Why is my old cat suddenly having litter box accidents and not eating?

Question

I have a 13 1/2 yr old cat. She has never been outside and always went to the basement to eat and use the litter box. All of a sudden she started using my son's bedroom floor to go to the bathroom and yesterday went on my daughter's bed. Why the sudden change in behavior and how do I change it? She also stopped eating until my daughter brought the food to her room where the cat basically lives. Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 13 years and 7 months old

Jessica Keay, DVM · Accepted Answer

I am sorry to hear about Sadie. There are several different possible causes for the accidents. You don't mention if this is urination, bowel movements, or both. With urinary accidents we can have changes in habit due to urinary tract infection, bladder diseases, kidney disease, diabetes, and thyroid disease. Fecal accidents can occur due to a variety of problems including constipation, intestinal parasites, anal sac infection/impaction, inflammatory bowel disease, or other bowel disease. If your kitty is having urine and bowel movement accidents then we would be concerned about things like arthritis causing discomfort resulting in her not wanting to travel all the way to the litterbox. We can also have cognitive decline in older pets that can lead to accidents, or anxiety issues. I would recommend an exam by your vet to try to pinpoint the underlying cause which will determine the treatment. In the meantime, I would consider moving a litterbox into the room she likes to spend her time in!

Why is my old cat suddenly having litter box accidents and not eating?

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