Expert: Jessica - 6/22/2010

Question
QUESTION: How might I get my 8 month old, 8 pound cat Bumbles to stop pooping outside of his litter box?  We have one other cat who is also a ragdoll and he is 1 year and 7 months old.  WHen he first came to us, the older cat was quite aggressive with him and he began to have accidents outside the box.  His poo was very mushy so off to the vet we went with stool sample.  Bloodwork showed No worms or paracites, but he was given Milbemax, just in case.  His food was also changed, which seemed to get rid of the mushy poo problem.  HE would poop in the box for  a few days and then in the corner right next to the box.  Finally, I put both cats together in our furnace room with two litter boxes.  Both cats used the same box and didn't touch the second one. Not one accident happened during that time.  Both were released and no accidents occurred  for two weeks.  3 days ago the little guy pooped right in the kitchen.  Back to jail for 3 days.  I let him out and right in front of me, he squatted, cried numerous times and pooped right in the previous spot from 3 days before.  Most of the poo was solid until the very end when it splatted on the floor like mushy baby food.  I have also put in one of those plug in feline sprays which is suppsoed to lessen stress.  I don't know what else to do, but pass him on to someone else.  My kids will he so upset.  Any ideas??

ANSWER: Hi Cathy.  If he's crying before he defecates, it certainly sounds to me like he's having pain, and this would account for his refusal to use the litter box.  Since his stool was poorly formed at the end, it sounds like he could be suffering from some colitis, that he is not digesting his food well, or that he may still be sensitive to a food ingredient.  It would be best to follow up with the vet once again.  Some helpful solutions may include a probiotic/prebiotic supplement added to his food, a prancreatic enzyme supplement, a low-residue diet or an oral steroid such as prednisone.

You could try a litter made especially for problem cats like this, such as Cat Attract.  A vet formulated this litter with an herbal attractant to encourage cats to use the litter box 100% of the time.  It's money back guaranteed.  I'm not sure of your location, but if you're in the U.S., you can find a retailer through their website, www.preciouscat.com.  If you live elsewhere, you may be better of searching for the Cat Attract additive online and having this shipped to you.  Then you add this to your own litter.  However, the litter must be unscented clay clumping litter.  Scented litters or pine, cedar, corn and traditional clay litters won't work properly with the additive.  

Good luck!

Jessica



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi, we took Bumbles to the vet today and we had a choice between prednisone or surgery on the bowel to do a biopsy.  WE picked the medication as surgery would cost us 800.00.  The vet did not charge for the visit and will see him again in 14 days for free.

You mentioned that it might not hurt him add  a probiotic/prebiotic supplement  to his food.  Where would I find something like that.  In addition, he is currently on food that the vet recommended, but it is so expensive.  Is it really possible that something from the pet store can't be used?  WE are concerned that maybe he has an allergy of some sort due to results from blood work.  I have tried switching to a no grain alternative, but that seemed to upset his tummy even more that what the vet gave.  You mentioned a low-residue diet.  What is that exactly?

Thank you for your help.  Your advice was very much appreciated.

Cathy

ANSWER: I think you went with the right choice.  I once chose the exploratory surgery and biopsy.  Cost - $1600.  Results - the cat's intestines are inflamed!  This we knew already!  And the treatment ended up being prednisone anyway.

Some good probiotic/prebiotics are Proviable by Nutramax Labs and FortiFlora (feline) by Purina.  They come in either a powder you mix into food, or capsules and a paste you give orally.  I find it easiest, personally, to mix the powder into some baby food.  The cats think of it as a big treat, and if they don’t happen to eat it all, I spoon the food into a syringe and give it orally.  Most vets carry one product or the other, or you can get the products online through websites such as entirelypets.com.

A low-residue diet is one that would basically take as much work out of digesting the food as possible.  To do this, a prescription food is usually needed.  The protein ingredients undergo a process called hydrolysis in order to break them down (essentially “digest” them) into their simplest form.  Whereas commercially available foods contain chicken, low-residue diets contain hydrolyzed chicken.  The chicken is already digested and will create considerably less stress on the digestive tract.  It should also result in less stool.  One popular low-residue diet is Hill’s z/d.

If Bumbles responded favorably to the food your vet gave you, bring the label with you to the pet store and see if you can find a bag of food that matches it closely.  Many foods on the market contain similar ingredients.  If he has a food allergy, it’s going to be the ingredients you are going to be most concerned with, not necessarily the order in which they appear on the label or the % daily values.  Remember to make all food changes slowly over the course of 10 days or so.  Even if a food change would have been beneficial for him, it will still cause him stomach upset if it’s done too abruptly.  I personally like the grain-free foods, but if he’s having a difficult time digesting some kind of protein, that may never work for him.  You may want to try a food with a single source of protein, such as a chicken and rice formula food if you can find one.  Chicken tends to be the least allergenic form of protein, while rice is the most tolerated carb.  Just be careful to read the ingredients – the front may say “chicken and rice”, but the label may list other ingredients.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Us again!  Well we did 2 weeks of prednisone at one tablet a day.  No accidents for Mr. Bumbles.  WE then went to 1 tablet every other day for two weeks, and no accidents.  NExt, we went to 2 tablets a week, and we had an accident on the kitchen floor.  Went back to the vet and he was put back on one pill a day.  That prescription began on the 10th of June.  Since then, he has had 3 accidents!

Today we went back to the vet and now he thinks it could be behavioural.  HE gave us a few options:  1. Valium, 2. Find him a new home that has no other pets, or 3. We could put him down.

My kids cried when they heard the 3rd option as did I.  I took the meds of valium from the doc, but am a bit nervous to begin him on them.

I have noticed that our other cat Truffles has been very aggressive with Bumbles for the past few weeks.  So maybe he is nervous and feels the need to mark his territory.  From what I can see, he wants to be friends with our other cat desperately!  HE follows him wherever he goes, which appears to aggravate the other one at times and at others, he's fine with it.  Bumbles is very needy and at times walks around crying if he can't find Truffles.  

We are at the end of our rope and don't know what to do next.  I am wondering if locking him in with the litters boxes again will help, and beginning the medicine.  WOuld you have any more insights?

Thank you.

Cathy

Answer
I'm so sorry to hear this!  I apologize deeply, but I failed to recognize the significance of your first cat in this situation until you mentioned him again in this follow up.  Reading through all of this again, I think Truffles may play a very large role.  It's very common to have a cat who defecates inappropriately when they are being bullied because they just don't feel safe using the litter box.  Cats in the act of eliminating are vulnerable as it is.  Many litter boxes are also located in corners, which makes them further unable to escape if a bully confronts them.  Realizing now that Truffles has always been the aggressor, I'm not certain that I have a lot of faith that Valium is going to benefit poor Bumbles.  You can try it.  I don't think it's likely to hurt him.  But in my humble opinion, you will probably need to treat Truffles' aggression to see any improvement in your situation.

I wouldn't recommend locking him in with the litter boxes again, but I would suggest adding some more litter boxes in different locations.  This will make it more likely that he'll find one in an area where he doesn't feel threatened when he needs to go.

It might benefit Truffles and Bumbles both to use a product called Feliway.  It's a synthetic pheromone, a hormone which cats release from their cheeks and paw pads.  It has a calming effect on cats and can help reduce aggression and nervousness.  Feliway comes in a plug-in diffuser to treat your home.  It's a little pricey, but I have found the results worth the cost.  You can learn more at www.feliway.com.

I would urge you to create as much space between Truffles and Bumbles as possible by providing them with their own separate bedding, feeding stations and toys.  If they don't have some tall cat trees, it would be great to invest in one or two, since cats value vertical space.  Try to keep Bumbles busy with playtime or brushing, etc., so that he doesn't drive Truffles crazy.

However, if you find Truffles is still aggressive toward Bumbles and Bumbles is still having accidents, I honestly think it would be worth considering placing Truffles on medication.  It's certainly not something any pet owner relishes the thought of.  But when we are confronted with the thought of getting rid of a beloved pet or putting one to sleep, I have to say I feel that trying a medication to keep the peace seems a reasonable action.  Medications such as Valium, Prozac (fluoxetine) and Clomicalm (clomipramine) as well as several others have all been used to successfully reduce aggressive tendencies in cats like Truffles.  Usually, all you will need is treatment for a few months to get over a rough patch, and then everyone can get along fine on their own after that.

I hope all turns out well!

Jessica