Not using Litter box like she used to

[mytmoe]

Hello, i have a rescue cat -Maine Coon, named Izzy. This forum helped me to help Izzy when I first got her. She has been a real buddy and I can't thank everyone enough for all your help. I am reaching out now to see if you all can come thru for us again. Izzy is now 8 or 9 yrs old, I can't keep track time flies.

She's changed in this way:
Meow: She never really had a meow-her mouth would open but nothing came out or a slight squeak. Now she is quite vocal and almost sounds like a painful yowl.

Sleeping with us: She used to just lay in bed and sleep. Now gets up alot and is constantly rubbing her face in our faces..quite annoying.

Litter Box: was always good about using it. I tried to switch litter, but she pooped outside of box, so went back to what I had before. Now whenever we are gone whether an hour or a weekend, she will have little piles of poop on carpet upstairs and downstairs (which is about 4 feet from litter box)

I have taken her to the vet , Dr. ran xray and blood work, nothing physically is wrong with her...but she is not right.

Any ideas?
thanks

[Kay]

some of the symptoms you describe could be caused by hyperthyroid, which is not always included in a blood test

was she tested for it? not that it is at all common for an 8/9 year old, but as she is a rescue cat I wonder if that was a vet's guesstimate - it's not unusual for a cat to be quite a bit older as it is difficult to get it right between say 3 and 12 years old - did the vet check her eyesight? could her sense of smell be diminished?

I mention this because another cause of Izzy's symptoms could be the begins of feline dementia

[Janey]

I agree with Kay, it does sound like either of those to me too. With hyperthyroidism everything works faster - hyper, so she could be restless, more vocal and use the tray more/not as she should etc. I’ve actually had it myself and it can take a while to be picked up because thyroid hormones vary so much so sometimes it’s worth rechecking later, if they’ve already been checked. Also with dementia her behaviour will alter too. Or, it could just be that she’s getting more demanding or clingy for some reason, is she left more now than she was previously? has anything that you can think of changed at all?

[Ilovecats123]

Maybe she could be stressed?

How many litter box do you have?

There could be a number of reasons.