cat almost 16 years old crapping wherever he feels indoors WTF?

[poopscoop]

Our lovely male neutered cat has suddenly started crapping on the floor indoors. He does not like to go outdoors so has always had a litter tray. It is always clean, and he is still going there to wee (thank the lordy) apart from the odd bath mat wee.

So whats it all about then? Eating and drinking well, everything much the same, just he loves to shit on the coconut matting inside the front door and on any carpet upstairs. He will do it infront of me, so wondering if he is going a bit barking?

Not nice, if i dont get to it before the post does.

Any ideas, thanks in advance.

Age, our cat and dog both started doing the same

Yeah, it's age. He may be going senile or he may just be getting caught short. Poor old thing. Take him to the vet for a check up and to discuss the future; he is likely to become diabetic so you need to know what to look out for.

thanks all for the above. I hope he is not getting old. We can't bear to think of him not being here. He has been with us since before the dc

will keep an eye. what is the diabetes sign? He has only been to a vet twice in 16 years, both abcesses from cat fights and also neutering. Never had a dot wrong with him.

I don't know, poopscoop. One of my old cats had quite a lot of problems, and it turned out one of them was diabetes, but tbh I was too stunned and miserable to take everything in. I think one of the signs was eating a lot, but it might have been not eating very much. Drinking lots I think. Oh honestly, I can't remember. I'm so sorry.

That's why you need to go to the vet, or at any rate ring them up and have a chat. The receptionists are usually very well informed, and more than happy to talk to you. They will advise you on whether to bring him in or not. Older cats do need more care though.

He's probably fine, just getting a bit forgetful. I'm sorry if I've got you worried. He is an old cat though, and some time you will have to face the inevitable, though I hope he'll go on for a few years yet. I had one cat lived to 18 and I've heard of cats who've got to their 20s!

jux thanks for this info.

Interesting that you say he does it on the coconut matting.

Kittens sometimes do this sort of thing when they are toilet training, the matting is a different texture underfoot and the mat is similar in size to a tray so easy to confuse the two.

16 is pretty old for a cat, he might be going senile.

I would try removing the coconut mat, perhaps change it for a washable rubber backed doormat and also consider getting a letter box cage to catch your post.

Take him to the vet, poor thing, because it could be a symptom of something serious.

One of my cats started doing this because she was suffering severe constipation as a result of bowel trouble.

We think she began to associate the litter box with pain, and so avoided it.

thanks. This morning I was all set to get appt with the vet and he came down had his brekkie, went into the litter tray and pooed. So think I shall watch him over the weekend and get appt at vet on monday if I see anymore plops about the house.

The consistency of the deposits could tell you a lot about his general health aswell - do they look healthy ??

A cat of that age could really do with a health check / blood test just to make sure there is nothing brewing. Underactive thyroid / kidney failure is very common in older cats and it is very easy to treat for a long while if you catch it early enough - my old boy had thyroid issues (which meant he got confused, yelled a lot, had runny motions and was always hungry) but thyroid tablets helped him for 3 years till he died of old age at 17 yrs and 7 months - not bad for a rescue

the other thing you might want to try if he is confused / associating the litter box with pain etc is get some of this cat litter - it is magic stuff that somehow attracts cats back to the litter box and stops them going elsewhere - you use it neat, then gradually mix in your normal cheaper litter till they are retrained. I was sceptical but tried it as a last resort recently - was absolutely bowled over by how well it worked.

Did you change his litter / move the box / change the cleaning regime when he started messing ? Older cats don't like change, so that could have been a factor too. One of mine won't go unless the litter box has been scooped, so if it has been used while I've been at work, she waits till I've got home and scooped.