Cat pooped on her food mat

[KittyKatChonky]

Why would she do this? Cats are supposed to be hygienic and clean.

Background: she’s 5, an indoor cat. We have a 4 year old male cat. Both of them neutered. She has her own food and water bowl, she doesn’t have to share or fight over food.
The cats don’t like each other. They do fight. I don’t know why.

There have been no changes in the household recently. My son is 18 months now and she seems used to him. He’s not allowed to pull at her or get in her face.

Should I take her to vet? Is “bad” behaviour likely a sign of illness/somethings not right?

That sounds odd. I would pop her along to the vet just for a check up. Have any other cats been in the garden and upset her?

I haven’t seen any cats in the garden. She isn’t looking upset or nervous or hiding away.

She doesn’t sound a happy cat. It can’t be nice being trapped 24/7 with another cat who’s willing to physically fight you.

Would you re-home one of them?.

How many litter trays can she access?

You're right that cats are "clean" and would not usually defecate next to their food. If her food is on a mat, then it's possibly an involuntary loss of continence because she's been holding in her poo and waiting for a safe place to go.

If she has a cat in the house who she doesn't like, and who knows how many in the garden who make her feel unsafe, then it's hard to feel safe enough to relax and use the toilet.

@Fluffycloudland77 do you think allowing them outside would help? They had been kept as housecats when we rescued them. We are also next to a busy road so I’ve held off on letting them outside. The boy cat does sometimes scratch at the door. She doesn’t show any interest in the outside. Maybe letting the boy out would give her peace.

I don’t want to rehome one of them until we’ve tried everything we can possibly try to help her feel better.

If your next to a road & they've got no street smarts a catio is a better idea.

You can buy them online.

There is a Facebook page dedicated to catios in all sorts of shapes and sizes, should you need reassurance/inspiration. (Guess where I spent Saturday night browsing!)

Was it a catio group 😺.

Sometimes dog runs work out cheaper from what I’ve seen. They can be a bit basic though.

Does she have her own litter tray? Sometime they dont like sharing that especially if there is conflict with the other cat.

@Fluffycloudland77
Yep!! Lots of great ideas and alternatives to a £££££ catio. But still ‘catios’.
Dogs are lovely but cats are ......🤣

How many litter trays do you have between them?

When you say they fight - how often? Is it serious fighting?