Arizona Chickens

[BlueBaby]

Hey all! I have a non-chicken question for you. I tried on a cat forum but they weren't much help. I figured some of you, like me, have other pets too. So maybe one of you might have some insight.


We have a lone 10 year old female calico cat. We've had her for 5 years (rescue). She's always been impeccable with her litter habits until several weeks ago. She pooped on the couch which is beside her litter box. Then about a week or more later, she did it again (different area on couch).

I put clear clear plastic vinyl on the couch thinking she wouldn't even want to stand on that. It didn't stop her. She's been going poo on there more often... a couple times per week, to now almost every day. Once she peed on there too.

No changes in litter, food, household, house, routines. It seems out of the blue.

On the chance she was having tummy issues, I started giving her a pro-biotic (Forti-Flora) for the past 10 days to no effect.

I'm at a loss understanding why. Any ideas??

Have you changed brands of cat litter lately, and she doesn't like it? If not, I would ask the vet that you take her to about it.

 

[Happy Novogens]

Have you changed brands of cat litter lately, and she doesn't like it? If not, I would ask the vet that you take her to about it.

No changes at all. I'm really trying to avoid a vet trip. Our finances have been super slim this past year with our business.

 

[BlueBaby]

No changes at all. I'm really trying to avoid a vet trip. Our finances have been super slim this past year with our business.

I don't know what to tell you then. I don't have a cat, and don't want one.

 

[cavemanrich]

I have cats,, but they are not house cats. DW allergic to cats,, and we have doggie.
The use litter box in garage, or outdoors in soil/ground.
It can be your kitty is reaching end of life terms.
3 of my cats have crossed over this year. They were 16,,, 17 years age.

 

[Happy Novogens]

I have cats,, but they are not house cats. DW allergic to cats,, and we have doggie.
The use litter box in garage, or outdoors in soil/ground.
It can be your kitty is reaching end of life terms.
3 of my cats have crossed over this year. They were 16,,, 17 years age.

Hmm.. I hope not. I thought 10 was a little young for that, but I suppose her age is really questionable since the rescue didn't have a birthdate ... just said she was 5 when we got her. She seems pretty playful still and agile, able to hop up high, etc.

 

[BlueBaby]

Hmm.. I hope not. I thought 10 was a little young for that, but I suppose her age is really questionable since the rescue didn't have a birthdate ... just said she was 5 when we got her. She seems pretty playful still and agile, able to hop up high, etc.

When we adopted our dog Serene they only estimated her age also. So, since we don't know her actual birthday, we just celebrate the day that we got her as her gotcha day.

 

[springvalley123]

Hey all! I have a non-chicken question for you. I tried on a cat forum but they weren't much help. I figured some of you, like me, have other pets too. So maybe one of you might have some insight.


We have a lone 10 year old female calico cat. We've had her for 5 years (rescue). She's always been impeccable with her litter habits until several weeks ago. She pooped on the couch which is beside her litter box. Then about a week or more later, she did it again (different area on couch).

I put clear clear plastic vinyl on the couch thinking she wouldn't even want to stand on that. It didn't stop her. She's been going poo on there more often... a couple times per week, to now almost every day. Once she peed on there too.

No changes in litter, food, household, house, routines. It seems out of the blue.

On the chance she was having tummy issues, I started giving her a pro-biotic (Forti-Flora) for the past 10 days to no effect.

I'm at a loss understanding why. Any ideas??

Well I'm a cat lady, crazy or not....

Sometimes the litter manufacturer changes the way they make the litter. They claim it's not a change in formula, but somehow owners say the quality of it changes.
It's a long shot since she's pooping very near the box, and urine (I assume) is still being done in the box, but you could try a second litter box. They say you're supposed to have # of cats plus 1 litter box anyway. That said, I've gone plus 1, even numbers, and minus 1. The latter, I had a problem for a day. I added the additional box and that took care of it.

Is the poop especially stinky for a cat? very solid, or borderline loose? Sometimes the food can change formulas slightly too, and they say they have 6 months to change the label (if the change requires labeling).

My now-10 year old suddenly had loose stools when I suddenly changed her food.

Could also be something outside the house. Maybe a neighbor's cat or a feral is now walking by within earshot, sight or smell of your cat. Pooping needs more privacy than peeing, so maybe that's got her going up high for safety.

You could also try cleaning the box out very extremely thoroughly. If the box (not just the litter) smells, it's a life/death thing--if a cat gets the idea they can't hide the smell of their waste, they are built to fear being eaten by a predator due to that predator smelling their waste. That'd be a complete litter box refusal, I'd think...

ETA----I'm assuming you've got an open uncovered box, right? if not I'd swap it out for an open box. I use the high sided x-large from walmart. It has a lower front step-in.

 

[Happy Novogens]

Well I'm a cat lady, crazy or not....

Sometimes the litter manufacturer changes the way they make the litter. They claim it's not a change in formula, but somehow owners say the quality of it changes.
It's a long shot since she's pooping very near the box, and urine (I assume) is still being done in the box, but you could try a second litter box. They say you're supposed to have # of cats plus 1 litter box anyway. That said, I've gone plus 1, even numbers, and minus 1. The latter, I had a problem for a day. I added the additional box and that took care of it.

Is the poop especially stinky for a cat? very solid, or borderline loose? Sometimes the food can change formulas slightly too, and they say they have 6 months to change the label (if the change requires labeling).

My now-10 year old suddenly had loose stools when I suddenly changed her food.

Could also be something outside the house. Maybe a neighbor's cat or a feral is now walking by within earshot, sight or smell of your cat. Pooping needs more privacy than peeing, so maybe that's got her going up high for safety.

You could also try cleaning the box out very extremely thoroughly. If the box (not just the litter) smells, it's a life/death thing--if a cat gets the idea they can't hide the smell of their waste, they are built to fear being eaten by a predator due to that predator smelling their waste. That'd be a complete litter box refusal, I'd think...

ETA----I'm assuming you've got an open uncovered box, right? if not I'd swap it out for an open box. I use the high sided x-large from walmart. It has a lower front step-in.

Thank you for the thorough response.

We've always used for her the Tidy Cats XL Breeze litter box. About 8 months ago, we replaced it with a new one because, as you say, the plastic got so smelly. It's an open box. I'll attach photo below.

Her stools are typically rather loose, sometimes quite mushy. I assumed it was her default. (This is our first cat.) And, yes, her stools are extremely stinky. The Forti-Flora doesn't seem to be having any effect. She gets wet food and dry food. There has been a slight change in the dry food. The Simply Nourish line was discontinued so we got the Simply Nourish senior cat version of the same. But she's been on that for a couple months prior to this issue. Could it take that long to affect her?

If it matters, she also has access to grass (wheat or barley) that I grow in a pot for her from the sprouts for the chickens.

The feral cat idea is intriguing, however I don't think it would apply. We actually had an outdoor male cat that wandered into our yard a couple years ago. We fed him and he basically lived in our backyard. Unfortunately he wandered at night where, after a year and a half, the coyotes (we assume) finally got him. That was last May. All that to say that while my cat (Annabelle) didn't like the outdoor cat, it hadn't affected her litter habits.

 

[BlueBaby]

Thank you for the thorough response.

We've always used for her the Tidy Cats XL Breeze litter box. About 8 months ago, we replaced it with a new one because, as you say, the plastic got so smelly. It's an open box. I'll attach photo below.

Her stools are typically rather loose, sometimes quite mushy. I assumed it was her default. (This is our first cat.) And, yes, her stools are extremely stinky. The Forti-Flora doesn't seem to be having any effect. She gets wet food and dry food. There has been a slight change in the dry food. The Simply Nourish line was discontinued so we got the Simply Nourish senior cat version of the same. But she's been on that for a couple months prior to this issue. Could it take that long to affect her?

If it matters, she also has access to grass (wheat or barley) that I grow in a pot for her from the sprouts for the chickens.

The feral cat idea is intriguing, however I don't think it would apply. We actually had an outdoor male cat that wandered into our yard a couple years ago. We fed him and he basically lived in our backyard. Unfortunately he wandered at night where, after a year and a half, the coyotes (we assume) finally got him. That was last May. All that to say that while my cat (Annabelle) didn't like the outdoor cat, it hadn't affected her litter habits.

Maybe she doesn't like the cat litter box near the window?

 

[springvalley123]

Thank you for the thorough response.

We've always used for her the Tidy Cats XL Breeze litter box. About 8 months ago, we replaced it with a new one because, as you say, the plastic got so smelly. It's an open box. I'll attach photo below.

Her stools are typically rather loose, sometimes quite mushy. I assumed it was her default. (This is our first cat.) And, yes, her stools are extremely stinky. The Forti-Flora doesn't seem to be having any effect. She gets wet food and dry food. There has been a slight change in the dry food. The Simply Nourish line was discontinued so we got the Simply Nourish senior cat version of the same. But she's been on that for a couple months prior to this issue. Could it take that long to affect her?

If it matters, she also has access to grass (wheat or barley) that I grow in a pot for her from the sprouts for the chickens.

The feral cat idea is intriguing, however I don't think it would apply. We actually had an outdoor male cat that wandered into our yard a couple years ago. We fed him and he basically lived in our backyard. Unfortunately he wandered at night where, after a year and a half, the coyotes (we assume) finally got him. That was last May. All that to say that while my cat (Annabelle) didn't like the outdoor cat, it hadn't affected her litter habits.

I'll bet you a pile of poop I see your problem. The litterbox is very high sided, so there's only one way in and out. My litter boxes are 6" tall in front and about 8-9" in back, but my cats are young and can readily get out anyway they want. I'd bet your cat at 10 yrs (or older) is having a harder time mobility wise and feels threatened by only having that one narrow opening. The high sides on your box give her only that one way in and out, the tall sides seem to grow taller as she ages. Notice how I've laid my boxes out--the cats can't ambush each other because while there's privacy, there's a ready exit on at least two sides. If you took the high sides off yours, and put something in front of it you might still be able to provide the security while giving her the two exits she's likely looking for. You might need to move it though, because it's surrounded on 3 sides by walls and furniture. One time I had a box in a corner, surrounded on two sides, and no matter how I placed screening no one liked it. Again, this might be a case where "nothing has changed" except the cat feeling more threatened by her possibly-decreasing mobility as she ages.