Poo on paws

[Catswillbecats]

Any ideas please. Our cat is nearly 16 and has become deaf. I don't know if this is the reason for his recent litter tray behaviour- wondering if the fact he is deaf means he doesn't like the covered tray anymore. We have a lovely bit tray with plenty of room but he just goes in the doorway and won't go further. Sometimes his poo ends up on the floor as his backside pokes out or sometimes it goes in but he then walks in it. Paws get covered and he then walks around he house. Thankfully we have hard flooring so I can clean it but it is getting quite stressful as we are constantly on litter tray alert. Would appreciate any ideas.

Try taking the lid off. Also perhaps make sure the litter is very soft and that the thread hold is low. Puppy pads are useful to put around the tray.

A cat at that age almost certainly will have some arthritis so it's worth a vet check. I found with my last old boy that he found it really tricky to get into a comfortable toileting position as he aged and pain meds did help.

I would take him to the vets.

Reluctance to use the litter tray is often a sign of pain, and at 16, I would be shocked if he didn't have some level of arthritis in his joints.

If using the litter tray is painful for him, he won't go there.

Correction to my post!

thread hold should be threshold

Thank you @catelynjane @Scampuss Good call re arthritis. He has definitely slowed down. He was at the vet just before Christmas but this has come on since then. We have taken the lid off for now and I will get puppy pads tomorrow for the floor.
It's just so stressful as they get older. We lost a cat to jaw cancer in the summer. Our other cat is this one's mum, she is 18 and absolutely healthy according to her last blood test in December! Just a bit slower.