Elderly cat soiling outside of litter box

[Anonymous]

Our cat is 16 and has started peeing and pooping outside of the litter box, and occasionally vomiting. We’ve taken her to the vet for a full workup and they didn’t find anything really wrong with her aside from age. We have her on an anti nausea medication that seems to help with the vomiting but I am at a loss about the peeing and pooping. She does use the litter box - we scoop it daily and there is always stuff in it, but the black light indicates numerous urine spots on the carpet and rug. If we spend the money to have everything deep cleaned, I’m afraid it will be for naught because we can’t follow her around all day to stop her from peeing. I doubt she’d tolerate a diaper. What do people do in this situation? Use baby gates? Confine her to one room? Tolerate the house smelling like a pet store until she passes, which might not be for months or even years? We love our cat and want to do right by her but I am really having a hard time dealing with the smell and mess.

Would appreciate advice from anyone who has experience with elderly indoor cats. Growing up I had a cat who passed at age 16 (he just curled up and fell asleep in front of the fireplace one night and we found him there the next morning). He never had the indoor soiling issues because he was an indoor/outdoor cat that only did his business outside.

[Anonymous]

Have you tried adding another litter box closer or using a flat tray litter box? My cat had arthritis and couldn't jump into the box anymore.

The vomiting is troubling, though, with my elderly cat that turned put to be the sign of his lymphoma.

[Anonymous]

Our 16 yo cat did the same thing. Turned out he had cancer. Sorry, OP.

[Anonymous]

We have a litter box on each level of the house. She’s soiling all over - even just a foot from the litter box. It is a litter box with a cover that she has to climb through - the flat boxes don’t work for her because she doesn’t squat when she pees and it splashes outside the box. She’s been like this since we got her.

[Anonymous]

We made a “geriatric” litter box. Plastic crate and cut u in the front so that cat would not have to step over the big ledge to get into the box. We put this box on top of a plastic textured doormat in a washing machine pan. Our cat (19) had stopped using the stairs and we moved the litter box from the basement to the main floor. He, by choice, stayed on the main floor of the house. This was fine because we had a first floor master bedroom at the time. Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

I’m dealing with this with my 18 year old cat. I’m at my wits end. Poops all over the couch and various corners of the house. It’s disgusting and smells. I honestly don’t think I can handle it anymore.

[Anonymous]

We had a cat who peed outside the pan. We visited the vet and ruled out a physical cause. We kept numerous pans and they were very clean. We decided to restrict him to our large mudroom/laundry room the majority of time where the floor was cleanable. He didn’t show much interest in leaving the room though I did feel some guilt.

Our 12 yr old cat began pooping just outside his pan a few times a week but it is easy to clean the spot so we just live with it. He has hip issues and I think it is just a easier for him outside the pan after observing him. So maybe a pan with a lower entry could help your cat.

[Anonymous]

You definitely need low entry pans. Urine absorbing paper pads from the pet store around the box and on danger zones like places cat sleeps.
Bissell Pet Spot Bot is great.

[Anonymous]

A diaper maybe?

[Anonymous]

We went through the same with our 16 year old cat until he died (cancer). It wasn't ideal, but we ended up with a combination of restricting him and keeping him in a space with us where we could keep an eye on him all the time.

We had the carpets deep cleaned after he died, but honestly, they need to be replaced. The constant cleaning with pet urine remover really did a number on the carpet.

I'm sorry, OP. There's really no good solution to this.

[Anonymous]

16 and soiling outside the box? It's time to put the cat down. Call Lap of Love.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:16 and soiling outside the box? It's time to put the cat down. Call Lap of Love.

Yeah, I’m sad to say I agree with this. I have three beloved cats. And I would try everything there is to try - did the vet have any suggestions? And a geriatric litter box as discussed, I’d give that a shot, too. And a little time - maybe it’s a little GI bug or something. But if it’s been more than a month or so, you’ve tried everything, and the vet is out of ideas, I think it’s time to say good bye. I would not settle into a medium-to-long-term status quo of cat pee everywhere.

[Anonymous]

I bought really nice wash/dry incontinence pads and waterproof heated pad and put them in a little bed, wash the pads daily. Put a litter box next to bed. At night she is confined to her own room. I have the incontinence pads in almost every room in case she wants to curl up somewhere.
It’s a lot of work, but it’s part of loving a family pet. I don’t mind

[Anonymous]

The vomiting could be eating too fast or not being able to chew fully…I’ve removed hard food and just give soft food well mashed up. This eliminated the vomiting.

[Anonymous]

One more thing - I line the area around box with disposable paper chucks. I’ve had an elderly incontinent cat for over a year now. The other thing is that finding good washable pads is hard. Make sure they are washable and machine dry. I’ve tried several and the improvia brand is the best by far. I layer two in her bed.