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Help please! Cat is pooping outside litter box



 
 
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  #1  
Old May 20th 07, 07:43 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Roxanne
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3
Default Help please! Cat is pooping outside litter box

Hoping someone will have some helpful insight for us.

Our 7-yr old neutered male cat has been defecating in the house for
the past 4-5 weeks now. It was happening once or twice a week but now,
it's almost every day. He urinates in his box.

We brought him to the vet 2 weeks ago and they cleaned out his anal
sacs (which were full) and did a CBC - results were normal. The next
day, he pooped everywhere again. Then, nothing for a week. We were
resigned to a behavior problem (we have a 13-month old who started
walking around the same time as the inappropriate elimination started)
and made an appointment with an animal behavior specialist.

But earlier this week, we saw the whole poop scenario from start to
finish and realized that he was in pain when passing the stool. He
meowed really loudly and insistently, panted and then, judging by his
awkward position, passed the stool in discomfort. Usually, after the
meowing, he runs around like a bat out of hell dropping poop
throughout the house (on the hardwood floor and on the beds). I was
interpreting the meowing as cries for attention (I was usually tending
to the baby when it happened) and the poop dropping as resentment. So,
when this poop crisis started, we made sure we gave the cat more
attention, never ignored his requests to watch him eat and did our
best to make sure the baby wasn't stressing out the cat. After seeing
him in pain the other morning, we have to conclude that the problem is
medical. We took him back to the vet.

The vet checked him out again and didn't feel anything amiss. When I
mentioned mucous on his stool, he said that that usually indicates
irritation in the bowel. He suggested a new diet (Medi-Cal
hypoallergenic/gastro), meds (Apo-Metronidazole) and an X-ray. The X-
ray didn't show anything conclusive (possible thickening of the
stomach lining - subjective, according to the vet). The stools aren't
that soft, but they are pale, smelly and there is mucous on them. We
brought a fresh poop sample to the vet Friday night to test for
Giardia. Won't get the results until Tuesday or Wednesday. I suggested
a thyroid test, but they weren't able to do it because the cat was too
stressed from the X-ray. We'll have to go back to do that blood test.
Meanwhile, the cat isn't eating his new food (he ate a third of a cup
when he got home from the vet - had been fasting for over 12 hours for
his X-ray, so he was famished - but has not touched it since, so we
switched him back to his Innova and he's eating again). Apart from the
poop problem, the cat looks perfectly healthy. No change in appetite,
thirst (he might be drinking a bit more), weight, energy level or
daily routine. He is his usual gorgeous self. The only signs he has
a

-light colored smelly stools
-mucous on stools
-pain upon defecating
-defecating outside his box (which he's probably doing because he
associates pain with the litter box, right?)

While we wait for the stool test results, we'll buy a new litter box.
We have been scooping it out at least once or twice daily. It's
clumping litter - same brand he's had since he was a kitten. Anything
else we can do? Does anyone have ideas on this? Questions we should be
asking the vet? Should we have his anal sacs checked again? Besides
the thyroid, is there anything else we should test? We have a toddler
and can't have the cat leaving presents everywhere in the house like
this. We need a speedy diagnosis! It's not just the hygiene question:
it's getting increasingly difficult to get the cat into his cage to
bring him to the vet.

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

P.S. I searched this newsgroup and a few of the relevant posts listed
links which are now outdated.

  #2  
Old May 20th 07, 08:27 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Noon Cat Nick
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 145
Default Help please! Cat is pooping outside litter box

Roxanne wrote:

Hoping someone will have some helpful insight for us.

Our 7-yr old neutered male cat has been defecating in the house for
the past 4-5 weeks now. It was happening once or twice a week but now,
it's almost every day. He urinates in his box.

We brought him to the vet 2 weeks ago and they cleaned out his anal
sacs (which were full) and did a CBC - results were normal. The next
day, he pooped everywhere again. Then, nothing for a week. We were
resigned to a behavior problem (we have a 13-month old who started
walking around the same time as the inappropriate elimination started)
and made an appointment with an animal behavior specialist.

But earlier this week, we saw the whole poop scenario from start to
finish and realized that he was in pain when passing the stool. He
meowed really loudly and insistently, panted and then, judging by his
awkward position, passed the stool in discomfort. Usually, after the
meowing, he runs around like a bat out of hell dropping poop
throughout the house (on the hardwood floor and on the beds). I was
interpreting the meowing as cries for attention (I was usually tending
to the baby when it happened) and the poop dropping as resentment. So,
when this poop crisis started, we made sure we gave the cat more
attention, never ignored his requests to watch him eat and did our
best to make sure the baby wasn't stressing out the cat. After seeing
him in pain the other morning, we have to conclude that the problem is
medical. We took him back to the vet.

The vet checked him out again and didn't feel anything amiss. When I
mentioned mucous on his stool, he said that that usually indicates
irritation in the bowel. He suggested a new diet (Medi-Cal
hypoallergenic/gastro), meds (Apo-Metronidazole) and an X-ray. The X-
ray didn't show anything conclusive (possible thickening of the
stomach lining - subjective, according to the vet). The stools aren't
that soft, but they are pale, smelly and there is mucous on them. We
brought a fresh poop sample to the vet Friday night to test for
Giardia. Won't get the results until Tuesday or Wednesday. I suggested
a thyroid test, but they weren't able to do it because the cat was too
stressed from the X-ray. We'll have to go back to do that blood test.
Meanwhile, the cat isn't eating his new food (he ate a third of a cup
when he got home from the vet - had been fasting for over 12 hours for
his X-ray, so he was famished - but has not touched it since, so we
switched him back to his Innova and he's eating again). Apart from the
poop problem, the cat looks perfectly healthy. No change in appetite,
thirst (he might be drinking a bit more), weight, energy level or
daily routine. He is his usual gorgeous self. The only signs he has
a

-light colored smelly stools
-mucous on stools
-pain upon defecating
-defecating outside his box (which he's probably doing because he
associates pain with the litter box, right?)



Right. It's not a behavior problem. From what you've written, it sounds
like your poor cat most likely has some form of colitis. It could also
be parasites, inflammatory bowel disease, some other colonic disorder,
or, at the outside, tumors or polyps. But colitis of some sort would be
my first guess.

While we wait for the stool test results, we'll buy a new litter box.
We have been scooping it out at least once or twice daily. It's
clumping litter - same brand he's had since he was a kitten. Anything
else we can do? Does anyone have ideas on this? Questions we should be
asking the vet? Should we have his anal sacs checked again? Besides
the thyroid, is there anything else we should test? We have a toddler
and can't have the cat leaving presents everywhere in the house like
this. We need a speedy diagnosis! It's not just the hygiene question:
it's getting increasingly difficult to get the cat into his cage to
bring him to the vet.

Thanks in advance for any ideas.



You might put him on a soft food or liquid diet for a day or two, if
only to give his bowels a rest. Whatever food you give him after that
should be either high in fiber or highly digestible and low in fat.
Anything else will exacerbate the condition.

Have him treated for any parasite infestation.

Apart from that, try to keep his stress level down. The fact that his
elimination problems coincided with your child's newly acquired
ambulatory skill could point to irritable bowel syndrome, a form of
colitis brought on by stress.

Obviously I believe your vet should be investigating the possibility of
some sort of colitis first. I could well be amiss, but your cat is
demonstrating all the signs of a colonic disorder.

HTH. Please let me know how things turn out.
  #3  
Old May 20th 07, 10:11 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Joe Canuck[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 54
Default Help please! Cat is pooping outside litter box

Roxanne wrote:
Hoping someone will have some helpful insight for us.

Our 7-yr old neutered male cat has been defecating in the house for
the past 4-5 weeks now. It was happening once or twice a week but now,
it's almost every day. He urinates in his box.

We brought him to the vet 2 weeks ago and they cleaned out his anal
sacs (which were full) and did a CBC - results were normal. The next
day, he pooped everywhere again. Then, nothing for a week. We were
resigned to a behavior problem (we have a 13-month old who started
walking around the same time as the inappropriate elimination started)
and made an appointment with an animal behavior specialist.

But earlier this week, we saw the whole poop scenario from start to
finish and realized that he was in pain when passing the stool. He
meowed really loudly and insistently, panted and then, judging by his
awkward position, passed the stool in discomfort. Usually, after the
meowing, he runs around like a bat out of hell dropping poop
throughout the house (on the hardwood floor and on the beds). I was
interpreting the meowing as cries for attention (I was usually tending
to the baby when it happened) and the poop dropping as resentment. So,
when this poop crisis started, we made sure we gave the cat more
attention, never ignored his requests to watch him eat and did our
best to make sure the baby wasn't stressing out the cat. After seeing
him in pain the other morning, we have to conclude that the problem is
medical. We took him back to the vet.

The vet checked him out again and didn't feel anything amiss. When I
mentioned mucous on his stool, he said that that usually indicates
irritation in the bowel. He suggested a new diet (Medi-Cal
hypoallergenic/gastro), meds (Apo-Metronidazole) and an X-ray. The X-
ray didn't show anything conclusive (possible thickening of the
stomach lining - subjective, according to the vet). The stools aren't
that soft, but they are pale, smelly and there is mucous on them. We
brought a fresh poop sample to the vet Friday night to test for
Giardia. Won't get the results until Tuesday or Wednesday. I suggested
a thyroid test, but they weren't able to do it because the cat was too
stressed from the X-ray. We'll have to go back to do that blood test.
Meanwhile, the cat isn't eating his new food (he ate a third of a cup
when he got home from the vet - had been fasting for over 12 hours for
his X-ray, so he was famished - but has not touched it since, so we
switched him back to his Innova and he's eating again). Apart from the
poop problem, the cat looks perfectly healthy. No change in appetite,
thirst (he might be drinking a bit more), weight, energy level or
daily routine. He is his usual gorgeous self. The only signs he has
a

-light colored smelly stools
-mucous on stools
-pain upon defecating
-defecating outside his box (which he's probably doing because he
associates pain with the litter box, right?)

While we wait for the stool test results, we'll buy a new litter box.
We have been scooping it out at least once or twice daily. It's
clumping litter - same brand he's had since he was a kitten. Anything
else we can do? Does anyone have ideas on this? Questions we should be
asking the vet? Should we have his anal sacs checked again? Besides
the thyroid, is there anything else we should test? We have a toddler
and can't have the cat leaving presents everywhere in the house like
this. We need a speedy diagnosis! It's not just the hygiene question:
it's getting increasingly difficult to get the cat into his cage to
bring him to the vet.

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

P.S. I searched this newsgroup and a few of the relevant posts listed
links which are now outdated.


If your first vet doesn't get this sorted out within the next few days
seek a second opinion.

There is a medical issue here. Your cat is avoiding the litter box
because he is associated that with the pain... figuring with kitty logic
that pooping in other places might be more comfortable. Until the issue
is resolved your cat will be pooping all over the house in what he views
as an effort to avoid the pain. Very annoying yes, but please don't be
hard on him because of this.
  #4  
Old May 20th 07, 04:28 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Roxanne
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3
Default Help please! Cat is pooping outside litter box

On May 20, 3:27 am, Noon Cat Nick
wrote:
Roxanne wrote:
Hoping someone will have some helpful insight for us.


Our 7-yr old neutered male cat has been defecating in the house for
the past 4-5 weeks now. It was happening once or twice a week but now,
it's almost every day. He urinates in his box.

snip

Apart from the
poop problem, the cat looks perfectly healthy. No change in appetite,
thirst (he might be drinking a bit more), weight, energy level or
daily routine. He is his usual gorgeous self. The only signs he has
a


-light colored smelly stools
-mucous on stools
-pain upon defecating
-defecating outside his box (which he's probably doing because he
associates pain with the litter box, right?)


Right. It's not a behavior problem. From what you've written, it sounds
like your poor cat most likely has some form of colitis. It could also
be parasites, inflammatory bowel disease, some other colonic disorder,
or, at the outside, tumors or polyps. But colitis of some sort would be
my first guess.


I think that's what the vet thinks as well.

While we wait for the stool test results, we'll buy a new litter box.
We have been scooping it out at least once or twice daily. It's
clumping litter - same brand he's had since he was a kitten. Anything
else we can do? Does anyone have ideas on this? Questions we should be
asking the vet? Should we have his anal sacs checked again? Besides
the thyroid, is there anything else we should test? We have a toddler
and can't have the cat leaving presents everywhere in the house like
this. We need a speedy diagnosis! It's not just the hygiene question:
it's getting increasingly difficult to get the cat into his cage to
bring him to the vet.


Thanks in advance for any ideas.


You might put him on a soft food or liquid diet for a day or two, if
only to give his bowels a rest. Whatever food you give him after that
should be either high in fiber or highly digestible and low in fat.
Anything else will exacerbate the condition.


He was certainly NOT eating the dry Medi-Cal the vet prescribed. He
would just sit by his bowl and look at us as if to say "You really
don't think I'll eat this stuff, do you? Come on, guys, where's my
food?" Should we try canned food? Is that considered "soft food"?


Have him treated for any parasite infestation.


He's on the Apo-Metronidazole already. The vet said it would help
reduce colon inflammation and would treat the Giardia if it is that
(which is doubtful, since he's an indoor cat and we have no other
pets).


Apart from that, try to keep his stress level down. The fact that his
elimination problems coincided with your child's newly acquired
ambulatory skill could point to irritable bowel syndrome, a form of
colitis brought on by stress.


Didn't realize colitis could be brought on by stress in cats as well.
Thanks for the insight.


Obviously I believe your vet should be investigating the possibility of
some sort of colitis first. I could well be amiss, but your cat is
demonstrating all the signs of a colonic disorder.

HTH. Please let me know how things turn out.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Thank you very much for your input.

  #5  
Old May 20th 07, 04:41 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Roxanne
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3
Default Help please! Cat is pooping outside litter box

On May 20, 5:11 am, Joe Canuck wrote:
Roxanne wrote:
Hoping someone will have some helpful insight for us.


Our 7-yr old neutered male cat has been defecating in the house for
the past 4-5 weeks now. It was happening once or twice a week but now,
it's almost every day. He urinates in his box.


snip

Thanks in advance for any ideas.


P.S. I searched this newsgroup and a few of the relevant posts listed
links which are now outdated.


If your first vet doesn't get this sorted out within the next few days
seek a second opinion.


I must admit that we are a bit annoyed with the vets (two vets at the
vet clinic have seen him so far). They're doling out the course of
action with an eye dropper it seems.


There is a medical issue here. Your cat is avoiding the litter box
because he is associated that with the pain... figuring with kitty logic
that pooping in other places might be more comfortable. Until the issue
is resolved your cat will be pooping all over the house in what he views
as an effort to avoid the pain. Very annoying yes, but please don't be
hard on him because of this.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Oh, it's annoying all right and a lot icky when there's a baby in the
house, but we don't blame him for this. It's not his fault and we feel
so bad for him. Poor thing.

  #6  
Old May 20th 07, 05:17 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Noon Cat Nick
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 145
Default Help please! Cat is pooping outside litter box

Roxanne wrote:

On May 20, 3:27 am, Noon Cat Nick
wrote:

You might put him on a soft food or liquid diet for a day or two, if
only to give his bowels a rest. Whatever food you give him after that
should be either high in fiber or highly digestible and low in fat.
Anything else will exacerbate the condition.



He was certainly NOT eating the dry Medi-Cal the vet prescribed. He
would just sit by his bowl and look at us as if to say "You really
don't think I'll eat this stuff, do you? Come on, guys, where's my
food?" Should we try canned food? Is that considered "soft food"?


I should think it would still produce solid stools, which will be
painful to pass. A better option, IMVHO, would be baby food, which also
acts somewhat as a stool softener. Dilute it a bit.

Thank you very much for your input.



You're genuinely welcome. Again, let me know what happens.
  #7  
Old May 22nd 07, 12:20 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Olux
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3
Default Help please! Cat is pooping outside litter box

Mine did poop out of his litter for over a year. His feces where often dry
.. Whe conclude that maybe he associate pain while defecating with his
litter,
I gave him some psylium mix with some nature yogouart. It help soften his
feces. I was then feeding him dry food.
2 months ago i try Dr Elsey Cat Attract, the concentrate formula that I
added in is litter, Within 3 minutes, my cat did his poop in is litter. I
change as well his Hill formula S/D, (urinary problem) that he was suppose
to take the rest of his life.
I swithc to raw food. a recepe taken in Raising cat natturally , Michelle
Bernard.... NO MORE problem since... he is now defecating in his litter
and no more urine problem
Good luck
"Roxanne" a écrit dans le message de news:
...
Hoping someone will have some helpful insight for us.

Our 7-yr old neutered male cat has been defecating in the house for
the past 4-5 weeks now. It was happening once or twice a week but now,
it's almost every day. He urinates in his box.

We brought him to the vet 2 weeks ago and they cleaned out his anal
sacs (which were full) and did a CBC - results were normal. The next
day, he pooped everywhere again. Then, nothing for a week. We were
resigned to a behavior problem (we have a 13-month old who started
walking around the same time as the inappropriate elimination started)
and made an appointment with an animal behavior specialist.

But earlier this week, we saw the whole poop scenario from start to
finish and realized that he was in pain when passing the stool. He
meowed really loudly and insistently, panted and then, judging by his
awkward position, passed the stool in discomfort. Usually, after the
meowing, he runs around like a bat out of hell dropping poop
throughout the house (on the hardwood floor and on the beds). I was
interpreting the meowing as cries for attention (I was usually tending
to the baby when it happened) and the poop dropping as resentment. So,
when this poop crisis started, we made sure we gave the cat more
attention, never ignored his requests to watch him eat and did our
best to make sure the baby wasn't stressing out the cat. After seeing
him in pain the other morning, we have to conclude that the problem is
medical. We took him back to the vet.

The vet checked him out again and didn't feel anything amiss. When I
mentioned mucous on his stool, he said that that usually indicates
irritation in the bowel. He suggested a new diet (Medi-Cal
hypoallergenic/gastro), meds (Apo-Metronidazole) and an X-ray. The X-
ray didn't show anything conclusive (possible thickening of the
stomach lining - subjective, according to the vet). The stools aren't
that soft, but they are pale, smelly and there is mucous on them. We
brought a fresh poop sample to the vet Friday night to test for
Giardia. Won't get the results until Tuesday or Wednesday. I suggested
a thyroid test, but they weren't able to do it because the cat was too
stressed from the X-ray. We'll have to go back to do that blood test.
Meanwhile, the cat isn't eating his new food (he ate a third of a cup
when he got home from the vet - had been fasting for over 12 hours for
his X-ray, so he was famished - but has not touched it since, so we
switched him back to his Innova and he's eating again). Apart from the
poop problem, the cat looks perfectly healthy. No change in appetite,
thirst (he might be drinking a bit more), weight, energy level or
daily routine. He is his usual gorgeous self. The only signs he has
a

-light colored smelly stools
-mucous on stools
-pain upon defecating
-defecating outside his box (which he's probably doing because he
associates pain with the litter box, right?)

While we wait for the stool test results, we'll buy a new litter box.
We have been scooping it out at least once or twice daily. It's
clumping litter - same brand he's had since he was a kitten. Anything
else we can do? Does anyone have ideas on this? Questions we should be
asking the vet? Should we have his anal sacs checked again? Besides
the thyroid, is there anything else we should test? We have a toddler
and can't have the cat leaving presents everywhere in the house like
this. We need a speedy diagnosis! It's not just the hygiene question:
it's getting increasingly difficult to get the cat into his cage to
bring him to the vet.

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

P.S. I searched this newsgroup and a few of the relevant posts listed
links which are now outdated.



 




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