WORRIED CAT POOING ON THE FLOOR

[freakyfriday23]

Tried everything. She seems normal. Vet on Wednesday. Worried about the cat. Nothing at home to cause this. She is 10. Hoping this isn't the new nomal for her. Any advice or anyone else have this?

How many trays has she got, can she get in and out of them, have youmchanged anything, has another cat got in, is she pooing near her tray.

Our boy sometimes poos over the side of the tray - he’s in it but his bum’s not in quite the right position (he’s orange so little brain, I have watched him do this) and too close to the edge, despite it being a giant litter tray. Is it that sort of thing? We got a big litter mat from Amazon to go under the tray and it can be popped straight in the washing machine after scooping the poo.

thanks for responses. she has always done this although very rarely (once or twice a year) but lately (last week or so, been about 4/5 times). Not near the trays, random ie on the floor in the bedroom or lounge etc . Been to vets in the past, no help/suggestions. I've done lots of investigation over the years and nothing really. We have two trays, both low/easy, nice soft litter, nothing new/unusual at home ie no baby or new pet. Someone suggested perhaps she has dementia (she's ten) although she seems happy/normal in all other ways. Very concerned, perhaps vet will do xray (she may be in pain?) and take some bloods?

Ten seems very young for dementia. Good idea to have the vet check her over again though. Is she weeing in the litter tray?

Yes, weeing seems fine as always in the tray. It's so hard not actually being able to ask them if they feel unwell.

Might be the cat is experiencing pain on passing a motion and is relating the pain with the litter tray, rather than the actual bowel movement itself.
The vet will obviously be able to examine and advise. If the stools are hard they might be difficult for the cat to pass. It might be worth getting the hairball paste and putting on his paws for him to lick off, this often helps.
We had this problem in the post with one of our cats who was elderly and had lost the plot to some extent.
We found puppy training pads extremely useful to put under and around the litter tray.
We also used them in other areas of the house where the cat messed and he would go on them.
Not ideal but a lot easier to clean up.
Good luck with this OP hope you get it sorted.

thanks for your responses. DBD1975 - i have litter training pads and have them scattered around (although she has never used them). Her poos are soft but the idea that she may have discomfort when going is interesting. I've mentioned the poo issue to the vet before (she has done it for a long time but never this much) but the vet didn't really have anything to offer. I think she may need an xray/bloods. Really hoping it isn't anything sinister. She seems full of the joys today, did a healthy poo in the garden (she sometimes goes there, we have gravel). I must ask, what did you mean by furball paste?....

We’ve used furball paste on our cat. It comes in a tube. You squeeze a small amount of it out of the tube, then wipe it on their fur. The cat licks it off (it tastes of fish apparently.) We got it for our cat when she kept coughing up furballs.

Sorry OP didn't make myself very clear, we use Johnson's hairball paste, I have checked and you can get it from Pets at Home.
All you need to do is put a small amount on the cats paw and they lick it off, we have always found this very effective.
The cat we have now preferred to wee on our carpet rather than in the litter tray. Fortunately he is addicted to Dreamies so we encouraged him to visit the litter tray by lots of verbal encouragement and Dreamies by the litter tray and then the same approach when he actually used the litter tray.
This has worked really well and he is now back using the litter tray all the time, to the extent he now also 'pretends' to use the litter tray to get Dreamies but I play along because but it is so worth it.

I also 'dig' with my hand in the (clean) litter and this again sparks his interest, I usually get a swipe from his paw but at least he keeps his claws in.
Good luck OP and let us know how you get on 🤞.

Update, just returned from seeing the vet who was lovely. I always worry when she has her yearly jabs as she has never been much of an eater so worry she would have lost weight (she hadn't) and heart sounded fine. He had a good feel and wasn't concerned enough to do a blood test which was good. He thinks it could be either stress related or possible pain/discomfort (or neither, just a cat thing), didn't think it was dementia. I'm going to try Feliway plug in and spray (for where she sits, his idea) as an experiment. If however the episodes continue to happen more than they should i will take her back and he will try a pain relief med to see if it is pain based. He thought her bottom looked fine (ie not sore..). I told him i had recently removed some matting that was either side near her bottom as she doesn't like me grooming her there (i didn't realise she had hidden matts up until recently). He thought possibly the matts had been causing her discomfort but then again she missed the tray today and the matting has gone.

tbh i don't really feel confident at all that there will be much improvement and i don't like giving her meds so am really hoping feliway helps.