Why is my 12-year-old cat pooping in and out of her litter box?

Question

Hello, My 12 year old cat is pooping outside of her litterbox. Funny thing is, she does poop inside the box, but then will poop out of the box on the carpet I'm the house. I am not sure what would be causing her to do this. There are times when she will have a lot of poop in the box and then a couple of turds outside the box and then it will be vice versa. Any ideas of what would be causing her to do this? She had a UTI back in August. She is now peeing inside the box just fine. Thank you. Pet's info: Cat | American Longhair | Female | spayed | 12 years and 10 months old | 11.6 lbs

Stacey Anstaett, DVM · Accepted Answer

I'm sorry that you are dealing with this frustrating problem! I'm glad to hear that she is reliably peeing in the box, but pooping outside the box is also, of course, problematic. Have there been any changes in the home that she might perceive as stressful? Any new pets, a major change in your schedule, holiday visitors, etc. All of these things could contribute to this type of behavior. Make it a point to spend a few minutes a day with her, just giving her attention. Engage her in play with a wand type toy, or just sit and pet her and chat to her. Sometimes some reassurance can be really beneficial. Also, make sure there is a litter box on every level of your home, (every story--basement, main floor, upstairs, etc) and if you have multiple cats, the number of litter boxes should be the# of cats plus 1. ( so 3 boxes if you have 2 cats). If she's not been to the vet for this issue, take her in. If she has arthritis, etc or is otherwise painful, pooping may be uncomfortable and therefore she may not be completely "finishing" when she is in the box. Or, its also possible that she may have a neurologic condition that is affecting her ability to know when she needs to poop in time to get to the box. Here are a couple of articles you may find helpful as well. https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/common-cat-behavior-issues/litter-box-problems https://www.petcoach.co/article/inappropriate-elimination-urination-defecation-spraying-in/ Thank you for asking PetCoach!

Why is my 12-year-old cat pooping in and out of her litter box?

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