Loose Stool and One Peeing Mishap!

Question
My cat Timmy is just over a year old. He's only ever peed outside the pan a couple of times. This morning he peed all over my girlfriend's clean pants! I was mad but I figured that the litter pan must be full because when it is, the top cat goes in the pan, but Timmy doesn't. When I changed the pan, I noticed that there was loose stool in the pan. I'm pretty sure it was Timmy since the other kitty went to the bathroom right after the box was cleaned!
He is constantly eating things he shouldn't be, and he's not crying in the pan. I did notice that his ears were cold and his nose was dry yesterday though!

Could anything be wrong with my kitty!
Please help me!

Answer
Hello Hayley,

Cats don't complain even when they are in a lot of discomfort or pain, so you have to watch for signs of anything abnormal and assume he is not well, even if he's not crying in the pan.

Your first stop should be the vet's office for a through check-up. Cats almost always pee outside the box due to a medical problem. The loose stools in addition to urinating outside the box means something is not quite right. Your vet should do a urinalysis and a complete blood panel, and probably a fecal test as well to see if there are parasites.

Here is some more info on why cats urinate outside the box and how to fix the problem:

http://catnet.stanford.edu/articles/litterbox.html

Once any acute problems such as an infection or parasites is addressed, consider your cat's diet. A cat is an obligate carnivore, meant to eat meat. Dry cat food is mostly meat-flavored grain. Eating dry food results in a high urine pH and causes chronic dehydration, both of which cause cats to be prone to urinary tract problems. In addition, cats cannot digest many of the plant proteins and carbohydrates in dry food, which can lead to irritable bowel disease (IBD) which is a constant inflammation in the intestines and causes diarrhea and weight loss.

Never feed your cat dry food. Instead choose a meat based (grain-free) high quality canned food. I recommend Nature's Variety Instinct, Wellness or Innova Evo 95% meat foods. These cost a bit more but your cat won't need to eat as much because it is highly digestible (less will end up in the litter box). Feeding a high quality canned food will help your cat stay healthier for life - especially his urinary tract and kidneys.

You may also be interested in learning about making your own raw meat cat food:

http://www.catnutrition.org
http://www.catinfo.org
http://www.felinefuture.com

Remember when making any diet change to mix the new food in gradually with the old food to avoid upsetting your cat's digestion with sudden changes.

Good luck!