Poop problem

[Peachy]

Help! My male cat Toby is almost 10 years old. Lately, he has been pooping on the floor and on the couch. We thought it was because his litter was dirty, but we scoop it every other night, and it has been working.. Up until now! Any suggestions?

[Traci]

Has he been checked by your vet?

[Guest]

We haven't brought him to the vet.. We thought it was something minor that we could fix.. Is that the best solution?

[jason]

it's best to rule out health issues as they tend to get worse quickly, behavioral/social techniques can easily be applied once you know you are dealing with a behavioral/social issue.

have anything changed recently in the house? how long has the stool been placed out of the box? is it always in the same place? is your cat overwieght? do you notice changed with the stool itself? does you cat appear to be laboring when defecating? when was the last vet visit? are there health issues that you know about with your cat?

[Guest]

There have been no changes at all in our house. My cat is a little overweight, not that active.. It's been a long time since he's last visited the vet. But he has been pooping out of the litter box for quite some time now. Although, he hasn't been doing it constantly; he'll do it at random. The stool is found generally in the same area, which is within 20 ft. of his litter box, but never the same exact spot. There aren't any health issues I'm aware of, nor does he appear to have trouble going. The stools appear normal as well. Any idea what's going on?

[Traci]

Again, get him checked by your vet, you need to rule out a potential underlying illness. Any cat over the age of 7 should recieve yearly exams plus bloodwork to keep ahead of common illnesses.

[jason]

Any idea what's going on?

no, sorry..i sure dont. maybe increase number of boxes and get one with low sides.