Cat peeing and pooping around apartment

CaoimheSquee

Hi Guys,

Obviously a trip to the vets is on the cards now but I Just wondered if anyone could help here too, or experienced something similar.

My cat has recently starting refusing to use her litter box and a few other behavioural issues have started.
We are in the same home 18 months (indoor apt) and litter nor litter box has changed. Her box is cleaned regularly so it is not that either.

In the last couple of months she has started flying out the front door when we get home. She rolls around the carpet outside and pretty much loiters outside our neighbours door to torment their dog. We never allow her out for long and get her back in asap. Since then she cried daily to get out there.
Also, recently she has started jumping onto window sills that are 2 floors up. My cat has NEVER done this, its like she just wants out. And badly.

Around the same time, one night she peed down the drain in the bath. In the last 6 weeks or so I would say she has done this 4 or 5 times and pooped out of her litter box at least twice.

In general she has become much more scatty and needy too. Her demeanour has always been like that but also incredibly resilient and affectionate. Now that seems to be dwindling slowly and she is just whining and looking to get out constantly. We try distract her but it doesn't work for long.

She was an outdoor cat previous to this but we relaly seemed to had cracked all that and she was happy out, affectionate and playful... till she figured out the front door (after over a year over living there!).

Health wise she seems fine and I will rule that out but there could be something glaringly obvious here that I am missing!

Thanks.

MrWalsh

What age is the cat? How long was she an outdoor cat before you took her in?

Is she neutered?

CaoimheSquee

She is almost 4 and is neutered since about the age 6 months.
She was an indoor cat from 0 till about 1 and half years and then outdoor from then till we moved to this apartment (18 months ago).
Being honest, when she was indoor/outdoor she was happiest but after a lot of work with her when we moved to the apartment (which is 2 floors up so had to make her indoor) she was back to her lovely self.
We are moving again in about 3 months and will make sure to get a ground floor place again but till then I don;t want things getting worse and her getting into any distress.

Nody

Basic question but is she properly neutered? That's the first thing coming to mind which is where I'd look for a hormone check through a blood sample.

CaoimheSquee

I would doubt it is her being neutered properly. She was done over 3 years ago and this is only a recent problem.
She is always been so good with her litter so this is very much quite out of the ordinary.

MrWalsh

Yeah, sounds like she is trying to tell you something alright. Definitely bring her to the vet.

I will say that one of our cats, who is indoors while we are in work and then supervised outdoors in the evening has become a lot "naughtier" about wanting to be out/not wanting to come back in - I presume its because of the nice weather.

CaoimheSquee

Thanks folks, I have her booked in for a check up soon with her usual vet who has been looking after her for the last couple of years and who she boards with also if we go away so they know her pretty well in there too.
My gut tells me that she has got a taste for the outdoors again though and she wants out and is fed up and protesting.
Maybe the harness might have to be tried again!

But as you say MrWalsh I am afraid if I start giving her my freedom it might not be of much actual benefit at all!

MrWalsh

CaoimheSquee wrote: »

But as you say MrWalsh I am afraid if I start giving her my freedom it might not be of much actual benefit at all!

Our girl is so good over the weekend or when one of us is on a day off, its just after being cooped up all day on a work day she wants OUT OUT OUT!!

She was fine with it in colder weather, just the past few weeks she has been more anxious to be out.

Cows Go µ

As it's such a sudden change, has anything happened in the home recently? A change in your lifestyle can seriously affect your pet without you even realising it.

I know my mum and dad's cat stopped eating and got really listless and they brought it to the vet and the vet told them it was because they had a baby and the cat was feeling neglected.

But even things like work being really stressful can affect a pet, I know my dog knows when I'm stressed in work. She becomes a lot more skittish and reactive to other dogs. I'm assuming she knows something is wrong and thinks it's something in my current environment. I've tried to explain deadlines and things like that to her but she just can't seem to understand

CaoimheSquee

Nothing major has changed at all. No babies, no new animals, no more frequency of visitors (we might have a few friends or family pop by at weekends, always have), no moves of her food, water, litter or rest places. We did change around our bedroom a few weeks back which I do have to say she wasn't pleased about and doesn't snuggle in to me at night since.

I am probably a bit stressed at the moment but we have had our ups and downs over the last few years and she is always the calming influence.

Even last night I really thought we had a little break through as she absolutely conked out, belly in the air by my feet at the end of the bed which she hadn't done in weeks. A few hours later however I woke up to her crying at the front door again though and I think it was shortly after that she did the poop.

She would have toileted outside before and maybe she is remembering that as by FAR her preference to the litter box? (I may be completely off the rocker here with that theory!).

I just wish I knew what she was trying to tell me. She literally sits there meowing away at me ALL the time!

the beer revolu

CaoimheSquee wrote: »

I just wish I knew what she was trying to tell me. She literally sits there meowing away at me ALL the time!

Is she a tortoise shell?
Noisy, ernest critters.

Cows Go µ

Fair enough, just thought I'd mention it. We're always told with dogs if there is a major behavior change without an obvious trigger to first check health and if there is an environmental change. I'm afraid I have no idea beyond that, we had cats all through my childhood but they were all mostly outdoor cats and all of them did their peeing and pooing outside

MrWalsh

Our other cat (who is independent with her own cat flap) gets VERY out of sorts when what we call "cat wars" is going on. Basically a new cat in the area, strays, females in heat, etc... She gets very anxious about it all.

CaoimheSquee

She is booked into the vets for a check up very soon, i must indeed rule that out but I really do think this is a behavioural issue. However I am only going by my only knowledge of my one cat. I can very well be wrong here!

And nope she is a black domestic cat that I am convinced is actually part burmese! She fits their temperament completely.
Vocal (SO vocal since a kitten - she chats and sings all the time), playful - almost dog like in her play and the way she would trot beside me outside going for walks and VERY people orientated.

SillyMangoX

If you think that it's toileting outdoors that she's missing, especially as she's crying at the door before pooping, it might be worth buying a new litter tray and filling it with some compost or grass (or whatever substance she used to go in if you know it!) I'd still bring her to the vet to rule out anything, but it could be worth a try anyway. My cats go through phases of being unsettled, spraying in the house and crying a lot but they tend to snap out of it again after a couple of weeks!

ShaShaBear

SillyMangoX wrote: »

If you think that it's toileting outdoors that she's missing, especially as she's crying at the door before pooping, it might be worth buying a new litter tray and filling it with some compost or grass (or whatever substance she used to go in if you know it!) I'd still bring her to the vet to rule out anything, but it could be worth a try anyway. My cats go through phases of being unsettled, spraying in the house and crying a lot but they tend to snap out of it again after a couple of weeks!

You beat me to it :pac:
I'd second that. You could even get a small amount of that fake roll-out grass to go under the litterbox to give the illusion of toileting outside. If she starts using it again all of a sudden, you know you are making progress!

CaoimheSquee

SillyMangoX wrote: »

If you think that it's toileting outdoors that she's missing, especially as she's crying at the door before pooping, it might be worth buying a new litter tray and filling it with some compost or grass (or whatever substance she used to go in if you know it!) I'd still bring her to the vet to rule out anything, but it could be worth a try anyway. My cats go through phases of being unsettled, spraying in the house and crying a lot but they tend to snap out of it again after a couple of weeks!

That is such an amazing idea!

I am still worried it's more the freedom she is craving but this is genius!

Thank you!

SillyMangoX

CaoimheSquee wrote: »

That is such an amazing idea!

I am still worried it's more the freedom she is craving but this is genius!

Thank you!

I had to do it before with a formerly outdoor cat who was determined to clench till he got out again! He was only in for a week because of illness but it did the job
Have you tried training her to walk on a lead? That way she could still get her outdoor fix. I had another cat with bladder problems, he would just pee everywhere but once he got healthy enough again I put him on the harness and used to bring him outside every couple of hours and he started to toilet a lot better and was a lot happier (and exhausted - more likely to sleep instead of getting up to divilment! )

CaoimheSquee

Yep, I have a harness. We haven't tried it in a couple of years but I think we may just give it a go again!

CaoimheSquee

Well I came home last night and as I was cooking dinner she decided to do a nuclear invasion style poop in her litter box!
I gave her loads of praise and was absolutely delighted.

However she woke me again at 3am this morning and again at 4am crying to get out the front door.

My kingdom for a full nights sleep!

CaliforniaDream

It could be a UTI as well. She's associating her litter box with pain. My cat had one recently and after some meds she was fine again.
If she's on a dry food diet, try switching it to wet food for a bit so it's easier to pass.