Pooping outside litter tray

[Loopyloooooo]

Can anyone advise please with an ongoing problem with my cat.

He's a ginger tom, we're not sure on age as he's a rescue. We've had him 11 years and were told he was around 3 when we got him so he's at least 14.

He's a lovely boy, very friendly and very vocal but in typical ginger tom style can be a bit of a greedy PITA nagging for food all day long and stealing it 🤪😆.

Anyway for a while now he has been pooping outside the litter tray. I'm not sure if he's forgetting it's there. We will hear him miaow like he's a bit distressed then when we get to him he's already gone where he shouldn't. He does it in different spots.

He has two litter trays and access to outside. We have feliway and I've mentioned it to the vets when he went for his annual booster, they just suggested more litter trays.

His poo was quite on the runny side so switched him from whiskas to butchers cat and tried some prokolin. This has worked really well but he's still pooping outside the tray.

He often acts like he's forgotton he's been fed as well although that could just be him being greedy . He will also go out then want to come straight back in with minutes or seconds.

Is this just life with older cats or is there something else I could try? He seems happy enough but it's just driving us all mad and obviously horrible for the DC when they forget to shut their bedroom door and he has n accident in there. I can't imagine having to clean up poo from the floor for the next 5 or so years.

Hopeful bump.

Please take him to the vet. Inappropriate toileting is one of the first signs that something isn't right.

My first thought is arthritis - it's very common in older cats but easily treatable with painkillers or monthly injections. We're currently going through this with our cat and painkillers have made the world of difference to him.

It could also be the start of dementia, especially with the increased yowling and apparent forgetfulness, but again there are medications available to help and they can make a real difference to quality of life.

Please get him booked in ASAP. He won't be happy the way he is.

Have you gone over the places he’s pooed with a cleaner designed to break down cat-created smells? Something like Simple Solution? He’ll be able to smell even a tiny poo particle, so will be tempted to re-use the spots. Has he been startled away from his tray at all? Fireworks while pooing can be very stressful & make some cats disinclined to poo in their trays in case it happens again.

I agree that the first action should be vet.

Some cats suddenly decide they don't like their litter. Their little feet may be tender due to age, so crystal and some clumping litter can hurt. Some cats suddenly decide they like paper litter. There are many litter types and many reasons for cats not to like them.

Once illness is ruled out, try using several litter boxes, each with a different type of litter. I did this with my Mum's cat and it turned out she'd gone off crystal litter and preferred paper pellets. (Didn't stop her from pissing on Mum's bed, but that's a different problem!)

The fact that your cat is showing signs of distress by yowling before goes indicates that he's not happy with something about his litter box. As a pp said, arthritis is often the culprit if the cat is older. Cats usually know when they're doing the 'wrong' thing - that's why they yowl, or toilet in secret places.

Dementia is also a possibility. I had a geriatric Maine Coon who suffered quite badly from it. Your cat would be considered geriatric, so it's worth talking to the vet about that, too.

Inappropriate toileting is such a pain in the arse - I wish you lots of luck!