Suddenly she poops everywhere???

Question
Dear Tabbi,

Thank you in advance for your helpful advice. My parents and I are first time indoor cat owners. My father received baby Ruth on father's day when she was 2-3 weeks old. As soon as she saw her litter box she was using it. We didn't have to train her or close her in a room with it. Since then we have moved the liter box three times, twice downstairs and once to the second floor due to painting the interior of our home, we closed her in the master bedroom with her liter box in the bathroom. The first time she pooped outside was due to diarrhea caused by deworming her at home. The second time was this last week when she escaped to the down stairs part of the house and got paint on her back. That night she pooped in my parents bed and left a trail to the box. We think it was diarrhea due to the paint she might have eaten. So we finish painting and we let her out this past Sunday. Both Sunday and Monday she is fine, come today Tuesday she has pooped all over the house. In the morning she pooped under my bed and left a trail to the liter box in my parents bathroom, all this upstairs. Tonight we come home 10pm and fine poop on the window sill in the dining room and under my brother's bed, all this downstairs. We have had her liter box up stairs for a week and a half since we started painting. I'm desperate because my parents want to take her to an animal shelter and give up on her tomorrow morning... I don't want this to happen but they will make a decision tomorrow morning. For tonight she in the laundry room with her bed, litter box, water bowl, her scratching pole and her toys, this doesn't seem to bother her.

We have not changed her diet. We feed her soft food about 3-4 times a day and always leave out hard food and water. We clean her liter box twice a day.

Baby Ruth is a very lovable, cuddly, active, playful kitten and growing fast. She loves to lay on our chest and/or neck while we are on the recliner watching TV. And she sleeps just fine with my parents. She gets a lot of attention and hugs on a daily basis. My brother says we (mom and me) talk about her as if she was our little sister. Yet my parents say that they don't want to deal with having to come home and fine poop everywhere. My father says that she knows where to poop and she is not doing it, then there is only one solution, give her away to someone who will take the time to deal with it.

Please help me... I don't want to lose baby Ruth.

Answer
Rosie,

The kitten has a medical problem that isn't her fault. Plus she is upset and stressed by all the changes which is compounding the problem. The paint is unhealthy for her too. If she had a trail to the litterbox, obviously she was trying to get there but couldn't hold it.

PLEASE take her to the vet! He can find out what may be causing the diarrhea, and also give her some anti-diarrhea medication.

I hope your parents understand that it is more than likely a medical problem, and are caring enough about your love for the cat, and about the cat itself, that they will try to get help for it and not give it away. After all, if YOU had a problem with diarrhea, they wouldn't send you to the orhphanage because of it, so why should they do it to their four-legged child?

I hope things work out!!

Tabbi