Pooping outside the box.. have reason to believe it's not just behavioral

Cutegrapefrute

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---I will be calling my vet, but the soonest I can is Monday---

My 10 year old cat has had problems with the litterbox consistently now for about a few weeks. The reason I have not done anything yet was that he has these problems all the time, but no consistently. He will go outside the box once in a while, and its mucus poop/blood. I have asked vets multiple times what this is, if i should worry, why, etc and they never seem concerned. One vet asked for a fecal and I never got results.. Another vet said if it happens once in a while but I can't associate a pattern with diet or anything, it might be stress (maybe me and my partner argue and it happens, or maybe I have people over that the cat doesn't know and it happens.)This was a few months ago, and I never had any luck finding a pattern.

Well for the past week or so.. maybe two... He has been actually pooping full on poops outside the box. they are runnier than usual. They aren't complete liquid but very mushy, and sometimes with some blood. He has also been leaving the mucus/poo at times. He has been using the box as well. It seems like he just can't make it, or tries to go but doesn't completely finish before leaving the box. The poops are close to the box, either right outside or a few feet away.

I just wonder if anyone has any idea what this is, since his diet hasn't really changed. I feed a variety of brands and proteins and I have been for years.. I feed wet and dry food. The only dry food I feed is Orijen brand but a few months ago I switched the flavor. I feed dry as a lunch when I am home during the day so its not every day. I also sometimes use it as a treat or topper. I plan to eliminate the dry food for now, and stick to a few brands & flavors only and stop using toppers. But I really doubt it's his diet.
 

Alldara

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Very likely to be constipation, especially with the blood and muscus.

It's not likely to be the food switch, however, it is likely to be related to his food. Orijen is VERY high protein and not a lot of fibre. This can cause cats to go less frequently and get backups. Then, if a cat REALLY gets backed up, the soft poop comes out around the hard stuck parts. You don't have to change the food per say, but you need to get some extra fibre into him. A 1/4 tsp of plain pumpkin or sweet potato every other day.

It's very common with older cats, because they cant stand in the box in the poo position without pain for as long as they used to. The bowels also get lazier.

My vet recommended 1/4 tsp of Restorilax twice a day for my 16lbs cat. You mix the powder in water until there are no grains of it left in the water (very important or you'll make them more constipated), then mix the water into your cats wet food.

Your cat's poo should be one or two straight prices, with no segments and it should be soft yet hold together. Your cat might push, but they should not strain, make grunts or straining sounds.
If it's hard or segmented or coming out in small peices or balls (like rabbit poo), that's a sign of constipation.

Going outside the box is a sign of pain when pooing.
Cat Poop Chart - The Cat Feces Score Chart For State of Health | The KezKatz Cattery
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. Good plan to call the vet - if your cat hasn't recently been through a senior exam (which includes full scale blood work, urinalysis, and your case a fecal test), then that is where I would start. Get that out of the way and then go from there. With the fecal test, ask for a full fecal PCR which will check for bacterial/fungal issues as well as more parasites than the standard fecal testing. Also ask the vet about checking for arthritis too in case some of his box avoidance might be related to that aspect.

If he doesn't see the vet at least annually, now would be a good time to start. This will help with having a base line for future testing so that any issues that might be brewing can be caught that taken care of more quickly.

In the meantime, get some puppy pee pads to place down by or nearby the litter box since that seems to where he goes when he doesn't use the box. It will help with clean up.

If the amount he poops is similar to the amount when he goes 'normally', I would hold off with any kind of laxative since you don't really know if that is the problem.
 

Freddieandchip

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I had a pretty similar situation to this, my 15 year old cat was pooping outside the litter box but urinating inside of it. I thought it was behavioral the first few times but after a few times I took him to the vet. While I was waiting for the appointment I did see blood in a few of the stools. I took him to the vet and everything came back normal, even his stool sample. They said that they still think he may have a parasite and gave us some medication, after he finished the medication it completely stopped. I’m not sure if this is a possibility for your cat but I was very surprised that this was the case for mine since he’s indoor only and none of my other cats had any symptoms.
 
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Cutegrapefrute

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Thanks for the reply. He has had this problem long before i switched him to orijen but like i said recently it has become much worse and recently I have switched the flavor. For a basic timeline: he's been in my care for about 5 years.. He was on some cruddy dry food only when I got him, i then added wet food. About 3 years ago i strted feeding higher quality foods (wet and dry). He has had orijen for about a year and i switched flavor withen the past few months ( i dont remember exactly) he has had mucus accidents since I got him.

I think I will be looking for a new vet and ask for basic senior check ups for both cats and fecals for both of them to rule out parasites. Puppy pads is a good idea so I may do that.

Both pee in the box just fine and i havent noticed them straining but i may have to pay better attention.
 

cataholic07

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What about vomiting? Or hairballs a few times a month? Is it just the poop? It's very possible he could have IBD and I would get an ultrasound done to see if that is the cause. I would also find a different vet that cares. Bloody diarrhea can be a variety of things including food allergies or switching too fast and they have so much diarrhea it causes blood. But it's always a good idea to do tests and find out what will actually help him as he can not be comfortable at all. I would also recommend adding more litter boxes in the mean time as I doubt he can get to the litter boxes in time.
 

di and bob

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I would switch him back to the original flavor and add another box, he may have a problem with the other one. give him 1 tsp of butter a few times a week, that helps with constipation and hairballs. Too much and it will make the movements runny. blood is NOT normal, that means he is pushing too hard or is having some kind of bowel trouble. You should bring a sample of his stool in and try to get some pictures of the blood/mucous for the vet to look at.
 

Alldara

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I would switch him back to the original flavor and add another box, he may have a problem with the other one. give him 1 tsp of butter a few times a week, that helps with constipation and hairballs. Too much and it will make the movements runny. blood is NOT normal, that means he is pushing too hard or is having some kind of bowel trouble. You should bring a sample of his stool in and try to get some pictures of the blood/mucous for the vet to look at.
FYI - in case you didn't know because I didn't, long term butter or margarine can cause issues.

Since OP will be seeing the vet soon, discussing laxative options with the vet would be best.
 

FeebysOwner

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FYI - in case you didn't know because I didn't, long term butter or margarine can cause issues...Since OP will be seeing the vet soon, discussing laxative options with the vet would be best.
Can you elaborate? Btw, not sure laxative options that a vet might suggest in many cases are 'more' natural.
If you mean the lactose intolerance in most cats, butter has almost zero lactose. Heavy cream too.
And, olive oil can be used as well, no lactose issues there, either!!

All of this is moot right now, as we haven't heard from the OP that constipation is even in the equation.
 
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Cutegrapefrute

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to answer some more questions, both of my cats get hairballs probably more than they should. I brush often and they get fish oil supplements, but they just seem to get them. They do sometimes vomit, but usually it is in combination with hairballs. sometimes depending on the time of day with bile. neither is that often. probably anywhere from a few times a month to once or twice a week when they are shedding really bad. and the throw up without hairball would be less often by far.

I should mention that he loves to chew on plastic and stuff. I don't let him near it, but sometimes he gets into things I had no idea he could reach. That is another concern because I am sure plastic would irritate his bowls.

I don't get the impression he is constipated because I haven't seen him strain. but it could be something I just don't witness. I can bring up all those concerns to the vet when I go, because even if I don't see it, it's possible.
 

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Hi there,
Just a very pragmatic question - if it’s a closed litter box, is it actually high enough (including the height of the cat litter) for the cat to squat comfortably (full height) to do his poops?
If he is in some discomfort (whether it be constipation, arthritis etc), the space question may become even more important as he possibly will be needing to spend longer in the box and move around?
Although my cat is acually quite small, I just replaced both her litter boxes with so-called jumbo sized boxes (apparently suitable for large Main Coons! ) to make her more comfortable as I wasn‘t happy with the standard size. It‘s really a bit of a joke as if they‘re just about the right size for my small cat, what should a big main coon do? I would actually prefer an open box, but she likes digging and the litter goes everywhere if they‘re not covered.
Just a thought?
Good luck!
 

Alldara

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Can you elaborate? Btw, not sure laxative options that a vet might suggest in many cases are 'more' natural.
Not for the lactose but daily feedings of high fat things like butter, margarine or coconut oil can lead to pancreatitis etc. A one-off here or there won't cause any problems, but the amount of fat in those items are not proportional to what a cat would eat from their prey.

We must remember that natural isn't always better. Lots of things are perfectly natural, but toxic to cats. :) Or just harmful over time like how grains are to the kidneys.
 

Alldara

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to answer some more questions, both of my cats get hairballs probably more than they should. I brush often and they get fish oil supplements, but they just seem to get them. They do sometimes vomit, but usually it is in combination with hairballs. sometimes depending on the time of day with bile. neither is that often. probably anywhere from a few times a month to once or twice a week when they are shedding really bad. and the throw up without hairball would be less often by far.

I should mention that he loves to chew on plastic and stuff. I don't let him near it, but sometimes he gets into things I had no idea he could reach. That is another concern because I am sure plastic would irritate his bowls.

I don't get the impression he is constipated because I haven't seen him strain. but it could be something I just don't witness. I can bring up all those concerns to the vet when I go, because even if I don't see it, it's possible.
You could consider a partial shave during shedding times. It has helped Nobel.

Bile on its own should be brought to the vet's attention, but if it's with the hairball, that's the cause.

I'd really recommend blood work to be sure of anything.
 

dragonlady2

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Your cat sounds a little like mine. She loves plastic and broom bristles etc. She often had bowel movements outside the box that were a little bloody, had mucous and were very soft . I changed her cat food and added a little pumpkin and am super vigilant about leaving crinkly, plastic items around. Sometimes I would see evidence of what she ate re: plastic, in her poop. The pooping outside the box I put down to an irritated digestive trac due to bits of plastic and/or food that she was sensitive to, which was affecting her bowel movements. The other thought I had was that she really did not like having litter stuck to her hair and butt and pooping outside the box helped her avoid that. So far so good. She has only had a couple of out of the litter box poops in the last year. Hopefully, you will find a simple solution for your poor kitty.
 
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