feline elimination problems

February 7, 2022 12:33 PM

I have three cats. Two of them, Masha and Bubka, are littermates and both have been diagnosed with IBD. We've been treating Masha for years, and started treating Bubka a few months ago. They're both 13 years old. We're pretty sure the problem is not with our third cat, Bruno (feline elimination discussion follows).

A few weeks ago, we started finding poop out of place (aka POOP), in all but one case very near the litterboxes. Seems to only happen overnight or early in the morning. This is a new thing—we've had all our cats since they were a few months old.

We've tried cleaning out the litterboxes before bed in case one of the cats has suddenly gotten picky about that. We've also tried leaving a light on near the litterboxes in case one of them is losing her eyesight. The problem persists.

My best guess is that either Masha or Bubka is using the litterbox, leaving it, and shortly after discovers more is on the way out, and can't control it. We're about ready to make an appointment to see the vet, but I thought I'd check here for any ideas first.

posted by adamrice to Pets & Animals (9 answers total)

other possibilities are that poop is getting stuck to someone's fur and falling off later (ask me how i know) or, since it is near the litterbox, someone is overexcited with their burying. neither of these seem like things that would suddenly occur after years, but both have happened to me.

my only real suggestion is to put out a mat around the box and resign yourself to picking up poo every morning.

if, however, the poo is different consistency than usual, that warrants a vet visit to my mind.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 12:42 PM on February 7, 2022 [5 favorites]

With your cats age, they may develop some difficulty stepping into the box. If its higher up, you may want to experiment to see if a smaller step into the box would help.
posted by AlexiaSky at 12:48 PM on February 7, 2022 [2 favorites]

I've had this happen from overzealous burying, but also from one cat scaring another cat mid-poop. Since your cats are older, perhaps they are getting more easily startled (from decreased sight, smell, hearing)? That doesn't explain why it's happening only at night though.
posted by coffeecat at 12:51 PM on February 7, 2022 [4 favorites]

Is there any change in consistency or anything like that? Is the poop really firm, or really loose?

There are lots of reasons they might be going outside the box - if they're becoming constipated / have really hard stool then they may have an issue with the poo not quite landing in the box and dropping off later. It might get stuck to fur.

If eliminating has become painful they may be associating that with the box and eliminating near but not in the box is how they're coping. Or it could be an issue of "not quite making it" one way or another.

It would help if you can ID which cat it is, the consistency and any other changes you may be seeing.

The reason it happens at night might just be that's their pooping schedule. We have an older guy who has a pretty regular schedule - between 7 and 8 a.m. - so maybe that's just their usual schedule.

Or it could be that there's some territory issue around the box and they're pooping outside the box because they don't want to be cornered in the box by another kitty.

Lots of possibilities. Strongly recommend consulting with the vet on this.
posted by jzb at 1:15 PM on February 7, 2022

As my cat got older, she would pee in the box, and then have to poop afterwards, and not want to poop in the same place that she just peed. In an ideal world she would have had two boxes; in my condo, there was room for just one. If I was very very very vigilant about cleaning after she peed, she would happily poop in the box again.

This behavior developed as she got older (probably about the age you're mentioning) and had no medical cause. She was just being persnickety.
posted by Medieval Maven at 1:32 PM on February 7, 2022 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Just to follow up:

- This is loose stool, but that's nothing new. It was loose stool that led us to get Bubka diagnosed with IBD. We've discovered her sister also has loose stool.
- I don't think it's an agility problem because no one is peeing outside the box.
- There's no way this is an "overzealous burying" problem based on the locations and lack of sprayed litter. Both boxes are hooded.
- Based on volume, this isn't klingons.
posted by adamrice at 2:10 PM on February 7, 2022 [1 favorite]

There is a significant faction that would advocate more litter boxes. I am neutral in most cases, but in this case it might be worth trying.

Also: very large, very deep litter box.
posted by amtho at 5:01 PM on February 7, 2022 [1 favorite]

My older cat is like MedievalMaven's cat, and poops on the floor because she only likes a scrupulously clean litter box. She'll only poop in a litterbox if there is no evidence it has ever been used. This often means that overnight she'll pee, and then the litterbox is ruined and she'll poop on the floor.

She also decided she no longer likes most litter, so we had to switch to paper litter just in "her" box, and try to clean it as soon as she uses it.
posted by stillnocturnal at 12:34 AM on February 8, 2022 [1 favorite]

If eliminating has become painful they may be associating that with the box and eliminating near but not in the box is how they're coping.

This was my cat. Pain might also make your cat leave the box early, so the poop ends up nearby rather than inside.

Unfortunately, cats don't really learn cause and effect, so providing another box would give your cat a new "safe" place to try pooping.
posted by gladly at 6:29 PM on February 15, 2022