Expert: Dear Tabbi - 10/10/2008

Question
I have had my cat Max for several years now.  When I adopted him as a kitten, everything seemed fine...until I started to notice random bits of poop around the house.  He uses the litter box regularly, it just seems as though one piece kind of gets stuck in him...and it stays there for a while until all of a sudden, he poops and runs away (not sure why he runs away...maybe it surprises him?).  I've taken him to the vet about this, and they say nothing is wrong with him physically...he just has a behavioral problem.  They don't offer much advice other than that.  He's a wonderful, healthy cat otherwise - very sweet and affectionate...he doesn't seem unhappy or stressed.  I've tried to just deal with it, picking up after him constantly...but it's very frustrating and embarrassing when I have people over.  Have you ever heard of this kind of behavior before?  I see posts about people whose cats no longer use the litter box, but this isn't the problem.  It doesn't even seem like this behavior is voluntary.  I just want to know if there's anything I can do about this!

Answer
Kelly,

It sounds like your cat is constipated. Here is an article that you can read about it: (copy and paste or type the whole link into your address bar:
http://www.professorshouse.com/pets/cats/constipation-in-cats.aspx
or
you can Google CONSTIPATION IN CATS and find more articles that may be helpful. I am not a vet so I can't really help you on a potential medical issue. I don't agree with your vet that it is a behavioral problem...a cat doesn't intentionally not poop all the way without i being painful or uncomfortable, and there being a reason for it. You may want to get another opinion from a different vet.

For my cats I put small amounts of butter or mayonnaise down each leg for them to lick off. The oil in both helps to oil the digestive tract. Also give him chicken broth to drink.

I hope this helps.

Tabbi