So Eevee has IBD. Much diarrhea. I am okay with this as long as it is in the box. I am okay with clear accidents (like when she's sleeping and some leaks out.)

but she's been pooping outside the box a lot. Like, to the point where I see her back arch, and I race to pick her up and put her in her box (and then she immediately comes back out and poops on the floor)

and I... am starting to think this isn't the IBD at all. What do you guys think?

(if it helps, she has 4 cat boxes and I'm in a 1 bedroom apartment. They get cleaned at least once a day, twice if I can manage. we play every morning. We play multiple times a day if I can manage.)

She is eating better since she got put back on prednisolone and a nausea med. No change to her poops though, either in consistency or placement)

Her not-actually-accidents tend to happen most often right before I go to bed, right after I get up, or get home, and when I'm going to the bathroom (so I added a box to the bathroom... she pees in it and then steps out to poop)

have you tried different kinds of litter substrates? some cats get sore paws from certain litters

usually ones with fine grains that can get stuck in their pawpads

I can't use clay because I'm allergic and get asthma attacks from it

so I've been using sustainably yours. Which is fine grain. but she loves to dig in it? Like she'll go into the box and just dig around for a while

(she does track it everywhere. I could try pellets?)

And she is super good about peeing in the box. it's just poop

Unfortunately, could be a lot of things

Like, could just be she's realised you clean after it happens and she likes the attention.
with my two they sprint at top speed if I go nearly them after pooping cause of possible butt baths

I have washed her butt a few times and she hates it but hasn't stopped the problems.

I hate this question.... But how explosive is the ibs? It might be something dumb like her not thinking she has space in the litter box

It is very liquid, but it just drops from her butt to the ground. she does do the 'dog with constipation' walk a couple steps (which is out of the box) and squirt some more. I don't tell her bad cat after that though because that probably is an accident.

it's when she very clearly isn't in the box and goes away from the box before even starting the I'm pooping pose that I have a big issue with

I got nothing

me either which is why I'm asking for advice

cat why D=

I wish I had suggestions but rn I got nothing too. I hope you find answers

All my other thoughts are stuff that'd need a vet

it might be that the liquid is so messy to cover, it gets on her paws, etc, so she doesn't like doing it in the litter box?

having you clean it means her paws stay clean

maybe

it's a very strange behavior

Like maybe peeing in the litter box is fine, but when she does the poop squat it hurts her joints when she sinks into the litter so she likes the sturdy floor.

I'd ask if she could get on a med to make her poops solid but as someone with IBS also I know that sometimes there's just nothing to be done on that end

When I had an IBS kitty, he was more of a barfer, I got nothing other than maybe suggesting different pooping material

what if you put down puppy pads. will those at least help cleanup? Will she go on those?

well she did seem to like going on the area rugs (and my bed. and pillows). But I don't think it's a litter depth issue? I keep the litter level rather low because she sends it feet away from the box even without a lot in the box

and like she poops in the box just fine sometimes?

like, I can almost predict when she'll poop on the floor. I just can't get her to stay in the box, even when I pick her up and put her there

puppy pads might at least help a little

I'll see if I can find some really cheap ones

or maybe something like a plastic mat that I can just pick up and wash for the most predictable areas

I might get her a vet appointment if you can, just to rule out medical... well. Further medical problems. Hunching like that can be a sign of pain, so if she's got arthritis or something, they may be able to provide a pain med which would make it more comfortable for her.

They haven't found anything other than the IBD in the three appointments I've had with her since I got her? (I do know her butt is very very sore all the time. I hate having to clean it because it clearly hurts her to do. ...but on the other hand I can't have poop everywhere she sits either)

the last appointment where I described this problem with the pooping (and also her then problem with vomiting) they gave me a bunch of meds. the anti-nausea med is the only one that has seemed to work. (although with the trouble I've had getting her meds to stay inside her maybe it's just the only one she's gotten enough of to have an effect)

she's also under a year so I really really hope she doesn't have arthritis already. then again, not impossible

D: no, that is all very fair. I don't like the idea of giving a young cat pain meds all her life, but if it hurts her this much, like... idk. Best of luck, my dude.

thank you! I hope we figure out what it is

part of me is worried that she's just not happy and expressing it by pooping.

Like, her foster parent described her as the easiest cat to pill, and had several other cats and kittens in the house. Is she lonely or doesn't like me?

Oh, I sincerely doubt it.

She lets you pet her and give her skritches, yes?

I think if she's "objecting" to anything it's either the litter, the stance she has to take to poop in the box (which may cause a stretch on her bottom and cause it to hurt, depending on the squat I guess), is just showing kitty finickiness, or is just unhappy with her own health. I think she's very happy with you

personally I think if she didn't like you, you'd have poop in your bed or shoes or something

constant diarrhea causes the butt to hurt and makes pooping miserable and something to dread. I am pretty sure that's kinda stressing her out and might be giving her some hangups about pooping in general

well she did poop in my bed once. that maaay have been an actual accident? she had a definite accident the other day when I was trying to get her to move so I could get up, and she had been sleeping. Some just plorped out

I'll look into a different litter. it shouldn't be hard to find something cheaper that still is okay allergy wise for me.

I thought for a bit that she was just wanting to poop where I do, because she does it so often in the bathroom. but while she does use the bathroom box the most now that it's there. she still poops on the floor in there so often

(she has pooped on the toilet seat and has squatted over the bowl a couple times... but I'm not sure whether I should encourage that or not

that may be slight territorial thing idk. cats in general seem to love bathrooms, but especially when their person is in there because WHERE ARE YOU GOING

and honestly I get it. if I was full of poop and someone squished my loaf-self around the middle to pick me up or startled me awake, I too might poop

heck people pee a little when we sneeze sometimes

I'm sure plenty of these are accidents

yeah, some are. but looking me in the face while I'm on the toilet and can't physically reach her in time to attempt to put her in the box and pooping a lot is definitely intentional. so I'm trying to figure that out. (I don't yell at her or anything. I praise her when she poops in the box, and if she starts pooping I will try to put her in the box)

but I try not to scare her or anything. just. "Poop in the box" on repeat a lot

I was wondering if she was freezing up for cramps but sometimes she completes a poop in the box. and sometimes walks into the other room and does it there so /shrug?

I hate that it might be this, but when my sister's dog had doggy ALS, his first sign was accidents and looser stool. If you can afford it, go to a vet neurologist. It's worth a look.

I don't know if there's a cat equivalent. But it's worth looking up because it's a really tragic sentence.

Cats following you toliet is a love thing. They do it to guard while your most vulnerable or they just see it as group activity

Also I thought fluffy was 7 or something... That's why I mentioned the sinking in litter joint issues. Cause I hears that's an early arthritis sign

By the shelter estimate, Eevee is 11months ish. She was found as a stray so may be a bit older or younger but yeah