pooing cat

Question
QUESTION: My cat is 17 years old and keeps pooing in the kitchen she is cery thin and fragile her was quite runny so i wormed her but it didnt make a difference really and also when she as biscuits she struggles as she started grinding her teeth so i stopped the biscuits and replaced it with meat and it stopped her grinding her teeth and also made her poo more firmer but unfortunatly the pooing as now got worse ive got litter trays but still goes on the carpet every morning when i get up and also every day on my return from work i have to other cats and there absolutey fine please help me

ANSWER: First of all, your cat is 17 yrs old. That is the equivalent of a 110 year old man or woman. She probably doesn't have the strength in her legs any more to stand in a litter box in the position that she needs to to defecate.

I am not quite sure what some of your question says as it's one long sentence which makes it hard to figure out. What is fragile and runny?

A 17 yr old cat needs to be seen by your vet if she is having trouble eating. She is probably suffering from a lot of dental pain from overgrown teeth, or gum tissue getting into her teeth, or some other related problem. This is very painful and she really needs to be examined by a vet for this.

She should be on a more balanced diet as well. I don't know what you mean by "biscuits" for her diet but she needs a balanced diet that is made for senior cats.

Get her into the vets and have them look in her mouth. You can buy some top quality senior canned food for her there as well that will also help with her stools.

But it isn't uncommon for a very elderly cat to not be able to use a litter box. You might try a large flat baking tray with some litter in it to see if she could use that.

Call your vet tomorrow and make her an appointment.

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

QUESTION: By runny i meant loose stools. Biscuits was go cat crunchies.
I have  not taken her to vets because she is a very happy cat and does not seem to be in any pain what so ever and if i take her they will want to take her teeth out and i am not prepared to let her go through an operation at her age as i feel it will do her more harm than good but the first sign of pain or cat being unhappy i will be there in a instant for sure. As for not being able to get in cat tray i dont feel that you answered this correctly as she goes in there to pee without any problems whatsoever ... and she is already on senior food but thanks for your response i really appreciate it .

Answer
You are assuming that they will want all of her teeth out but that's not necessarily true. She might have an overgrowth of gum tissue (common in old cats) that is what she is grinding on when she tries to eat. It's your decision whether or not to have anything radical done- they cannot force you.

And as far as peeing vs. pooing goes, it's a different posturing completely and we have seen this many, many times before. It's worth a try to accommodate her isn't it? She has to arch her back and stand longer to defecate, and elderly cats have issues with that for long, especially in the smaller litter boxes.

It's worth a try. Just get a pan from the thrift store.

I do hope you will have her mouth looked at at least.