Well, poop! At wits end!

On Sep 13, 4:05*pm, jmc wrote:
I'm running out of ideas. *Meep's healthy again, or as healthy as she
can be, anyway, for a 14 year old cat. *Since she's been on the
Tramodol, she's been using the litterbox properly to pee.

The new problem is that she's decided, most of the time, not to use the
box to poop. *I cannot figure out why. *There has been no change to her
litter in ages (I use Worlds Best). *These are not accidents - she poops
just outside the box, on the floor. *Fortunately she has a bathroom all
to herself.

So, thinking she had decided she needed a second litterbox, I put one
out for her, but had to put it next to her current one, because every
other box, she sits in but pees outside of, and I'm renting so we can't
have her doing that on the carpets.

So, she ignored her current box, sat in the other one to pee but peed on
the floor, then pooped in a only slightly out of the way spot on the
carpet about 5' away from her bathroom. *NOT what I like to find first
thing Monday morning!

It's been cleaned up of course, and treated with an odor neutralizer. *I
have also removed the second box. It is much easier to clean poop off
the bathroom tile floor than random places on carpet!

I've spoken to the vet about this but she has no answers. *We know she
tends to be constipated and is on both Benefiber and Laculose. *She
rarely has hairballs so it all comes out the other end. *Her poops are
now normal in appearance, and sometimes a bit soft if I use too much
Laculose.

If it was the litter, wouldn't she pee outside of her current box? *She
uses that one properly, when she wouldn't/doesn't with the other style
boxes I've tried.

I'm at wits end! None of the other bathrooms are big enough to put a
litter box in (she uses a huge multi-cat box), and I'm scared to put a
box out where there's carpet. *No matter how big or tall a box is used,
it still has to have an opening that's low enough for my arthritic cat
to manage, and she'll pee out that opening if she's so inclined.

I'm not even sure if this is protest at something (she really hates
getting the Tramadol twice daily, it's very, very bitter), or if she's
associated the litterbox with pain - and I'm not sure how to fix it if
she has made that sort of association.

Other than this one problem, her behavior is pretty normal.

Please, any help is appreciated!

jmc

It's likely the constipation that's the issue. Have you checked a
fresh stool to see if it's hard? Part of the problem is that you are
giving her Benefiber. That's an old school treatment that is no longer
acceptable and not one the clinic I work for recommends. The reason is
it increases the bulk of the stool which makes it harder to pass. You
want the smallest stool possible, The Lactulose should be used by
itself and there is a less expensive alternative. I have a few cats
that suffer from chronic constipation for various medical reasons and
I do not use Lactulose at all. I use Miralax (or the generic
equivalent), which can be purchaesd at any drugstore, Target or
Walmart. Depending on the cat 1/4 - 1/2 tsp with each meal keeps
things moving quite well. It has no taste and can be mixed with canned
food, or you can mix it with a liitle baby food and administer it with
a 3 ml oral syringe to make sure she gets the full dose. Also make
sure to check her anal glands and make sure there is not an impaction
or infection going on back there.

Suddenly, without warning, catlady exclaimed (9/14/2010 3:12 AM):
On Sep 13, 4:05 pm, wrote:
I'm running out of ideas. Meep's healthy again, or as healthy as she
can be, anyway, for a 14 year old cat. Since she's been on the
Tramodol, she's been using the litterbox properly to pee.

The new problem is that she's decided, most of the time, not to use the
box to poop. I cannot figure out why. There has been no change to her
litter in ages (I use Worlds Best). These are not accidents - she poops
just outside the box, on the floor. Fortunately she has a bathroom all
to herself.

So, thinking she had decided she needed a second litterbox, I put one
out for her, but had to put it next to her current one, because every
other box, she sits in but pees outside of, and I'm renting so we can't
have her doing that on the carpets.

So, she ignored her current box, sat in the other one to pee but peed on
the floor, then pooped in a only slightly out of the way spot on the
carpet about 5' away from her bathroom. NOT what I like to find first
thing Monday morning!

It's been cleaned up of course, and treated with an odor neutralizer. I
have also removed the second box. It is much easier to clean poop off
the bathroom tile floor than random places on carpet!

I've spoken to the vet about this but she has no answers. We know she
tends to be constipated and is on both Benefiber and Laculose. She
rarely has hairballs so it all comes out the other end. Her poops are
now normal in appearance, and sometimes a bit soft if I use too much
Laculose.

If it was the litter, wouldn't she pee outside of her current box? She
uses that one properly, when she wouldn't/doesn't with the other style
boxes I've tried.

I'm at wits end! None of the other bathrooms are big enough to put a
litter box in (she uses a huge multi-cat box), and I'm scared to put a
box out where there's carpet. No matter how big or tall a box is used,
it still has to have an opening that's low enough for my arthritic cat
to manage, and she'll pee out that opening if she's so inclined.

I'm not even sure if this is protest at something (she really hates
getting the Tramadol twice daily, it's very, very bitter), or if she's
associated the litterbox with pain - and I'm not sure how to fix it if
she has made that sort of association.

Other than this one problem, her behavior is pretty normal.

Please, any help is appreciated!

jmc

It's likely the constipation that's the issue. Have you checked a
fresh stool to see if it's hard? Part of the problem is that you are
giving her Benefiber. That's an old school treatment that is no longer
acceptable and not one the clinic I work for recommends. The reason is
it increases the bulk of the stool which makes it harder to pass. You
want the smallest stool possible, The Lactulose should be used by
itself and there is a less expensive alternative. I have a few cats
that suffer from chronic constipation for various medical reasons and
I do not use Lactulose at all. I use Miralax (or the generic
equivalent), which can be purchaesd at any drugstore, Target or
Walmart. Depending on the cat 1/4 - 1/2 tsp with each meal keeps
things moving quite well. It has no taste and can be mixed with canned
food, or you can mix it with a liitle baby food and administer it with
a 3 ml oral syringe to make sure she gets the full dose. Also make
sure to check her anal glands and make sure there is not an impaction
or infection going on back there.

Thank you. My vet recommended I give both - Benefiber to increase bulk
and Lactulose to make it softer. With just the Lactulose she was still
having problems, so we're trying both. I'll ask my vet about Miralax
though, thanks for the tip.

Her anal glands were recently expressed and checked by the vet partway
through this, they are not the problem.

jmc

On Tue, 14 Sep 2010 18:53:35 -0400, jmc
wrote:

I'm running out of ideas. Meep's healthy again, or as healthy as she
can be, anyway, for a 14 year old cat.

Don't know your options
Remove the box entirely the cat will/should let you know (howl) when
it wants to go (and finds it missing). Put cat outside (if an option)
After this the cat will use the box properly
Petzl
--
"Dieu et mon droit" God is my legal right
http://preview.tinyurl.com/Christian-Court

Suddenly, without warning, Petzl exclaimed (9/15/2010 7:38 AM):
On Tue, 14 Sep 2010 18:53:35 -0400,
wrote:

I'm running out of ideas. Meep's healthy again, or as healthy as she
can be, anyway, for a 14 year old cat.

Don't know your options
Remove the box entirely the cat will/should let you know (howl) when
it wants to go (and finds it missing). Put cat outside (if an option)
After this the cat will use the box properly
Petzl
--
"Dieu et mon droit" God is my legal right
http://preview.tinyurl.com/Christian-Court

Putting Meep outside is not an option. She is an indoor cat. Getting
rid of the box altogether is also not an option - she'll just go in the
spot it used to be, or outside that bathroom door if I close the door.
I don't have to try this to know this...

jmc

On Wed, 15 Sep 2010 20:43:30 -0400, jmc
wrote:

Putting Meep outside is not an option. She is an indoor cat. Getting
rid of the box altogether is also not an option - she'll just go in the
spot it used to be, or outside that bathroom door if I close the door.
I don't have to try this to know this...

jmc

I were not meaning to permanently rid the "cat box"
Just for a few hours, this often has the effect of the cat modifying
the way it uses the box when replaced. Works everytime with others I
know (don't really know why). My cat was a outside one (I have high
fences etc) She is getting to old to get outside (born 1984 sometime)
I bought a "Cat box" enclosed with a flap she loves it trouble is she
started digging big hole in litter and her bum out the flap. Fixed the
situation by pitting box outside for a good clean, she did not like
this and let me know. When I put it back no more problem
Petzl
--
http://home.iprimus.com.au/petzl/Mono.htm

On Thu, 16 Sep 2010 15:02:07 +1000, Petzl wrote:

Putting Meep outside is not an option. She is an indoor cat. Getting
rid of the box altogether is also not an option - she'll just go in the
spot it used to be, or outside that bathroom door if I close the door.
I don't have to try this to know this...

jmc

Just thinking try turning the box 90° this may have the cat rethink
its position beneficially or you?
Petzl
--
http://home.iprimus.com.au/petzl/Mono.htm