XP senior cat litter box issue

[Deleted]

I XP over on pets, but it's usually pretty quiet around there.  

My 16 year old siamese was diagnosed with diabetes 3 months ago. She's on insulin and doing pretty well. Except, over the past few months every once in a while, she will poop on my bathroom floor. It's becoming more frequent. Tonight I found poop and vomit on the bathroom floor. She does vomit occasionally so I'm not overly worried about that. She always urinates in the litter box.  I don't know if it's the old age, or the diabetes or a combination.  Anyone have any experience with this? I will schedule an appt with the vet soon, but any helpful hints are appreciated in the meantime.  

[polarbearfans]

Is the litter box too far or too full from pee? Def worth talking to a vet regardless of your answer to your question, but a lot of senior cats cannot make it to the box in time and need more boxes... Kind of like old people. Sometime you've just have to go whether it's the right place or not.

[MauMau]

Is your litter box to tall? Maybe it's harder for her to get in and out as she's gotten older?

[Deleted]

Aug 26, 2014 22:49:46 GMT -5 polarbearfans said:

Is the litter box too far or too full from pee? Def worth talking to a vet regardless of your answer to your question, but a lot of senior cats cannot make it to the box in time and need more boxes... Kind of like old people. Sometime you've just have to go whether it's the right place or not.

I keep the boxes clean.  I'm in a fairly small apartment, so nothing is far and it's all on one level.  She keeps going in the same spot.  I had to throw out my bath mat.  No room for a box in the bathroom either. 

[Deleted]

Aug 26, 2014 22:53:03 GMT -5 MauMau said:

Is your litter box to tall? Maybe it's harder for her to get in and out as she's gotten older?

I have one taller on and a lower one.  She only likes the taller one.  She urinates in there consistently.  I can tell she only uses that one because she urinates a lot due to the diabetes.  

[polarbearfans]

Have you caught her doing it? Maybe add another tall box? Cats can be weird. My one cat likes pee in one box, poop In the other. It caused a big fuss when we first brought him home and the other cat would pee in his poop box.

Has the box moved? My husband moved the litter box in my bathroom because he thought it would be more convenient for me in a different spot. One of the cats was so disturbed he pooped where the box originally sat. I moved it back and no more poop out of the box.

I would get her into the vet

[Deleted]

Aug 26, 2014 23:03:07 GMT -5 polarbearfans said:

Have you caught her doing it? Maybe add another tall box? Cats can be weird. My one cat likes pee in one box, poop In the other. It caused a big fuss when we first brought him home and the other cat would pee in his poop box.

Has the box moved? My husband moved the litter box in my bathroom because he thought it would be more convenient for me in a different spot. One of the cats was so disturbed he pooped where the box originally sat. I moved it back and no more poop out of the box.

I would get her into the vet

Box hasn't moved.  I only caught her once.  She usually does it overnight when we are sleeping.   I feel upset that she's uncomfortable or something's wrong.  

[Deleted]

Can you close the bathroom door?

My ex's cat was diagnosed with diabetes during our relationship. He never had poop issues, but he would always pee on the carpet next to the litterbox if it wasn't as clean as he wanted it to be. Or if the other cat was using it. Or sometimes just for the hell of it too.

[alleinesein]

Aug 26, 2014 23:07:09 GMT -5 @blueyes623 said:

Aug 26, 2014 23:03:07 GMT -5 polarbearfans said:

Have you caught her doing it? Maybe add another tall box? Cats can be weird. My one cat likes pee in one box, poop In the other. It caused a big fuss when we first brought him home and the other cat would pee in his poop box.

Has the box moved? My husband moved the litter box in my bathroom because he thought it would be more convenient for me in a different spot. One of the cats was so disturbed he pooped where the box originally sat. I moved it back and no more poop out of the box.

I would get her into the vet

Box hasn't moved.  I only caught her once.  She usually does it overnight when we are sleeping.   I feel upset that she's uncomfortable or something's wrong.  

How id her eyesight? Maybe she cant find the box at night.

[Wallflower]

No tips on the litter box, but from experience with a cat with chronic diarrhea who couldn't make it to the box in time, get some old towels and use those in the bathroom. I spent far too much time washing bath mats until I wised up.

[mysterons]

Great advice so far. If you can't add another litterbox to the location she's pooping on, maybe lay a puppy pad down? Poor kitty! Thanks for being such a caring cat owner. I hope things get better soon.

[Deleted]

Aug 27, 2014 1:15:35 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

Aug 26, 2014 23:07:09 GMT -5 @blueyes623 said:

Box hasn't moved.  I only caught her once.  She usually does it overnight when we are sleeping.   I feel upset that she's uncomfortable or something's wrong.  

How id her eyesight? Maybe she cant find the box at night.

As far as I'm aware, she doesn't have any sight issues. Meaning at her last exam, she has no cataracts or eye issues.  I don't notice her having vision issues, but at her age who knows?

[riverpestie]

can you try "cat attract" litter?

[Deleted]

Aug 27, 2014 14:52:17 GMT -5 riverpestie said:

can you try "cat attract" litter?

I've never heard of this.  Tell me more please.

[riverpestie]

Sometimes I use it for my fosters when they don't use the litterbox.

It has worked well. There is something in the litter that draws them to the box so they can use it.

www.preciouscat.com/product/cat-attract/

I would also recommend cleaning up the place where she has previously gone with an enzymatic cleaner such as nature's miracle. 

[polarbearfans]

Any update?

[Deleted]

Sept 1, 2014 19:25:11 GMT -5 polarbearfans said:

Any update?

We actually moved to a new apartment yesterday, so not really. The kitties were very frazzled yesterday so we kept them confined to one room as we moved and unpacked. I let them explore today. No issues yet. Thanks for asking!