down tonight as the urine is likely to burn her skin. You can bathe her more fully tomorrow, but it is not healthy for her to sit in urine all night. It will only make things worse. Poor kitty.

 

[catanalyst]

I agree with Dandila - I think the cat has some kind of medical issue that makes it painful for her to eliminate. That's probably why she's been pooping outside the litter box.

The first time her anal glands were full, my cat meowed loudly outside the litter box and licked herself back there a lot. I took her to the vet, and when they looked at her from the outside, they said her glands seemed fine. Only when they went in to examine did they find that the glands were full. The second time it happened, the glands were impacted, and she started butt scooching, so I had to take her to the vet again. The only other time I've seen my cat butt scooch is when she had diarrhea.

Have you seen your cat licking her butt more than normal?

 

[catanalyst]

It sounds like she's really scared, because she's not feeling well, and she's too dirty for herself to clean. I recommend wiping her down tonight rather than waiting until tomorrow. If you're worried about getting scratched, please put on some gloves and a long sleeve shirt.

When my cat had diarrhea, she was also very distressed and went to hide. My fiance and I had to grab her and then hold her down so we could wipe her butt clean. She struggled while we were cleaning her but felt much better afterwards. 

 

[Sarthur2]

I agree there is something medical bothering her and she needs to see a vet. I also commented on your other thread.

 

[animallover6344]

I agree with Dandila - I think the cat has some kind of medical issue that makes it painful for her to eliminate. That's probably why she's been pooping outside the litter box.

The first time her anal glands were full, my cat meowed loudly outside the litter box and licked herself back there a lot. I took her to the vet, and when they looked at her from the outside, they said her glands seemed fine. Only when they went in to examine did they find that the glands were full. The second time it happened, the glands were impacted, and she started butt scooching, so I had to take her to the vet again. The only other time I've seen my cat butt scooch is when she had diarrhea.

Have you seen your cat licking her butt more than normal?

no i never ever seen her lick her but.

 

[catanalyst]

Actually the fact that she never licks her butt is strange. For most cats, that's just part of their normal grooming routine. The only reason I know for a cat to never lick their behind is if it's too dirty (from diarrhea, poop sticking to their fur, etc). That happened to the longhaired cat of a friend, and he ended up getting an infection.

 

[animallover6344]

I have a 10 year old female. She uses the litter box to pee but not to poo. We have a room with a cat door which she can use since we have the door open all the time by a wire. She has 2 litter boxes which I cleaned and add new litter just the other day. I just don't know why she poops beside the litter box. Is there a way to stop this? 

 

[peterbald love]

Mabye she does not use it cause it has a lid on top???

 

[animallover6344]

It is an open litter box. So no lid. 

 

[peterbald love]

OK, is her food next to the litterbox and does she like the type of litter?

 

[animallover6344]

The food is on a different level, and she doesn't seem picky about litter since she pees in it. 

 

[mamacat23]

Is it possible your cat is constipated and has pain when she uses the litterbox?  We, too, have a 10 year old female cat that suddenly started pooping and peeing outside the litterbox.  When I talked to our vet about it she asked some of the questions already mentioned here:  has brand of litter been changed?  Are litterboxes being kept scrupulously clean? etc.  We hadn't changed and I keep the litter box clean by checking and scooping twice a day.  The next possibility the vet mentioned was that the cat had experienced pain while using the litterbox and now associates the pain of pooping with the litterbox, hence won't use it.   I'm not a vet, so don't really know whatmight be causing your cat not to use the litterbox.  The only advice I would offer is to talk to your vet---it could be a medical problem (like constipation or any of a number of other medical  issues) that is the cause and you would want to know about that now rather than later.   I hope you find the answer to this problem--I can imagine how frustrating it must be for you.

 

[peterbald love]

Ok, mabye she does not like where you put her litterbox?

 

[Columbine]

Take her to the vet. One of the most common reasons for litterbox avoidance (and the most likely in this case, by the sound of it) is PAIN.

There are two possibilities - constipation, like mamacat23 suggested, or arthritic pain that makes squatting painful. Very often, if pooping/peeing hurts the cat will associate the pain with the place. They'll then try going elsewhere in the hopes that it won't hurt anymore.

Given that she's pooping right next to the box, I'm thinking arthritic pain is most likely. In any case, this problem should be fairly easy to rectify with appropriate veterinary treatment. Let us know how it goes

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