Expert: Dear Tabbi - 12/4/2008

Question
My 14 year old cat who is very good health (it appears) will use here literbox faithfully (no accidents) for urinating. However, she has stopped using it entirely for defecating and will seem to pick a different spot each and every day. What is causing her to do this? I have three litter boxes and have tried different brands of litter. What can I try next?

Answer
Bo,

Your problem may not have to do with litter or a litterbox, but with age. Your cat is approximately 72 years old in human years and at that age things start going wrong.

You may want to try puppy pee pads next to the litterbox and see if she uses those. Or get a plastic container with very low sides to use as a litterbox.

The cat may have arthritis or may have some internal problem. She may also have 'kitty Alzheimer's which older cats can get and they do some bizarre things.

Even if she LOOKS healthy something may be wrong or not functioning correctly. I would take her to a vet that specializes in geriatric cats and their conditions (not all vets do) and have an "older cat checkup" done on her. She needs her thyroid, kidney, and liver functions checked, plus other tests.

If she has arthritis, or other pain, she can be given medication to ease any pain thus improving her quality of life.

The best thing to do is just love her and give her lots of attention and reassurance while you still can. Don't ever get angry or frustrated at her for getting old.

Here are some good articles on geriatric cats that you may find informative:
(copy and paste, or type, the whole links into your address bar)

http://www.sniksnak.com/resources/geriatric.html

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1310&articleid=610

http://www.messybeast.com/towards-end.htm

I hope this helps.

Tabbi