[arouetta]

I have three cats.  The oldest, Shadow, just showed a behavioral change tonight by marking territory.  She pooped on the carpet right in front of me and didn't make any attempt to scratch at it.  I did find poop in the same spot about two weeks ago, but that was the only other time anything like this has happened.  There has never been any other litter box accidents.

Shadow is female and about 15-16 years old and is co-dominant (there is no clear dominant cat).  The next oldest is male and roughly 12-13 and is clearly submissive.  They get along.  The youngest is male and about 4 and also very dominant.  Shadow and he have never gotten along, she hisses and he occasionally bops her in the butt to try to get play attention.  But they have never come to blows so they've never established a top cat.  All three are altered, none are declawed.  We've had the youngest for over a year, the middle for about 11 years, and Shadow for about 13 years.

We haven't even moved a piece of furniture around, much less any dramatic changes in the past few weeks.  She's not really into window watching so I doubt she saw a strange cat hanging around.  All three are strictly indoors only.

I can't think of any more relavant details.  Can anyone give suggestions as to why my baby is now marking territory?

[arouetta]

I have three cats.  The oldest, Shadow, just showed a behavioral change tonight by marking territory.  She pooped on the carpet right in front of me and didn't make any attempt to scratch at it.  I did find poop in the same spot about two weeks ago, but that was the only other time anything like this has happened.  There has never been any other litter box accidents.

Shadow is female and about 15-16 years old and is co-dominant (there is no clear dominant cat).  The next oldest is male and roughly 12-13 and is clearly submissive.  They get along.  The youngest is male and about 4 and also very dominant.  Shadow and he have never gotten along, she hisses and he occasionally bops her in the butt to try to get play attention.  But they have never come to blows so they've never established a top cat.  All three are altered, none are declawed.  We've had the youngest for over a year, the middle for about 11 years, and Shadow for about 13 years.

We haven't even moved a piece of furniture around, much less any dramatic changes in the past few weeks.  She's not really into window watching so I doubt she saw a strange cat hanging around.  All three are strictly indoors only.

I can't think of any more relavant details.  Can anyone give suggestions as to why my baby is now marking territory?

[tiggs_mom]

Welcome to Cats & Kittens....

My first question is when was she at the vet last? At her age, a lot of vet recommend a visit every 6 months just to keep up with their health (the cat's health, not the vet - LOL). Usually the first thing I recommend when a litterbox issue turns up is a vet check. Cats are very good about hiding health issues but this is sometimes a first sign of something.

If not medical, then you are right and it is a behavior issue. It could be that she had been cornered in the box. Or, since she is older, is having problems getting in and out of the box. If it hurts for her to get over the edges, she may go somewhere else.

Hope that gives you someplace to start. Let us know how it goes....

[lcni]

Welcome to Cats and Kittens.  Usually when cats start having litter box problems then it's usually a medical reason.  Since your cat is elderly then you should get her a good check-up with your vet.  It's just so hard to say what is going on with her especially at her age.  It could be any number of things.

I hope your vet will be able to figure out what is going on with Shadow and get her back to using the litter box soon.

[arouetta]

Well, my memory is faulty, Shadow's only about 13.  I thought she was 13 when she had cancer, but the vet records listed her as 11 back then.

According to the vet, Shadow is way too fat, but otherwise in good health.  They drew blood just in case, I'll hear those results tomorrow.  The vet recommended spraying the rug down with Feliway.

I had forgotten, Shadow has had a couple bouts of aggressiveness with my submissive male, Montressor, (smacking his head repeatedly) over the last couple of weeks when he chose to nap there.  Since she's physically well, I guess she's just become particularly territorial over that corner of the room.  Assuming the bloodwork comes back normal, I'll get the Feliway on my next check and hope it chills her out.  Maybe I'll get some live catnip too, that definitely chills her out.

[lcni]

I hope that all comes back fine with her bloodwork.

The Feliway and catnip may work.   If it's behavioral there are several meds you can try with her if nothing else works.

Keep us posted on how she is doing.