My older cat poops outside the litter box, even in the bathtub. Why?

Question

My cat poops in the bath tub. I tried 2 litter boxes. I tried keeping water in the bath tub (which made mold). Even with water in the bath tub, she stopped using 2 litter boxes and started dropping her poop right out side the box. People have suggested changing the litter (World's Best). What would be the best litter to use. She is 7 and may have chronic pancreatitis. Thank you. Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Longhair | Female | spayed | 10 lbs

Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH · Accepted Answer

Unfortunately, it is very common for older cats or cats with any medical problems to have changes in their bathroom habits. I have a few suggestions for you. First, even if a cat has been tolerant of a slightly dirty litter box previously, sometimes this changes as they get older. That may mean that if there is ANY urine or stool in a box, then they won't use it. Why this sometimes involves only stool and not urine, we can't always tell. But the first step in any inappropriate elimination case is to make sure that there are the "correct" number of litter boxes in the house which is the number of cats plus one, so that would be 2 boxes in your house if Helena is the only cat. Those boxes must be cleaned at least once daily. Some people use an automatic cleaning litter box for one of their boxes to make sure that there is always a clean box. Cats tend to dislike covered or lined litter boxes, so I would eliminate those if they are as issue. As far as litter, I currently use World's Best which I really like, but you may also want to try products like Cat Attract Litter (https://www.drelseys.com/shop/cat-attract/). Second, if a cat has ever had pain or discomfort associated with defecating (which we can sometimes see with cats with GI disease like pancreatitis), she may associate it with the litter box and may avoid the litter box for defecation. So, if this is a new problem, I would certainly recommend having your veterinarian examine Helena to see if they find any signs of abdominal pain or arthritis that may benefit from medication or other treatment. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

My older cat poops outside the litter box, even in the bathtub. Why?

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