Cat running and pooping all over house....please help!!
 

Our 11 1/2 overweight female calico began pooping all over the house a few months ago. She will start running all around, up and down stairs, through rooms, almost in a panic. Then she will stop, squat, pant with her mouth open, while she starts to poop. Once the poop starts to come, she starts running again, leaving drops behind her. She has rarely used the litter box in the past few months (and not once in the past month).

We have had her to the vet a few times, but he is baffled. We initially thought constipation, so had her on a diet of soft food twice a day with pumpkin and prunes (with hard food at other times during the day). Her stools did soften up, but the problem has persisted. Her stools now are quite soft and she goes 1-2 times per day - constipation doesn't seem to be an issue.

Her anal glands have been cleaned a couple of times (one was quite full) but that hasn't stopped the problem.

She is not able to clean herself properly, so I give her a bath once a week. She is not overly dirty.

She has had a complete blood work up done and it came back normal.

She does urinate in the litter box (except when she is locked in the basement - because of the pooping problem - then she'll pee on the floor). When not locked up, she will go to the litter box to urinate; however, regardless of being locked up or not, she still poops all over the house.

The vet has suggested maybe something behavioural, but even he doesn't seem convinced that is the problem. We're currently on day 6 of a hypoallergenic diet and giving her prednisone, thinking it may have been an inflammatory bowel problem, but no change yet. My gut says it's something physical/medical rather than behavioural.

I'm getting pretty desperate - there has been talk of having to put her down, but I just can't justify putting down an otherwise healthy cat because of this. There has to be an answer out there.

Has anyone else had this problem? Any suggestions? We're running out of money for tests - wondering also what to try next? Enema? Colonoscopy? xrays? ultrasound? Going to call the vet again Monday but wondering if anyone had any ideas...

Thank you!

[QUOTE]We have had her to the vet a few times, but he is baffled.[/QUOTE]

Have you considered taking her to a different vet? Sometimes a new vet may be more insightful. My girl cat was doing the exact same thing your girl was doing for years. My regular vet said it was enlarged anal glands. So he would have to excrete her glands about every 2-3 months. I decided to take her to a new vet a few months ago when the symptoms came back. And the new vet diagnosed it to be constipation and did not think the anal glands were causing the problem. He gave her an enema and removed a huge blockage....poor girl. I am not saying your cats problem is constipation but a second opinion may help....

[QUOTE]She does urinate in the litter box (except when she is locked in the basement - because of the pooping problem - then she'll pee on the floor). When not locked up, she will go to the litter box to urinate; however, regardless of being locked up or not, she still poops all over the house.[/QUOTE]

One thing I wanted to suggest is putting a litterbox in the basement so she does not pee on the floor. Where is the litterbox located right now? Is it in a high traffic, noisy area? Could you put one in a quiet area and one also in the basement? Cats like quiet, hidden areas when going to the washroom. And their food should not be placed near the litterbox.


[QUOTE]I'm getting pretty desperate - there has been talk of having to put her down, but I just can't justify putting down an otherwise healthy cat because of this. There has to be an answer out there.[/QUOTE]

Putting her down b/c she is pooping does not sound like a logical solution to me....When my cat was pooping throughout the house - putting her down was not even a thought....

I hope someone can help shed some light on this for you :sorry:

[QUOTE=CaseyCat;732445]We're currently on day 6 of a hypoallergenic diet and giving her prednisone, thinking it may have been an inflammatory bowel problem, but no change yet. [/QUOTE]

It certainly sounds like she's in pain when defecating. What is the hypoallergenic food that she's on (wet or dry)? What was her diet in the past (wet, dry, brands and flavours)? Other than a diet related issue, which this could still be, the only other suggestion I have would be to maybe think about getting an ultrasound done. It's the least invasive and should be helpful in at least ruling out some issues, even if it doesn't completely diagnose the problem.

I definitely recommend getting a second opinion. I've had several experiences where one vet wasn't quite sure of a situation but the second vet nailed it.

You mentioned she pants... Is she panting like she's having a hard time breathing or panting because it hurts her to poo?

Also I've had an experience where a vet told me to put my cat to sleep (CRF) when she was clearly still exhibiting a zest for life. I got a second opinion and that vet said he would not advise putting her down (which I had already decided but wanted reassurance). Well, long story short, she lived for more than a year after that initial diagnosis!

Thank you everyone for your quick responses :)

Khari - you said it turned out that your cat had a blockage, but I'm wondering if she would still poop every day? Casey still poops 1-2 times per day, and her stools don't seem hard at all, which has made me think constipation is not the problem. But maybe there is something to this blockage issue? I'll have to run it by the vet. Thanks :)

It sounds positive that she is having a stool everyday! Back in the day I wasn't really aware of her bowel movements. All I knew was when she started to scoot around and leaving me presents on my bed, couch, carpet, etc. it was time to take her to the vet to get her glands excreted. Now I am very aware of her bowel movements because when she had the symptoms over a month ago I took her to a new vet and he found the blockage....and there have been points since then that she will not have a stool for up to 5 days....so I am trying to get this under control....so far with what i have her on she has been going everyday - yay!:fingerscr

Would you consider going to a different vet for a second opinion?

Thanks for the info Khari...the vet we're working with is very good - he's open to suggestions so I'll talk to him on Monday about a blockage. He may have already looked into this and just hadn't mentioned it, since she is pooping every day. Thanks again!

Has the vet tested her stool for intestinal parasites yet :shrug:?

Another thing I wanted to suggest is maybe taking your cat to a holistic or homeopathy vet? My new vet even recommended this to me regarding my cats constipation issues. I did finally take her to a holistic vet and now have her constipation under control :fingerscr The holistic vet deals with the whole picture not just the specific problem. They will look at your cats eating habits (nutrition) in depth as well. A normal vet does not have more than a few hours training on animal nutrition. They of course will tell you the best food to feed is the food in their office because they get kickbacks from every sale they make from the pet food industry. A homeopathy vet will look at the specific problem (maybe it is stress related) and focus on fixing the problem. When I went for the consultation with the holistic vet she said the constipation could be stress related and she recommended a homeopath for this problem.

I had been going to the same vet for 12 years and felt like I was doing something so bad by going to another vet but it was the best decision I have made. And wish I made the decision alot sooner....:shrug:

[QUOTE=luckypenny;732692]Has the vet tested her stool for intestinal parasites yet :shrug:?[/QUOTE]

I agree with luckypenny. The first thing I thought of when reading this thread was worms.

Running and pooping all over the house and panting at the same time is very unusual. It doesn't sound like a constipation problem, since she's pooping a couple of times a day. Was she very constipated at one time and passed a large stool that caused an anal fissure? So, every time she poops now it hurts her...that might account for the anticipation of pain and the panting. Panting is a pain or extreme stress reaction. Whatever it is, she has certainly got herself in a state about defecating, and it's triggered her "fight or flight" reaction---[I]flight[/I] in her case!

Perhaps a mild sedative from the vet might get her anxiety calmed down, or homeopathic "Rescue Remedy". If you've only got one litter box, a second is recommended in a different, quiet location.

Keep us posted, this is unusual behaviour.

Update
 

Hi all...an update on Casey. She's still not doing very well. We tried a hypoallergenic diet with a prescription of Prednisone (thinking she may have some sort of bowel inflammation) with no success. She is now on amitriptyline, but we are having trouble getting her to take it - we have to put it in soft food because getting her to take a pill is impossible (she is one tough cat - and the scratches on my arm are proof of that!). I think she can taste it in the food as she is very reluctant to eat it. She's only been on the amitriptyline for 5 days and no change yet. The vet did say we'd have to do about 3 weeks to see if it was going to work (the dose gets increased this Friday). She is urinating less now - only about once a day max, sometimes going two days without urinating. She usually poops every day (still running around the house while she does it!) but this week she went from Saturday to today (Tuesday) without pooping. She has taken to spending about 90% of her time under the covers on my bed (new behaviour) which leads me to think that maybe it is some sort of behavioural problem - some sort of anxiety. A couple of times she has pooped under the covers (gross, I know!) and a couple of times she has peed on my bed. I think it's bizarre that she will then sleep next to the poop, under the covers, until I find it. My mom thinks that maybe her system is shutting down - we're torn as to whether it's physical or behavioural (xrays are next step is amitryptiline doesn't work). Anyways, just wanted to update everyone and to see if anyone has any more suggestions??

I have seen a young healthy cat do this before. I was working in a pet supply store and the ding dong employee decided to feed the cat a free sample of a really bad brand of food.....well, I came in the next morning and the store had basically been covered in wall-to-wall sh-t. It was revolting, the cat ran everytime he felt it coming out. It must have burned and irritated his anal area and I'm sure he had terrible stomach cramps.
We left him without food for a day and started slowly back on his regular stuff.

Awww, your poor kitty :grouphug:

Amitriptlilyne comes in a trans dermal gel so you don't have to pill your cat, I am surprised your vet did not suggest that in the first place :confused:. This med has a horrible taste :yuck:.

Also, not sure if your vet has discussed regular bloodwork to check on your cat's liver and kidney function while on this med, but it can lead to liver issues in some cats. I had a baseline done on Sweet Pea prior to administering and every 6 weeks while on it. Also the heart should be monitored while on this drug.

[url]http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_amitriptyline.html[/url]

Amitriptyline
 

Casey was absolutely refusing to eat the pill crushed up in food (even though we have deprived her of everything else!) but today my vet gave me some chewable treats that are the same does of amitriptyline...she gobbled it right up! Totally made my day! Although she's still pooping everywhere... :( Need to give the meds time to work...

Cat running and pooping all over house...please help!!
 

My 11 year old neutered male cat has been doing [I]exactly[/I] the same thing for over a year now. We have 3 neutered male cats (brothers Puffy and Gibby, and 13 yr old Tacobell) and Gibby is the only one with this problem. Have tried almost every urine removal product on the market, plus purchased two carpet steam cleaners (full sized and small). I've been using Puppy Pee Pads all over my house to save myself the daily clean up - house looks awful but this method works (for the most part - call it "hit or miss"...) Funny thing is he actually folds over the pee pads himself, "covers" like he should be doing in a litter box!!?? The pads don't work on the bed though. For that I've purchased several large sized table protector pads, kind of fleecy on one side and plastic on the other. Picture that draped over your bedding! (I also put one under the quilted mattress pad to protect my king sized bed - works about 75% of the time).

I've tried every kind of litter imaginable including fresh sand from outside. I'm going to purchase a Breeze Litter System tomorrow because that is the last one I've yet to try...

We've had him to vets numerous time for x-rays, blood work ups, all sorts of tests ($$$$) and have been told there is nothing physically wrong with him. I've searched the internet for hours looks for ideas to try, and have tried just about everything, including homeopathic remedies. (All 3 cats are big fans of FELIWAY, a synthetic copy of the feline facial pheromone. I use both wall plug-ins and spray - makes them VERY happy and affectionate, reduces anxiety :thumbs up! But it's not cheap, [I]of course[/I].)

The problem still persists and last month he finally broke some bones in his front paw (more $$$) while running like and racehorse and jumping down from our first-floor bi-level to the entranceway floor (through the cut outs in our wall). Now he just stumps around with his cast on as fast as he can but still runs and poops - saddest thing you ever saw :sick:!! The panting appears to be anxiety because he knows what's coming.... Sorry, no solutions to this problem but wanted you to know you are not alone in this strange frustrating situation. Please keep the ideas coming! Something has GOT to work :fingerscr.

To clarify the constipation issue - [I]it is[/I] possible for a cat/dog to have a stool blockage (ie be constipated) and still poop, often in softer smaller quantities even having diareaha at the same time. Think of it this way: imagine a river (colon) with a big beaver dam in the middle (hard stool), the water flowing around the dam is the softer poop - what ever makes it around the blockage in the middle can/will still come out.

[QUOTE=puffngib;763786]have tried just about everything, including homeopathic remedies. (All 3 cats are big fans of FELIWAY, a synthetic copy of the feline facial pheromone. I use both wall plug-ins and spray - makes them VERY happy and affectionate, reduces anxiety :thumbs up! But it's not cheap, [I]of course[/I].)[/QUOTE]

Just want to point out here that Feliway is [I]not[/I] a Homeopathic remedy. Feliway is a pheromone (aka a chemical ~ be it synthetic or natural) that works to trigger a natural behavioural response from the targeted species, being that is a chemical phermone is not homeopathic however the reasoning behind the use is more along the lines of homeopathy - like cures like.

In the blood tests that were done did they test for T4 aka Tetraiodothyronine? This will show on a complete blood panel aka wellness test and is sometimes a separate test just known as a T4.

Many older cats have HyperThyroidism and one of the lesser known symptoms can be pooping outside the litterbox (this was the case with my cat when she had it) and often but not always this is because of diarreah a more known symptom.

Having some success! (knock on wood) :)
 

Thanks to everyone for their replies...Puffngib - it's a relief to hear we're not the only ones with this problem! I'm happy to say that things are looking up on our end - since my last post, we discontinued the amitriptyline, which had not made a difference at all. We took her to a new vet, who suggested trying lactulose, still thinking it was a constipation problem. She was on that for a couple of weeks, with no change, when I went away on vacation for a week. Casey stayed with my mom, and was clearly upset that I was away - my mom lost count how many times she peed (and contined to poop!) outside of the litter box. She got better with the peeing when I returned, although still the occasional time outside of the box. By this point - early March, she hadn't pooped in the litter box since Dec 31...we made another appt. with the new vet, since the next step was an xray. We wondered about megacolon...the xray was done, and didn't show anything other than some mild degeneration in her lumbar sacral area. The vet thought that maybe she was having some pain in that area when she tried to poop, so she prescribed metacam in addition to continuing with the lactulose. After four days on the metacam/lactulose combo with no change, we talked to the vet again. The only thing else she could suggest was that it had become a learned behaviour and she needed to be retrained on the litter box. I was very skeptical, since I was so convinced it was a physical problem. Anyways, I bought her a brand new litter box, filled it with new litter, set up a little area for her in the basement (about 4x3 feet) with her bed, water, food, and litter box all right together. Kitty jail, basically. I cried my eyes out when I put her in there, because I knew it was our last hope, and that she was staying there until she was retrained. The first day she pooped on her bed, and peed on the floor - but since last Wed evening (a week now) she has consistently pooped and peed in the litter box, and has even taken to covering it up, which she has not done for a long time. We continue to give her the metacam and lactulose. Her BMs have become more frequent, and she is no longer running around. She has graduated out of her little cage to the full basement, but she is still caged in the basement until Sunday. We'll let her out then and see how she does. Hard to say whether it was the new litter box, the metacam, or the confinement with the litter box so close by, but whatever it was, it's a relief that it seems to be working. Good luck Puffngib with whatever you try next, and please keep us posted :)

Thanks for the update. This sounds very promising, and I hope this fixes her problem. :fingerscr One of my cats recently has started to do something similar. After he's pooped in his covered litter box, he charges out and runs all over the house like a wild man! I turned his littter box so that it faces into a corner, so he can't do that. Have no idea why he started it, but at least he's pooping in the box. Strange!

Cat running and pooping
 

I'm experiencing a very similar problem and have not found the solution. I changed food, had her urine tested, had her on a stool softener, and all to no avail. My cat is peeing and pooping out of the box, and always running like a crazy cat as she drops poop all over the house.

I now have her sequestered in my bathroom with two different litter boxes. Oddly, she frequently runs into the linen closet when I enter the room. Sometimes she will sit on the edge of the bathtub. Sometimes in the closet.

She has peed on the window sill, on top of the vanity, in the sink and a few times on the tile floor. The other night she totally soaked the bedding I put in the linen closet. Just yesterday she finally peed in one of the boxes. She doesn't drink much water at all, and I've shifted her to all wet food so she gets more water. My vet thinks this is all a behavioral problem! It's interesting to read that someone else is experiencing the same thing, but what's the solution?

My seven year old male cat Santino is having the same problem. The vet suggested that he may have injured his back since cats have a hard time controlling the anal muscles with a back injury. Santino has struvite crystals and I have him on Hill's SD. Both problems happened at the same time so I feel it's related. He has gotten sooo much better after 1 1/2 months on the food so I'm gonna keep monitoring him for improvements/changes. He's going in the litter box now when I show it too him and I give him treats after. Good Luck and let me know if you find the answer!!!

Same EXACT Problem
 

I'm sorry if I missed something, I only briefly skimmed through the threads, but did you ever find out why this was happening or find a way to stop it? I have the exact same problem only my cat is a baby, just turned 1. She does the running & panting and pooping in very odd places. She also hides under covers a lot now and has pooped under the covers. I also cannot fathom why she would be pooping in bed where she sleeps! Was there any conclusion on this

Thanks.

I didn't read this whole thread, I just wanted to say that YES it IS possible to have a partial blockage when an animal (or person!) is still passing stools (called by-passing). Soft and liquid stool can still move through a partially blocked intestine.

OMG.... My Male 8 year old cat is doing the same thing. Only he is hissing instead of panting. But running around pooping.... He has had blood tests, x-ray, been on different meds.... nothing is working!! He has to be hurting, I feel so bad for him. It has helped reading some of the posts. We take him to another vet next week. I'm hoping another vet will have a different suggestion. We've gotten his poop soft enough, that it shouldn't be causing pain... but something is sure going on.

Do you have and small kids in your house? I am wondering if something was pushed up her and causing to hurt.

Not sure I can help diagnose, but my kitty is having poop issues.

Mine cries every time it comes upon him, and he starts to scratch and run. Its like explosive diarrhea, basically it comes on so fast he cannot make it to the litter tray. What might help is putting the kitty locked in a room, with a separate litter tray. I have 1 in the basement, and 1 upstairs. So when he panics, he has one close to him at all times.

You could also try a fluffy rug..weird..I know..but if he cannot find either tray he instinctively goes for a rug, I found when he is really upset he uses our fluffy bath mat - i guess it soothes his red hot bum :(

This might help at least control the poop issue until you can get a diagnosis.

This is an ongoing issue for me too.
 

My cat does this every day, has for years. My cat is an incredibly high stress animal and we (vet and I) think there maybe a combination of issues that caused this behavior to become learned. When this first started he had severe constipation and hard bloody stools. This caused pain he would scream and run while pooping. He also had a break down when my brother stayed with us (high stress). There seems to be a multitude of factors as he also has food allergies, and I can't switch food due to it being high fiber. Which has helped immensely with the pain issues but it is still uncomfortable for him. due to the over large droppings. He is a very codependent animal (as are the other two) which is a great thing in this case.

What we do daily is walk him to the litter box and hold him in while calmly praising him. At first it was long hours locked in the Bathroom with him. It was the only small space I could be sure to get to him in time. After four plus hours I finally got him to go. I continued this over the next week bringing him into the room and calmly repeated holding him in. Now he goes every day, most times he whines or scratches to let us know it's potty time. He still freaks out so holding him is a must 90% of the time, and we still have the occasional accident about once a month.

My suggestion is to Do almost the same get them in a small easily controlled space and start a new routine of assistance and comforting while you wish you were any where else.

My cat runs and poops
 

Hi Everyone:

Since August 2014, I noticed that My Izzie lulu has been leaving me presents around the house. Wet poops, dry poops, diarrhea She pees and occasionally she poops in the box but for the most part She has been running really fast, stopping pooping and then running again all over the house, I have tried, Dr. Elsyes litter guaranteed to put your cat in the box but to no avail. I have taken her to the vet and been told this is behavior because of the other cats, I have purchased her old litter, a new 2 new litter boxes with a lid. She has now taken to peeing on my body pillow at the top of my head while i am sleeping. but my heart tells me something is wrong with her. Recently, i noticed that she has circled the furniture, like a train choo choo choo choo 3x then she stops behind the couch and poops. then there are all these little pieces all up the stairs. I am finding dry poops on my desk, my printer/fax machine, under the beds, But today, she had blood on her fur around her butt. My izzie has never been so sucky, clinging to me like a small child who doesn't want to be released to a family member or worse the dr. who is going to give her a needle. The vet wants me to bring her in for observations. There goes another $200.00 i don't have. If anyone has found the problem please let me know. she has had samples taken, I have used feliway to keep her calm that didn't work either. I recently purchased rescue remedy and put it in the water which won't work unless she drinks the water like the rest of the cats. Please someone if you know what is wrong. i will be happy to take it to the vet or another vet.:shrug:

[url]http://cats.lovetoknow.com/Feline_Geriatric_Vestibular_Syndrome[/url]



It could be vertigo , I met a woman and her dog was running around in circles and standing a corner of room like he was stuck there . The dog had vertigo and was given some meds .

kittykatie4353, what does Izzie eat?