Advice please - cat keeps pooing inside!

[Reastie]

We have an elderly cat (18). For some years we’ve had issues with him randomly going to the loo inside (usually wees but sometimes poo). So long as we keep specific doors closed to him so he can’t access some areas of the house where he favours to go to the loo on the floor and we don’t leave anything on the floor (he will just wee on it) it’s generally fine unless there’s something like snow where he can’t be bothered to go outside and will randomly go inside. It will still happen but sporadically and occasionally. We have taken him to the vet and nothing physically wrong. Sometimes it’s like he’s just getting really doddery in his old age and forgets or is confused about going inside (I’m putting that suggestion on him, I don’t really know). He refuses to use a litter tray and when he goes outside he will now never go anywhere other than our small back garden.

Recently our neighbours have bought 2 cats which we have seen in our garden quite a few times. This seems to have worsened the whole indoor poo situ with our cat as he’s scared to go out when the neighbours cat might be there.

Obv this is becoming an issue that we are having daily poos inside but we have no idea what to do about it. Any suggestions?

Get a litter tray.

Sorry meant to say covered litter tray!

He's an old cat - just get him a litter tray.

He hates covered things and feeling stuck or trapped so covered litter tray wouldn’t work and he won’t use a litter tray! He just ignores it or best case scenario goes next to it

Have you tried him with different types of litter? Some cats prefer a softer litter like sand.

I’m sorry, but I think he may have dementia. It’s quite common in elderly cats, and inappropriate toileting is one of the signs. My own cat died at 21, but was showing evidence of dementia from 17 or 18 onwards.
Other signs include stopping hunting, excessive sleeping, forgetting how to groom or strop their claws - my own poor old chap had a curved claw growing into his pad, which I didn’t spot until he began limping. The vet had to cut all his claws and give him an antibiotic for the wounded foot.
They also wander about, lose their bearings in the house, vocalise loudly and often for no reason, and refuse to drink from bowls, waking you up and demanding bath taps be turned on regularly at 3am for months.
I finally had to put my old cat down when he wouldn’t stop soiling and urinating on carpets- like yours, he refused a litter tray.

Mashed yes we’ve tried!

Babdoc he definitely sleeps a huge amount more than he used to and doesn’t hunt nearly as much as he did. He’s also quite smelly and we have to wash his basket a lot more often than we used to because of this and he’s taken to yowling very loudly at random times of the day for no reason. Dementia would make sense. I might do a bit of googling. Sounds like there might not be an answer to this then :(