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The last couple years I’ve been having trouble with my 17 year old cat who poops in different places in the apt. I’ve moved her cat box indoors and clean her box 1-2 times a day. Now she seems to be mostly upset if she is not fed wet food by 6:am or if her wet cat food is empty between her feedings (3x pr day if I am home and 2x pr day if I am out). She always has dry food available but doesn’t like it anymore. This behavior happened when I started feeding her wet food 2x a day instead of dry. No deterrent has worked, even putting her food next to the poop.

Some history:
She has early stage kidney disease and seems depressed to me though we cuddle everyday and she purrs. She is not cleaning herself much and got knots in her hair so I trip her hair. She mostly sleeps though last week she actually caught a bird. (I didn’t know she had it in her) She is incredibly finicky and don’t like a lot of foods. She will eat one for a while and then not eat it again. I’ve been to half a dozen stores for different varieties. I’ve taken her to 2 vets and 2 animal communicators. She was pretty sick a couple times in the last 2 years and had elevated white cells and mushy poop and some diarrhea. We gave her 2 rounds of antibiotics, several homeopathic remedies, and herbs. Her poop is often still not formed but she is better. The vet needs 1,200 for a full GI work up. I don’t have the money for that. Her poop is super smelly. It’s gotten a better since I feed her enzymes and probiotics.

Even though her behavior is clearly linked to food and feeding, is it possible that it is also linked to her health? Perhaps she does not feel well and then looses her appetite and then poops outside the box? I don’t think s,o as he has pooped outside the box, then I offer her a different food that she likes and then poops in the box on the same day. I think she has me wrapped around her paw!

She might poop 3x a day. it used to be 1 x pr day her whole life. I tried some pumpkin and I think that did it. I have stopped feeding her that but she still poops a lot and I can’t keep living like this. I live in fear of stepping in poop somewhere and I am constantly cleaning and trying new foods. Do you have any suggestions? For 15 years she has not had any behavior problems. I love her so much but this is impacting my life to the point that I can’t have a room mate.

First of all I am assuming that she is an only cat so there can't be any intercat relationship problems that could be causing it?

I doubt it is her way of complaining about the food you give her, but it could be that some foods make her feel unwell or mean she is caught short and has to go where she is. Keeping a food diary and noting down any incidents might help find a link, even just something like the fish oils that are in a lot of cat foods could be giving her a problem. You might also consider trying the sensitive formula cat foods as if she has a bowel infection or developed IBS that might help her.

Another thought is that at 17 is she having problems getting in and out of the box, particularly if the food she has eaten has given her a bad stomach, or if you are using a large pellet litter is trying to dig in it being a problem. You might find that something like Puppy training pads could be used to encourage her to go in just one place that you could clean up easily.

Unfortunately it could just be her age. When a cat stops grooming it is normally a sign something is wrong, if it is just around the back end and the flanks it is often just that they can't bend around like they used to, if it is all over then it might be a sign of something else. If it is her age then it could also be a bit of incontinence and totally out of her control.

Having to keep litter trays clean is one of the less glamorous sides of owning a cat, but having a cat that won't use it is very unpleasant and stressful for you and for the cat as the cat will pick up on your stress and as they are naturally inclined to be clean animals. I do hope you can find a solution for both your wellbeings.

just a thought, as I can't really add to Ruth's excellent advice, but is she pooping outside the litter tray when there is already poop inside it? if she is going more than once a day and her poop is very smelly, she might be rejecting an already used tray

if putting down another one isn't practicable, you could try an extra deep tray with a lowered end, and use the very fine litter to a deeper than normal level, so she can cover more easily