Cat...weeing/pooing in house

[MissKittyBeaudelais]

Female neutered cat aged 12. Not old, old. Suddenly started seeing/pooing in the house. Not asking to go out. Not using litter tray. Dog, eating the poo 🤢

Biggest problem is I have a son with autism and excruciating OCD (has been under psychiatric consultation and medicated since age 10). Can mostly goes in HIS bathroom and spare room. I always remember to keep those doors closed. Sometimes, I don’t.

I’m at my wits end. I’m contemplating having the cat out down. The house stinks. The dog stinks. My son’s hands are raw from washing and I’m having to wash his slippers shoes in rotation so that they’re not contaminated.

Advice? Tried Feliway. Tried a herbal relaxing food supplement. Cat was a feral rescue from a farm. Got her as a kitten.

Sorry....”suddenly started WEEING/pooing in the house

God, sorry for all the autocorrects

We have just had this scenario with one of our cats. She has an ongoing allergy that we can’t seem to get to the bottom of so poor thing is on steroids/ in a cat suit...stressed basically. We also tried all the usual feliwell, sprays etc. We also put extra trays out but would find the cat weed right next to the tray. I was embarrassed to have anyone over and also wondered what we could do. I have found dousing the area with zoflora has helped with the smell. Also’ it must be habit forming as she has stopped doing it in the last week. She seems to have a specific litter tray she likes and so long as we change it very regularly is ok. Also she is now on very expensive allergenic pet food from the vet. It seems there probably is some underlying* stressor, although we couldn’t see what. . I hope you find this encouraging!

Unusual for a clean cat to suddenly foul indoors. Has she been seen by a vet?

@Fuzzlewuzzle ... I’ve been using bicarbonate of soda and white vinegar, in a spray. Leave on for an hour then shower/cloth off. But, it’s so frequent now that the house stinks no matter what’s used. I get halfway up the stairs and it hits me. It’s embarrassing if anyone comes. I actually think I’M beginning to smell.

Last year, due to job loss, we had to cull anything from the bank account that basically wasn’t mortgage or food/daily living costs. Cat’s NO LONGER insured. If it’s going to cost an arm and a leg to treat/investigate I know my DH won’t do it.

Insured or not, your cat needs to see a vet. This could be something simple. It's neglect to ignore it.

No, not ignoring it. Not neglecting it. Seeing vet tomorrow.

Not sure you have much choice here but to take her to the vet. Is she otherwise healthy and happy? It’s unusual that she would suddenly start weeing AND pooing everywhere if she has previously always used a litter tray/gone outdoors.
Might you be eligible for help from PDSA, RSPCA, etc? www.money.co.uk/pet-insurance/how-to-get-help-with-vet-bills.
You’re assuming it will be expensive but it could turn out to be something simple - when my cat started weeing everywhere it was cystitis and no massive vets bills.
For the smell - www.amazon.co.uk/Simple-Solution-Stain-Remover-Trigger/dp/B00189HRY4?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Sorry, cross posted. Good luck at the vets!

See what the vet says.
Toileting in the house can sometimes be stress related - does your cat go out? If there's a new cat in the neighbourhood they might be clashing.

@Beamur, that’s a worry. I can’t control other cats coming into contact with her. She IS a very “outside” Cat.

Do you have a cat flap? I've recently changed mine to a chip activated one. We used to have the occasional visitor...
My cat (who has been clean in the house for 5 years) recently peed indoors - we've recently got kittens and they're all still working out how to live together. I think she was scent marking but also quite stressed by the change.

I also thought I was starting to smell too. Am sure it’s just psychological. We don’t have insurance either and each vet trip has been between £20 and £40 . All behaviour is communication of some sort. Working out what is being communicated is the problem !

I hope the vet can give u some answers.

Updating ...

All has settled down! 😊

We’re still doing the “let her out before bed” and then I let her in around 1am or so. Very happy.