Question:
We have had DINKY since she was 3 months old, she is now 14. Even when she was younger she would occasinally urinate on the bed, I'd say from 3 months old until 10 years probaly 10 times she did this.
We have 6 cats, six litter boxes. All the cats are indoor only, they have their own huge windowed room, with a couple of cat gyms, tons of toys, cat beds, all the cat boxes..great food..great health care..my mother brushes their teeth, clean their ears and checks them every saturday. These cats are loved & well taken care of.
In the last month DINKY(my 14 year old) has POOPED & urinated on my brand new rocking recliner(velvet) 3 times, has pooped on the sofa bed once and did this 4 times on top of a bookcase, even though there is a cat box directly in front of it, always clean & fresh. I am concerned. We have to keep her in the cat room 24/7 now, shes not allowed in the house at all. We do have a 6 year old male cat MAX, that ever since we shaved him into a lion's cut, he has been chasing her and going after her(its like he thinks hes all tough now) I don't know if shes stressed, sick or just mad. I am at my wits end. Can someone please give me some ideas. I have tried putting vinegar down on the bookcases and double sided tape and that helps, but my brand new chair has to be tarped all the time now and because of this, we have to laundry at least twice a day. I love her so I need to know whats wrong. thanks so much for listening

Answer:
I would take her to the vet, it could well have a physical basis. The stress from being courted may just be making it worse. Does her poop look any different? Even a urinary infection could affect her bowel habits.

Answer:
Could be physical (especially since she is older), or caused by stress, or the cat who has been aggressively chasing her could be guarding the litterboxes and not allowing her to use them. If she is afraid of him, even if he is just sitting near the litterbox, she might be too scared to approach it so she goes somewhere else.

First thing I would do is get a vet exam to make sure there's nothing physically wrong, and then keep her separate from max. Even if she could have a room to herself where you could spend time with her, but the other cats aren't able to get to her, or if there's another cat she really gets along with, they could live together in the same room so she isn't lonely. At least it would be less stressful for her if max can't chase her.

Answer:
Well whats odd, is many times max and dinky are lying together or sitting right next to each other. He doesn't "go after her" all of the time.
We have 6 cat boxes, so her not finding one to use is not it. when she pooped this morning on top of the bookcase, the cat box was directly below it and Max was no where around. I just got a can of Comfort Zone in the mail, so I am going to try that and see if it it helps. The other thing..........and this is GROSS, her poop smells really Bad...............worse than a big burly man poop..I mean it is disgusting. Both my new chair & my mom's are identical.............but she chose to do her "business" in MY chair 3 times. If shes mad at me I have no idea why???? We are going to take her to the vet next week, but I think its mental....someone said I might try clomopramine..its like kitty prozac. I am really at my wits end.

Answer:
What do you feed the cats? Might want to take a stool sample to the vets if the poop doesn't seem normal. Yes, you could look into the anti-anxiety meds if the cat is healthy. Have you changed to a different kind of litter lately? Changed food? Changed litterbox location? Is the cat declawed? Elimination problems in cats can be tough to figure out, unfortunately.

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Has she had her bloodwork done lately? If her poops are really stinky something is definitely wrong. It could be anything from a food intolerance to liver disease.

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No bloodwork has not been done in some time, since she is so healthy. We have changed food several times in the last month because of the food pet ban.we ONLY feed our cats strictly organic food NO bi products ever, and we are extremly careful on the ash content.
The cat boxes are everywhere, and all 6 of them are cleaned 2 times aday. Since one of our cats is asthematic, we use only dust free litter and we have been using the same kind for along time.
I am really hoping that this comfort zone helps, but I guess I won't know for several days.
shes going to the vet next week so hopefully its something they can fix.

Answer:
I would bring her to the vet first of all to rule out any physical ailment - since one of the main ways cats have of telling us they are ill is to urinate or defecate inappropriately. It could mean any of a plethora of illnesses.

If she is in absolutely perfect health (blood work good etc - tho you saids it is - when was the last time she had tests?), then you need to start looking at what has happened in her home (her area- what she considers "her" territory since the inappropriate behaviour began.)

Have her boxes been moved? The rule of thumb is one litter box per cat plus one but I am sure you know that having a cat for 14 yrs. Some cats are fine with one box for both , others are not and express their feelings very well. Even cats who for yrs have lived with say just one box for both will suddenly (and sometimes this occurs when they are older or under stress or often just for no particular reason we can discern but she I am sure has one - we just cannot speak her language and she is wondering why we don't get it, <g>)

Sometimes, they get upset - and cats are so easily stressed and they are very particular about their litter boxes (location, location, location is important in marketing but also to kitties!) - iof their box sis moved or new people or animals come into the home or even if there are other cats in the neigbourhood. Since she is an indoor kitty, even when if she senses a cat outside somewhere (I wish people would not allow their cats roam - it is sooo dangerous!, poor kitties but I know I am speaking to the converted here on this site), that might create some stress and the need for express her displeasure.

I assume of course that she is spayed and not declawed. Declawed kitties often even yrs later find their paws hurt or something reminds them of that dreadful painful experience and the hurt leads them to want something soft to go to the bathroom in or on.

Have you had neurological tests done? That is another area to pursuie when you have the medical done.

That's all I can think of for the moment - I know there are more factors. but it is late and I am typing between periods in the hockey game (Live with a hockey crazed guy tho I am not far behind tho while I am a Bruins fan, I do want any one of the three Cdn teams to win and if they don't, well I guess I'll have to settle for Sid the Kid and the Penguins but hopefully, Ottawa will defeat them. It is soooo tough to live in Hfx and cheer for Sid but not his team, lol)

Good luck!!!!!

Answer:
It could be the food switches, also if you didn't do each one gradually that would have upset her digestion. Smelly poop is a sign that digestion is upset, which could be due to any number of health issues. You really have no way of knowing her health status if she hasn't had bloodwork in a long time, she should be getting it done at least once a year or every six months now at that age. Good luck, hopefully it is not serious.

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I agree with Maya. Several food changes in a month can cause digestive upsets. Also, a 14 yr. old cat should definitely be having a vet checkup every six months. Cats are very good at hiding symptoms so if there are any medical issues only a vet will be able to detect them.

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