Lost Memory Kitty Going Bathrrom on Floor
 

Hi, I have a 16 year old kitty named Rockie. She still gets around pretty well, meets me at the door after work and yes still hits me up when I’m cooking for Food Love. My problem is that in the last two months she started going to the bathroom on the floor. I bought an extra litter box and place it in another room but that doesn’t seem to be working. In fact she’ll just go #2 right next to the box sometimes? I’m thinking maybe she’s getting to old to remember where to go, but I know her memory is good, she still begs and does everything like always. Has anyone had this sort of issue? I Love her and will be devastated when she passes but she’s doing great except for the potty deal is becoming a bummer.
Thanks for your time,
John

Have you taken Rockie to the vet for a full senior wellness check up including bloodwork & urinalysis in order to rule out any medical issues that may cause inappropriate elimination?

Is Rockie having trouble jumping on/off furniture or walking up/down stairs? It is also a good idea to have the vet check her hips & joints for arthritis, she may be having difficulty getting over the sides of the box.

:goodvibes: and let us know what the vet says

Hi John, and welcome to the forum!

When cats suddenly begin ignoring the litter box and eliminate elsewhere, it usually isn't due to memory loss...more likely, there's a medical issue in the picture.

It's also posible that some change has occurred (new litter, some change in the litter box area) that is deterring her from the box.

If this happened here, I'd first be doing some detective work to identify anything in that environment which may have changed.

In any case, if she hasn't seen a Vet in the past year, this would be a good opportunity for you to start her on yearly wellness exams. Rocky's now 16 - that's 80 in human years! - and the accepted practice these days for senior cats is yearly physical exams with bloodwork and urinanalysis (with a "simple" physical at 6 month intervals). Cats age much faster than humans (next year she'll be 84 in human years)...therefore the need to keep ahead of any developing health issues.

(One example of a medical problem could be constipation...IF she were having difficulty passing stool, it could be painful for her - she would then associate the pain with the litterbox and go elsewhere next time in an attempt to avoid the pain...)