Cat and problem with the litterbox (canned food, diet, feed, tuna)
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My male cat had this problem when he was younger. I found that he was waiting too long, last minute, to go to the litter box.
Were you scooping the clumps from the litter box twice a day? If not, some cats will wait until the last minute..... few don't mind smelly litter needing scooping.
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Because of urinating and bladder problems with my female I ended up getting another litter box and don't you know he rarely poops outside the box now. Oh and also I started using litter liners that helps too. But if I forget to change the litter liner sooner then he sometimes, not often, poops outside the box.
You are still scooping the clumps twice a day - no? I hope you're not leaving them pile up in the litter boxes until you pull the liner.
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Thing is now he poops right outside the box. When he was a kitten he was having so much fun playing he didn't think to go to the litter box.
I would have his kidney's checked and blood work and everything else they can think of to make sure it isn't a health problem first. 4 litter boxes should be enough so I can't understand why she's not using it. Maybe its a territorial thing.
There are many reasons cats stop using their litter box/s.
Were you scooping the clumps from the litter box twice a day? If not, some cats will wait until the last minute..... few don't mind smelly litter needing scooping.
You are still scooping the clumps twice a day - no? I hope you're not leaving them pile up in the litter boxes until you pull the liner.
There are many reasons cats stop using their litter box/s.
Oh yes I scoop in the morning, evening and at night before bedtime. He was only a few months old when he started pooping and it was in the middle of playing he would just stop and poop and go right back to playing. One time I caught him fast enough I went to pick him up when I saw he was about to poop to put him in the litter box as a hint to use it for that and I ended up chasing him around the room while he left little trails of poop. I When I finally got him I kissed him and put him in the litter box. Then I put the little poop droppings in the box to show him that's where it belongs. Eventually he got it. I think that was because he watched his sister being smart enough to know to stop and use the litter box. I keep both boxes real clean. That's hard to do with my female since her urine has a really bad and strong smell. It rarely ever happens now when he does poop outside the box. I had to learn to add a little new litter to the box when I scoop out used litter or it gets too smelly for them. I also had to learn to change the litter liner more often even if the litter is still good inside. That's, as I discovered, only because they usually dig down so deep they urinate all the way to the bottom onto the liner. That is what leaves a smell behind they can smell when they dig all the way down. So far so good I haven't had any litter problems with them since. And with my female ok now with her bladder problem they are both happy little furry babies.
The strange thing is she uses the box sometimes - last night for example she went in the box and then again in the middle of the floor, so I dont understand.
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I'm sorry I didn't see your reply earlier.
This is a classic sigh of constipation. She has pain while pooping, blames the box, so tries elsewhere. Cats don't normally poop twice in one night, so it sounds like she was pretty full. She strained and got some out in the litter box, but because it was painful for her, she finished her business outside of the litter box, in the hopes that it would be easier for her.
I'd think about a diet change, depending on what you are feeding her, or adding pumpkin (if she will eat it). 1 tablespoon of pumpkin split between two or three canned meals a day.
This is a classic sigh of constipation. She has pain while pooping, blames the box, so tries elsewhere. Cats don't normally poop twice in one night, so it sounds like she was pretty full. She strained and got some out in the litter box, but because it was painful for her, she finished her business outside of the litter box, in the hopes that it would be easier for her.
I'd think about a diet change, depending on what you are feeding her, or adding pumpkin (if she will eat it). 1 tablespoon of pumpkin split between two or three canned meals a day.
Thank you for the reply I haven't ever heard of pumpkin, I will have to try that, you never know she may like it. I'm afraid that it may be constipation and she is blaming any problems on the litterbox, that would exlain why she uses it for #1 and sometimes for #2, and she does go #2 more than once a day. Back to the vets next week, and I'll see if there's anything else that can be done for her. I just worry that something may be seriously wrong with her, although 12 really isn't that old, so it may be a combination of constipation and the territorial issue with the previous male cat.
Pumpkin has been a miracle worker for my constipated girl. Even on an all canned grain free diet she had trouble. Constant circling in the litter box, straining, circling some more, me finding poop outside the box (I don't think she was pooping outside the box, it was more like some would be stuck in her, and she would drag her bottom to get it out) and so on.
Now she gets 1 tablespoon of pumpkin a day, half in a morning meal and half in an evening meal. She is so happy! When she has to poop, she gets in the litter box, squats and the poop just drops out.
In addition she is more active, more "fit and trim" without me reducing her food at all, and her anal gland problems have also gone away.
Make sure to use pure canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.
What I do is put 1/2 tablespoon servings in ice cube trays. Put the trays in the freezer for long enough for the pumpkin to freeze firm enough to remove from the trays, then store them in a freezer bag. At night I take a serving out and put it in a little container in the fridge for morning, and in the morning, take the night time serving out.
I mix the canned food and pumpkin with a little warm water, so her meal is warm and tasty.
I understand your fears, and a vet trip and blood work is a good idea. Often constipation can be a symptom of something more serious, such as hyperthyroid disease or kidney disease, but both of those are treatable (maintainable with treatment, not cured) if caught early enough.
Chronic constipation leads to megacolon, and that is not a good thing at all.
Pumpkin has been a miracle worker for my constipated girl. Even on an all canned grain free diet she had trouble. Constant circling in the litter box, straining, circling some more, me finding poop outside the box (I don't think she was pooping outside the box, it was more like some would be stuck in her, and she would drag her bottom to get it out) and so on.
Now she gets 1 tablespoon of pumpkin a day, half in a morning meal and half in an evening meal. She is so happy! When she has to poop, she gets in the litter box, squats and the poop just drops out.
In addition she is more active, more "fit and trim" without me reducing her food at all, and her anal gland problems have also gone away.
Make sure to use pure canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.
What I do is put 1/2 tablespoon servings in ice cube trays. Put the trays in the freezer for long enough for the pumpkin to freeze firm enough to remove from the trays, then store them in a freezer bag. At night I take a serving out and put it in a little container in the fridge for morning, and in the morning, take the night time serving out.
I mix the canned food and pumpkin with a little warm water, so her meal is warm and tasty.
I understand your fears, and a vet trip and blood work is a good idea. Often constipation can be a symptom of something more serious, such as hyperthyroid disease or kidney disease, but both of those are treatable (maintainable with treatment, not cured) if caught early enough.
Chronic constipation leads to megacolon, and that is not a good thing at all.
EXCELLENT tip about the ice cube tray...I always end up throwing pumpkin out, and now I won't have to! Thank you !
Yes, pumpkin works really well, but if for some reason your cat won't eat it, there's a supplement called "Perfect Form" (Honest Kitchen brand) that's great for general preventative maintenance of digestion...it's 100% natural, (pumpkin is actually one of the ingredients) it's in a powdered form that you can either sprinkle over food or mix into wet food...hang in there!
EXCELLENT tip about the ice cube tray...I always end up throwing pumpkin out, and now I won't have to! Thank you !
Yes, pumpkin works really well, but if for some reason your cat won't eat it, there's a supplement called "Perfect Form" (Honest Kitchen brand) that's great for general preventative maintenance of digestion...it's 100% natural, (pumpkin is actually one of the ingredients) it's in a powdered form that you can either sprinkle over food or mix into wet food...hang in there!
I'm going to check out the Perfect Form perhaps for another kitty, thanks for the tip!
Catsmom21 you are a genius and your knowledge is a badge of honor that you should always wear with honor and I mean that whole heartedly. My cats Doctor, ok I know people call them vets, but thats what a veterinarian is, recommended pumpkin when I needed to make my little pickles to poop. I was stunned just stunned when she said give her a little pumpkin. Of course it being my very first time and little pickles would not eat it I put in her mouth anyway and she swalled it. By the next day problem solved and I could breathe again. I swear the thing things they swallow. I love your idea and am now doing the same thing with the canned pumpkin.
My cats have 2 favorite flavors of canned cat food one is chicken and the other is tuna.
Does the tuna in it contribute to constipation?
BT ,argh the capital w won't type, which flavor of the canned would be best to mix a little pumpkin in? I keep thinking the tuna canned cat food will bind them.
Catsmom21 you are a genius and your knowledge is a badge of honor that you should always wear with honor and I mean that whole heartedly. My cats Doctor, ok I know people call them vets, but thats what a veterinarian is, recommended pumpkin when I needed to make my little pickles to poop. I was stunned just stunned when she said give her a little pumpkin. Of course it being my very first time and little pickles would not eat it I put in her mouth anyway and she swalled it. By the next day problem solved and I could breathe again. I swear the thing things they swallow. I love your idea and am now doing the same thing with the canned pumpkin.
My cats have 2 favorite flavors of canned cat food one is chicken and the other is tuna.
Does the tuna in it contribute to constipation?
BT ,argh the capital w won't type, which flavor of the canned would be best to mix a little pumpkin in? I keep thinking the tuna canned cat food will bind them.
Aw shucks.
I don't know if tuna can contribute to constipation. I don't feed any fish foods at all to my cats and I am one of those people who think tuna, especially, is very bad for cats.
I would reduce the tuna cat food to no more than twice a week, or eliminate it all together, if you think you can get away with it.
Some cats just seem prone to constipation. My one girl who the pumpkin helped so much was on an all canned grain free diet and still had trouble, until I started adding the pumpkin. She gets 1/2 tablespoon, twice a day, mixed in with canned food and a little warm water.
I have another cat who is now starting to have constipation issues, but she doesn't like the pumpkin added to her food. In order to get the full tablespoon into her every day, I have to add small amounts to several of her meals, spread throughout the day.
You might try that with Pickles, with the pumpkin premeasured you'll always know that she is getting the right amount for the day, just add a little and feed several small meals with it added.
Or if you only feed twice a day, try adding a little warm water to the canned food/pumpkin, and see if that makes it more appealing.
Of course, if she accepts it being put into her mouth without fuss, there isn't any reason why you can't just keep doing it that way.
Keep us posted!
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