Elderly cat smearing poo and newborn baby - what to do?

[DappledOliveGroves]

So we have three cats, the eldest of which is around 19. We got her 16 years ago as an adoptee.

Over the past couple of years we've had intermittent issues with her scooting her bum across the floor each time she has a poo in the litter tray - she basically sits in it and then drags her bum over the floor. The vet has squeezed her anal glands on numerous occasions and it's made no difference.

The problem is now getting much worse. She's smearing/scooting multiple times a day. The floor is covered in shit streaks which we keep cleaning. Her fur around her tail is matted, stinking and has bits of litter stuck to the poo. She also periodically goes between having normal stools to diarrhoea- the latter she will always sit in and smear.

I end up having to grab her and put her lower half of her body in a bucket of soapy water and try and clean her and get the dried, matted litter off her. She hates this process, fights and yowls to get away and is basically traumatised each time we do it. Even when we do, it's pointless - I washed her today and she then had 2 more episodes of diarrhoea, all stuck to her fur and all transferred across the floor and anywhere she's sat - sofa, chairs etc.

We're back to the vet on Monday but I can't see they have any solutions. She's on thyroid medication but the smearing pre-dates this so I can't see there's a link.

To bring matters to the fore, I now have an 8 day old baby and am at the end of my tether dealing with cat shit all over the house. I can't sit on the sofa to feed as there are poo nuggets on the cushions. I spent today scrubbing the floor and washing the cat whilst trying to look after a newborn and recover from a section.

I feel so bad for the cat - her quality of life is pretty poor now. She's deaf, spends her days wandering around the house (think she has dementia) and being dunked in a bucket to be cleaned. We can't pet her as she's always covered in poo and stinks, despite the washing.

My older daughter (20 year old) who grew up with the cat is adamant we just put up with the situation and tells me I should have prioritised the cat before having a baby. However, despite her insisting that it's 'her' cat and that she adores her, she does nothing to help - doesn't do the litter tray, the smears or the cleaning. But is adamant that we can't consider putting her to sleep.

At the moment I just dread coming downstairs in the morning to be met by shit all over the floor and sofa and a stinking cat. But is this sufficient to PTS? If she didn't have this issue then I wouldn't even be considering it, but given there appears to be no obvious resolution, I don't know what to do for the best.

Anyone with any pearls of wisdom?

This poor cat is miserable and her dignity is gone, along with her quayof life. She needs to be PTS.

*quality

My cat does this if the poo won't dislodge, like if she ate some human hair or grass and it's stuck inside and won't break off/drop out. I was going to say could it be that?

I agree with others that PTS is the kindest thing to do all round. The decision doesn’t ever seem as obvious and clear cut as you’d expect. We had our dog PTS last summer, she couldn’t walk and was in pain, but it was only afterwards that we felt we’d made the right choice. We second guessed ourselves the whole time. An elderly cat who doesn’t have control over her bowls is not having a good life. It also isn’t cruel or selfish to consider the impact this is having on your family and factoring that into your decision.

We had a vet from Dignipets come to our home to do it. It meant we didn’t have to distress our dog by taking her to the vets and she went to sleep on her favourite bed with us next to her.

Your poor cat , she does sound like she's got to the end of her particular road . Continence isues are so difficult for cats they are usually such fastidiously clean animals .
Either her age (and likely dementia) are affecting her abilty to care , or she does and she's stressed .
The washing (even if its for her own good ) won;t improve her temper either .

Your daughter is an adult and needs to accept that the priority to the Cat is her quality of life and she needs to make the decision for her cat (though I suspect she's your cat/family cat when it suits her )

Bear in mind Euthanasia means Good Death so don;t think of it as bad . You will be offering your cat the best option as a caring owner .

Your ‘d’d needs to grow the fuck up.
Part of being a decent cat owner is taking responsibility for the bad as well as the good and knowing when it’s time to say good bye.
It’s time.
Give the cat some dignity.