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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

The litter tray

Elderly incontinent cat

33 replies

niminypiminy · 18/08/2016 07:31

We have a 15 year old cat who has entirely stopped going out to poo. We have a litter tray which is cleaned regularly but the cat poos three or four times a day on the doormat right next to the litter tray - really vile liquid poos. He sometimes does it in the tray too.

I'm at the end of my tether. The vet said last time we took him that there's nothing essentially wrong and offered us anti-inflammatories. I am having thoughts about having him put down because I can't bear the poo any more. And we are going on holiday tomorrow and the thought of someone else having to clean up the mess is unbearable...

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OttoTheOnly · 19/08/2016 00:46

My ten year old cat developed terrible diahorrea - really smelly, watery, yellow. He would go anywhere other than in his litter tray too, despite having always used it previously.
DH ran loads of tests on him (he's a vet), and we changed his food. He now has Hills ID or Royal Canin Sensitive, both of which seem to agree with him and calmed his bowels down.
DH thinks he may have developed a sensitivity to grains in his food, and so we're trying him on a grain free diet to see if that helps him.

It's tough having to constantly clear up stinky poo - I really feel for you.

cozietoesie · 18/08/2016 18:13

PS - but it has to come out sometime though - just maybe not where the owner would prefer it.

cozietoesie · 18/08/2016 18:11

That's true. Arthritis can lead to 'approximate' pooing - not usually peeing though. (And arthritis is so common in older cats.) I think it's just the difficulty of holding the pooing position when you have sore hips. (Peeing is more of a 'squat and let go' event.)

My own old boy was put on arthritis meds and they cleared up the issue for many years.

FuzzyWizard · 18/08/2016 17:57

Others have given great advice about food. I wonder if perhaps getting into the box is sometimes painful or difficult for him. I saw a TV show where a cat was pooping outside of the box and they cut out one side of the box so he could get in without climbing over the edge and putting it into a mat (to catch the litter that spilled out) and it worked like a charm. I think he had some kind of joint condition that made it painful which was why he was going on the floor.

dragonsarebest · 18/08/2016 16:23

You have my sympathies. My cat has IBS too and a change of diet has completely fixed it. Mine is now fed James Wellbeloved grain free dry in the am and Thrive wet in the pm. Our vet initially gave her a steroid shot and advised Royal Canin Vetinarian Gastro dry food (you can get this from the normal places) to stablise, and we then gradually shifted to the current food. The change in her toileting habits was rapid.

Good luck, it's no fun cleaning that up but it can get better. Enjoy your holiday.

SydneyB · 18/08/2016 16:00

I'm going through the exact same thing with my 18 yr old. Took him to the vet who ran blood and urine tests and just said it's probably inflammatory bowel and has prescribed steriods, which aren't working yet. Also we're on Royal Canin Sensitive stomach but's so difficult with other cats. We were recently away for 2 weeks and the amount of accidents we came home too, on various carpets, was just horrible. I too am not sure how long I can go on doing this.

niminypiminy · 18/08/2016 14:47

Hmm - we're giving him jelly pouches, we'll give gravy a go.

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cozietoesie · 18/08/2016 14:46

I'd try a change of diet.

Nature's Menu Country Hunter seems to be agreeing really well with my (seriously) old lad after many years on Felix pouches. (I didn't think he'd actually eat the new food but he seems to really enjoy it as long as I rotate the flavours.) It's expensive, I'm afraid, but if it gives you and him a better quality of life............

chemenger · 18/08/2016 12:51

My last elderly cat had a problem like this, really slimy, stinky poos that she didn't seem to be able to control. It turned out that pouches with jelly were the culprit. Once I changed to gravy pouches the problem vanished overnight.

PosiePootlePerkins · 18/08/2016 10:44

Good luck OP

Toddlerteaplease · 18/08/2016 09:51

Poo*

Toddlerteaplease · 18/08/2016 09:51

Ps find a nurse to cat sit, runny pop wouldn't phase them in the slightest.

Toddlerteaplease · 18/08/2016 09:48

Huggies bed mats are brilliant. They much bigger than puppy pads and can be stuck down.

Vinorosso74 · 18/08/2016 09:48

*had

niminypiminy · 18/08/2016 09:48

I think a change of diet seems like a good idea. We're giving him Felix senior wet and Iams senior dry atm.

I think we're going to go for layers of newspaper - it's a recipe for disaster having slippery plastic or plastic-backed things on the doormat -especially as I need to have quite a lot of work meetings at home. I can't risk someone slipping as they come through the door.

Likewise we can't have a second litter tray, it's a trip hazard. And actually he can and does sometimes use the tray - it's more that mostly he doesn't.

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Vinorosso74 · 18/08/2016 09:47

I would try a different tray. A vitamin B12 deficiency can cause runny poo in cats too, this can be fixed with a course of injections, a diet change could help.
If it's IBD anti inflammatories could help. Our cat has steroids.
Has your vet done blood tests?

Oliversmumsarmy · 18/08/2016 08:55

We put down black plastic bin liners laid flat under the litter tray and just careful when we pick the bin bag up.

For what its worth my 20 year old cat does actually get in the tray but her aim and positioning isn't great and she sometimes misses.

I 2nd/3rd the thing about the food. My dog when we got her as a pup from the rescue centre told us to keep her on dried food.
8oz of dried food would go in and 40lb of shit would come out. Was in despair till someone said to swap her onto wet food. Different dog overnight.

thecatneuterer · 18/08/2016 08:52

This isn't incontinence. It's not using the litter tray properly. I would try a second tray - may be a different type and perhaps lower or higher depending on the type you have at the moment. And yes, puppy training pads around the tray.

And if possible try to find out what is causing the running poo. I would certainly try a change of diet.

TheGreatDessert · 18/08/2016 08:46

Please don't contemplate having him put to sleep unless he is in untreatable discomfort or distress! Poor old puss You should nurse him through his days of elder age, even if you do consider him a nuisance.

Is the vet really ok with the permanently loose bowels? I know old cats get incontinent but wasn't aware that diarrhoea multiple times a day was normal? Can you seek a second opinion if you haven't already? I'd feel pretty crappy if I constantly had the shits so I can't imagine he's having a great time either. Maybe he needs a change of diet or testing for parasites?

In the mean time, yes, puppy mats on the floor and whoever is coming to feed them will just have to deal with it! Anyone looking after cats should be prepared to deal with poo, vomit and other possibly undead "gifts". Maybe cat sitter can take him to an alternative vet while you are away? I wouldn't be able to enjoy my holiday if one of my brood was unwell.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 18/08/2016 08:44

What does he eat? When Harry was on Felix his poos were vile - even he looked embarrassed! He's on a combination of James Wellbeloved dry and Natures Menu wet and it's fine.

WhatWouldFlopDo · 18/08/2016 08:32

I get you. We had this problem with our v elderly long haired cat. Her poo was always loose and she'd drag her hairy bum all through the house. Vet tried a couple of things but nothing worked. It was soul destroying cleaning it up 4 times a day with a toddler in tow.

In the end a change of food sorted it - Sheba steamed and tender, it's like having a different cat.

niminypiminy · 18/08/2016 08:28

I'm not actually going to do it, I hope that's clear.

But I feel heartily sick of this - it's been going on for over a year already and this morning I came down to two liquid poos, one on newspaper, one on doormat. And I just think, how can I ask someone else to do something so disgusting as clean up our cat's poo?

At the moment I feel like we will have to cancel our holiday because I can't ask someone to do this

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SuburbanRhonda · 18/08/2016 08:20

It's probably not much fun for him either.

Please don't have him euthanised because you can't cope with the symptoms of him getting old.

niminypiminy · 18/08/2016 08:15

But the thought I might have six years of this still to go is really depressing!

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niminypiminy · 18/08/2016 08:14

I know really that I have a duty to care for him - after all, he didn't ask to be my pet.

But am just so hacked off with cleaning up vile cat poo. He always does one while we're having dinner, too.

Someone's coming to feed them - we can't afford a cattery.

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