Elderly incontinent cat?

[TyrionLannistersShadow]

Looking for some advice please from owners of elderly cats.One of our rescue cats is nearly 18 and over the past few months we have noticed her becoming a bit incontinent ie she's pooing randomly around the house (possibly peeing as well, I sometimes get a smell but can't find specifically where it's from). She's gone quite old and frail looking but other than the toilet issues she's always been in good health, other than vaccinations etc we've never had to bring her to the vet even. Is this incontinence an inevitable part of getting old, or can it be prevented? Vets are expensive here so while I'd definitely bring her if she was sick, I don't want to bring her if there's nothing he can do. She eating and behaving completely normally other than pooping on my carpet when she gets caught short, and while she looks frail, she ain't, she's still top of the pack here between the other cat, the dog and her

I wouldn't call that incontinence. She's not doing it in her bed. It's a litter tray problem probably. How many trays do you have? Where are they? Do they have high sides?

It might be that she's struggling climbing into the tray due to being a bit rickety and stiff. Can you try a shallow tray?

Same with my cat! I found swapping the tray to a lower one that he can easily get in and out of, getting rid of the poop etc after every visit and thorougly cleaning the pan every 2 days,
Oh and he doesn't like it if the litter isn't filled almost to the top
Apart from that he's fine for a 16yr old

How many trays do you have? Each cat should have their own. Is it in a secluded area where she feels safe to go?

Thanks for the replies. I don't think it's a litter tray problem, she has her own in an area that she's always been happy in, and she seems well able to hop in and out (she's still well able at 18.5 to hop up onto the back of the sofa etc!). It's more that she seems to be less able to hold on and can't make it to the tray in time, esp if she's upstairs. I just wondered was this a normal part of aging for cats and if so does it get progressively worse ?

I'm afraid our last generation of cats all did this when they got elderly. I also put several extra trays around the place. Bicarbonate of soda poured on to the stain sucks up a lot of it and neutralises it to some extent. If the cat is urinating a lot and thirsty it may be diabetes. 2 of ours became diabetic and I had to give them insulin injections which was actually much easier than it sounds.

It could be old age, however I hate to say it, it could be something else. Our elderly cat was 16.5 and started being incontinent, but only ever in the kitchen sink, which was right by the kitchen window, which was her preferred method of exiting the house. Evidently she had bowel cancer and was the cause of everything. I would take a trip to the vets just in case.