Caregiver's cats behaving badly.

pam, watch her eating toys; some animals have "pica", where they eat just about anything; our beloved little girl cat ate my hair when she could, string, just anything, and had to be put to sleep at 2 because she had blocked up her intestines, even tho she was getting hairball meds. Just keep an eye out....

Well Chloe has been sort of good/bad since we got back from the river 2 weeks ago.. she has transferred her chewing from us to her toys,, good!! But she is back sliding on the potty training. Bad!! The potty thing may be/probably is our fault, it's been rainy as heck here. Finally figured out if she looks at us and tilts her head a lot.. it's time to go outside,, so that may be improving shortly,, as long as we catch it! I feel like she is trying.. Her toys are another issue.. so today we went and got her 3 new ones to replace the ones she has destroyed.. going to try rotating them. I think she may be bored.. If she eats these I am up the creek,, who know they could destroy them that quick!!

AliBoBali, good you found out which cat is thinking outside of the box. Best to have doc look at him as I learned if a cat does that then he's telling you he has a medical issue.

One time I had an older cat who would squirt on the wall which is unusual for a female cat to do... turned out she had a feline type of a UTI.

If it turns out to be the cat just can't get to the litter box in time, then more litter boxes need to be placed around. I was able to get one older male cat to use those blue-sheets [doggy pads] instead of cat litter. He wouldn't cover his litter anyway, the old female cat would make that her chore to do. Jeeze, some guys are no different in feline life as they are in human life :))

As for litter boxes, I found I had better luck buying those Sterilite clear plastic storage bins that one can find at Target, the 6" tall ones work fine. And they are less expensive then a cat made litter box. Right now I am using the plastic storage boxes that one would use to hold rolled wrapping paper. It just gives the cats more room.

Don't worry Ali.
People can be caregivers to cats and dogs as well.
Well, I know you are not too worried, but felt the need to comment
about this community's value way past the caregiving years.

The friendships, the knowing others, being known and accepted, the wealth of experience passed on by former caregivers, and the support for past caregivers, and recovering from the difficult times.

All very helpful in my opinion.

You guys are pretty good coming up with names here!

I was thinking just now that I've gone from discussing elder care issues on AC, to now talking about the bowel movement problems of a geriatric cat!! Hoo boy, I can see some posters thinking they have better things to do than to discuss Elder Cat Care.

A vet visit is in order to rule out parasites, or rule out some other things I haven't thought of. But the cat is just fine... with some gross habits that he can't seem to help. Probiotics for kitties seems a solid first step to helping him out some but I'll wait to talk with a pro. He's a character, and good company, and doesn't seem in any pain or discomfort in the least, except when he's spasming with tummy or other-end sicks. He's not ready for Rainbow Bridge just yet.

Or Jack and Wellington... Are they boys or girls?

BootShop ~ You have two new kitties with boots! Name them Boot and Scoot... or anything you want lol... but what are you thinking for names? I didn't name my two or I think I would have given them names of my fave musical duos.

I finally saw it just now, the reason why the poop is outside the litter box. My old man tabby was walking with purpose, looked like he was heading to litter box (but who knows, really) and then stopped short and I noticed his hind quarters were spasming for about 30 seconds. He had a little bit of poo come out, then wandered off like "no big deal." So... the mystery of the random poop is solved! And as to the WHY? I'm not sure. He urinates in the box just fine. It could be that he is getting urges where he can't make it to the box. Could be he's just used to doing this at this point, too. But seems odd to me, unusual, that he urinates in the box consistently but is pooping in random spots all over apartment.

Is this bowel incontinence? I plan to have him checked out. The feces looks normal so I'm not thinking it's emergency for him at this time, just a problem with him controlling his urges, I guess.

I have 2 new baby kitties on my porch. 1 is black with white tipped ears and 4 white boots. The other is a grey, white, black calico looking mix with 4 white boots. I guess Mama weaned them and left them to me. I picked up baby kitty food tonight and put out fresh water. They are chowing down! Fresh Farm Kitties Yeah!

All the cats I have had over the last 40 years, would only eat canned food that has a pate. No sliced or shredded with gravy because they lick all the gravy and leave the rest, lol!

I read that after thecat has played with a certain toy for a while,then you take away that toy and reintroduce it again in a few weeks or they get bored of that toy.
As far as food and feeding mine,it's a smorgasboard at our house with every kind at the same time,from Friskies and 9 Lives to Meow Mix and Surf nTurf,wet and dry.They go down the line of dishes and turn their noses up though because they only want the expensive broths and stews at over a dollar a piece.

Send... I think catnip is pot for cats by the way mine act and Love it. I put it all over their scratchy-scratches and they eat it and roll in it and then they playfight or give each other baths or chase each other and then they crash out,go to sleep.

Yes send, my vet is against it too. The prescription cat food for sentsitive stomach is over $50. I reviewed comments from customers who have been using it. I no longer buy it but it helped when I needed something for my cat. Honestly, I don’t think we should have to get a prescription from the vet for these foods. My kitty’s issue s hairballs and the treats for that problem didn’t work for my cat.

Thank you Sharyn, for your input about Blue. The sales clerks were dead set against this brand, that I had requested!

Hubs "forgot" to tell me the kitty threw up "about 3 cans worth of food" the morning we went to get her stitches out. Too late for that information days later.
Since she poops regularly, and is not overfed (3 oz. can max per day + kibble), I don't know what to do with this likely " m i s i n f o r m a t i o n ". Vet said she is healthy.

Making a decision soon about what canned to feed her.  Too many choices, and not one to feed a cat something different each day.  Is that best?  Does she NEED a variety?

Hey Lu, you were exactly right, this is harder than I expected!!!  The finances must also be considered.

Ali, the cat toys have made all the difference!  I took a neighbor who had cats with me to two stores.  She recommended so many good ones.  Yours are older, so maybe a very few with catnip would work, but mine (at 11 months) just went crazy!!  She did not need that much stimulation.
What is catnip, a drug?  Maybe it is pot for cats? 

Kitty has her own toy box basket now.

My cat is 15 years old now. He has trouble from time to time with vomiting. It was worse a year ago. I fed him blue buffalo basics canned food. It has limited ingredients and does help with sensitive tummy issues.

Ali, I have 2 older cats who've become allergic to their food (dry), so switched to another brand without dyes - especially red #40 - in them and that worked for awhile. One of them is switched to canned cat food now, and a little dry now and then - no more throwing up. The dog now throws up bile about 6 hrs after eating, so I give her something at about 4-5 hours, and no more throw up. Just more management, not vet bills...

Send, I like how you described your kitty's coloring! Sounds cute! Delilah is a tortoise-looking cat, but not extreme markings, just a general tortoise looking kitty. She has big aqua green eyes, too, very pretty. :-)

My cats.

My old man tabby gets the pukes pretty regularly. It's tough to see him feeling so bad at times, but he rebounds very quickly and it doesn't seem to affect him long term. The best I can tell, these are not hairball related, but allergies to food, maybe. I plan to switch to a different brand of wet food and see if he tolerates it a little better. But overall, we are all doing fine.

I had a visitor at the apartment yesterday. The cats LOVED her, they were full of energy and curiosity and enjoyed interacting with her, she was giving them lots of rubs. Hm. Maybe they just need some more TLC from me...?? I'll get one of those teaser toys at the dollar store and see if they want to play. I was doing some sewing and Delilah was batting at the thread.

I'm still figuring out how to be a good cat mom.

For the love of Cats....And some heartbreak. The identical cat to mine (sister obviously), is now at the shelter, as well as a ten year old that I was keeping track of.

When Kitty had her stitches out today, the vet said she is Calico, and "diluted". That is why she is not black, Brown, and beige in spots, but instead looks smeared. Colors run together. Cute.

Now her sister is at the shelter. Wonder how many more? Sheesh. Hurts just a little, confused, just a little. Sure she will be adopted to a good home, and sure I can never have what I want. Must stop looking. Sad, maybe not so little.

Kitty is all fixed up, stitches are out.

She loves loves loves the Merrick Purrfect Bistro Surf Turf Pate. (Grain free). She eats it all, right away. It smells like some cat food from many years ago, probably the cheapest kind of "Friskies". Since it is gone right away, there are no odors left behind.

Lu, If I had lots of cats, I would be saving money buying something in a large can, not these 3 oz. Cans. Imo.

Another brand she is trying, "Fussie Cat", also grain free. The chicken comes in strings of meat. She picked it up with her paw, but left a lot.

No,,Odom isn't eating the kitten food freqflyer,but that was a good thought & Thank you.
Odom lives in a different area by himself,because the babies have always hissed at him when I've tried to introduce them sad to say.They all eat the same foods though because my little kittens turned into full grown cats on me.Theyr'e a year and 5 months old now already,but freqflyer you're right about the food being too rich I think and Odom should be on a special diet for his older age.Really,all of them NEED to go on a diet now and get some weight off.After they were all spayed,they got SO fat,but it's a huge relief to me that they are spayed.I can't afford any more babies physically or financially.

Ali, Ming has the problem with poo sticking to her. Occasionally I find pieces around the house. She is longer hair yes it does stick. Solution? Maybe less litter in the pan? Haven't tried myself yet. Shave her tush? Wouldn't want to try that.😬

FF, a coworker suggested that, when I told her about the situation, that the poo is sticking to cat behind. I don't think so. But the place where the poo shows up is always changing: tonight it was a small bit just outside the litter box. That's a new place.  If it were always there outside the box, I'd think it was sticking.  But it shows up in random spots everywhere around the apartment.  

Unless... the offender is the longer haired, younger gal. She does have longer hair. Still not a long haired cat but not short like the old man tabby cat. I just need to see this happen in action just once, I can move towards solving the mystery! lol

luckylu, I wonder if Odom is eating the kitten food, which may be too rich for him. When my cats became around 10 years old, I switched over to Purina One Healthy Maturity and that seems to work pretty good, knock on wood.

The cat soups, there is one made for a cat 15+ years. My cat prefers just to lick up the liquid and leave behind the chicken or fish, whatever was in that pouch. Yep, expensive liquid but we needed him to put on weight.

These cat soups are made to be mixed with regular cat food to get the cat interested in eating.

I had a friend who's cat liked can food and dry food all mixed together in one dish.

AliBoBali, by chance is the cat that decided to leave a bit of poop on your white rug a medium or long hair cat? I found with those breeds, the poop will stick to their little behinds and they don't realize it until they sit down. Oops.

My medium hair cat has thankfully claimed the litter box in the basement, so I will find poop outside of the box where it just got stuck onto her. She also will run to the basement to let loose of a hairball. Whomever taught her that [she has had 2 previous owners] I do thank them. The hairball cat food does help to cut down on the hairballs.

Thanks Send....But Odom is back in his litter box again today.He did sleep next to me at the foot of the couch where I sleep though,but left me a pile of urp there too when I woke up.I'm just gonna have to take him in to be seen,IF dH will cooperate.
Your food,The Merrick kibble is one we haven't tried.I'll give it a go next and hope my babies like it like yours does.
Hope all you cat and dog caregivers out there have a good day~

Food.
Chicken, ok. Turkey, a no. Cowboy Country, by Merrick, doesn't want anything else now, creating a scene, meow meow meow!
@ 3 1/2 oz. for $1.39, or was it $1.69.....That is expensive I am sure. Persuasive Petco helper!! Kitty loves her Merrick kibble.
This must be the beef, wondering if cats eat vegan? Sheesh.

We now have two litter boxes, placed strategically.

Thanks everyone!

Lu, hope Odom is better.

Thank you, Glad. Beetle pine killer litter.
Great ideas everyone. Dh and I are so allergic, trying for no litter odor at all. Additionally, I am now sure it is just to punish us, she fails to bury it. She makes all the moving the litter around movements, scratching to the bottom if the pan (we use plenty-maybe too much), creating a mountain of litter, but she missed!
Choices, choices, at this point, the idea of a soft pine scent appeals.

CM, if it's not expensive and the finicky cats eat it, this is the point!! lol

I woke up to another round of poo on the white fur carpet by my bed. 😠 I can't think what to do right now, can't take them in for examination because I work all this week. And... I really don't know which one is the culprit. I suspect older one but who knows..? Could be goofball younger one.