HELP-Cat is urinating/defecating outside of box

[Julie]

One of my friends cats recently started urinating & defecating outside the litterbox. She is going to give her away if this doesn't change & is very upset about it. Her cat, Chloe, is about 5-6 yrs old. About two months ago she suffered a slipped disk in her back & was put on steroids & antibiotics & stayed at the vet for about a week. When she came home she had to stay secluded in a room away from the other cat for about 3 weeks. After she was let out of the room is about when it began. Most of the time she will just get into the litterbox, but hang her backside over the edge of the box & go. Other times she will just go straight on the floor. Chloe was taken to the vet, they did tests & determined there was nothing physically wrong with her that would be causing this.

Please, if anyone has any input it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[nedran]

Does she have a covered litterbox? My cat had diabetic neuropathy and had a difficult time getting in and out of the litterbox and turning around to get back out so she would do the same thing. Cats are very picky about their potty areas so the box may need to be cleaned a little more often.

[skittles823]

If there is no medical condition that is triggering the behavior something has happened to upset the cat. We have a cat that does this when the cat boxes are not scooped everyday. If we skip a day she starts using the the floor as her litter box.

Another possiblity is Hyper-thyroidism or diabeties both will cause a cat the use the floor instead of a litter box. Was the cat tested for these diseases? With these types of diseases, cats tend not to be able to control when and where they release themselves. I would suggest trying another vet, sometimes Vets can be just like a Human Doc, they do not get along with the family involved with the patient, in this case the patient is a cat. Try another vet, that will listen to what you are saying about the cats behavior.

Tell your friend not to give up there is a reason her cat is doing this, and that is why the cat is doing it, it's the cats way of telling her something is wrong either physical or psyhcological.

GOOD LUCK, and keep us posted.

Julie