Why is my 10-year-old cat having diarrhea and litter box accidents?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 10 years and 8 months old
Ten year old neutered male, diarrhea, can't make it to the litter box, started about wk. or ten days ago, using same cat food, but it is from Chewy.com, is a different color than the store bought 9-lives
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on September 6th, 2017
I am sorry to hear about your kitty! If the food appears different than the one he normally eats it is possible that perhaps there is a different additive or food coloring that has upset his stomach (or is it possible it is a different flavor even though the brand is the same). We can see some pets have GI upset from quick changes in diet. That being said, we can also see diarrhea from other causes, including GI parasites, bacterial overgrowth, inflammatory bowel disease, as a symptom of systemic illness, and more. If he is still energetic with no vomiting you could try getting a probiotic from your vet or the pet store for him which can sometimes help with diarrhea and feeding something bland for a few days (such as plain white rice and shredded boiled chicken or lean ground chicken) or picking up the food you normally get at the pet store and trying this for a few days. If he is having urgency so often he isn't making it to the litterbox, however, it is quite possible he has colitis http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=677 and will likely need prescription medication to get the diarrhea under control, so the fastest solution to eliminating the problem is to have your vet examine him!
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Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on March 26th, 2018
With vomiting and diarrhea they may have a problem with the food or may have an infection such as giardia or coccidia. You can try a diet change to a sensitive stomach formula or prescription food such as Science Diet I/D to help. Adding probiotics to the food also helps regulate normal bacteria and speed up recovery from GI upset. You vet can check another stool sample to compare and see about adding an antibiotic if it is an infection.
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