Can't cope with cat any more - what can we do?

[nostaples]

Hi, we adopted a cat a few years ago. She was a stray kitten and we took her on after nobody claimed her following posters etc. She wasn't chipped. We've had her neutered. All well and then a couple of years ago she stopped toileting outside so we have a litter tray. Not great but could put up with that. Now she has stopped using her litter tray and craps all over the bathroom floor. Have tried everything - changing tray more regularly etc but there is a limit as we both work full time long hours. If we give her up what can we do? Do we have to have her put down or will an animal shelter take her on? Thanks in advance.

I haven't read all the replies, so might be repeating here, but have you tried a litter tray with a lower side? Maybe she'd prefer this. Also, very soft litter? Put newspaper around the litter tray, so that she poos on it. My 20 year old cat pooed outside the litter tray for most of his life & it wasn't pleasant. Fortunately I have most uncarpeted floors, so it was easy to clean up. He lived to 20, so I had many years of this. My other cat, who is 6, poos outside the litter tray as well, from kittenhood, so no doubt I'll have many years of cleaning up after her as well. I've tried to get her to go in the tray, but she refuses. Fortunately, she poos in the same place everyday, on a tiled floor. Clean the area with soap and water, nothing with ammonia in.

I’ve had a cat do this after moving house, was pooing all over my v expensive cushions which all ended up in the bin! Once I had moved again it magically stopped?! Got another one doing it again now after a recent move... I have to agree though with the posters who say it’s disgusting, it is and also cat poop is toxic! I wouldn’t allow it to continue indefinitely.

What would you do then cheese? Surely you wouldn’t consider having a cat put down without doing everything to find out what the problem is?

Mine did this and a vet confirmed she had a tumour. Sadly she had to be put to sleep.

I have had two older cats that went through periods of inappropriate toiletting. One suddenly started pooing several times a day all over the house. This turned out to be an intolerance to cat food in jelly. When fed gravy based food she was fine. The other was showing the first signs of senility and was peeing and spraying (I did not know female cats could spray until she stood on the arm of the sofa, looked me in the eye and squirted the curtains) she needed multiple litter trays, at one point we had six or seven in every possible place (like behind the sofa) which she used, solving the problem. So I would try changing the cat’s diet and at leat temporarily putting out lots of trays. The enzyme cleaner you can get in a spray bottle from pets at home is excellent for getting rid of smells, I agree with pps that bleach can make things worse. Good luck, it’s a horrible problem to deal with.

The cat can't be that old, the OP said adopted a few years ago and it was a kitten?
Old girl was nearly 21 when she was put to sleep and had the odd accident in the last two or three years, but that was because she was ancient and rickety.
This cat is presumably reasonably young, so something has changed to cause this, so it's a case of trying to work out what and address it.