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Why is my 17-year-old cat pooping on my bed instead of her litter box?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 16 years and 11 months old

My 17 year old cat has been pooping on my bed. She sleeps with ne every night nut during tye day, i find her poop on my bed. Her litterbox is downstairs and she uses it to urinate and also poop. Lately, sge has been leaving her poop on tge floor and mostly on my bed. Sge us healthy with no health issues. Should i leave a cat litter box in my attached bathroom..why is she doing this.

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

Published on May 3rd, 2020

Hi there. Yes, you could certainly try leaving the litter box in your attached bathroom so that it's closer and easier for her to get to, as a starting point. But in a cat this age, I would be very suspicious of an underlying medical issue causing this behavior - this can be true even if she appears generally healthy otherwise, on the outside. Possible causes would include hyperthyroidism, a GI problem such as chronic pancreatitis or inflammatory bowel disease, or arthritis making it difficult or painful for her to get into the litter box when she needs to go. I would recommend a vet visit for a thorough physical exam and some basic lab work to check for these issues. If she has a medical problem of some kind, having it treated appropriately will often resolve the unwanted accidents.

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    Answered By Tomasz Wnuk

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. She may be pooping on the bed because she finds it too far to go downstairs. Older cats often get arthritis, they find it difficult to go up and down the stairs. It could also be painful for your cat to squat to poop. Finally, some older cats get senile brain changes, sometimes they forget things the same way as it happens to older people. Putting an extra litter box not far from your bed is a very good idea - hopefully she will start using it straight away. If not, you should take her to your local vets to get her examined and probably try a few days treatment with pain killers.

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