Cat pooping next to the litter box

(Canada)

We have a cat who is about 13 years old. For about the last 4 months, she has been pooping next to her litter box.

She had occasionally peed there as well, but I have since totally washed out the box and filled it with fresh litter, so the peeing has stopped.

A month ago, our other cat, who was diabetic, stopped eating and a few days after that, went out for the night and never returned.

Not sure if she knew he was approaching the end of his life and that has something to do with this current issue, or not. We used to have 2 litter boxes, but I have since removed one, after Chester passed away.

I had read on a forum that if your cat scoots it's bum on the carpet, that is a bad sign. Anyone know what that means? Any idea why she is not using her box?

Help!!!

My Thoughts:

First off, I'm sorry to hear that your cat passed away. Second, I'm also sorry to hear that your other cat is having problems.

When a cat is scooting its butt on the ground, it's a sign of a problem. Two possible conditions come to mind: either constipation or impacted anal glands, or both.

One of our readers wrote about Cinnamon, a then 8 year old female cat who was leaving "scooting marks" on the carpet.

It turned out that she had impacted anal glands. A trip to the vet to expel them solved the problem. It's possible that this will solve your problem altogether.

Cats are very emotional beings and it's possible that your cat has gone off the box because of Chester's illness.

One thing I would not do is remove a litter box from the house when a cat is having box problems. I would certainly want to have 2 boxes (the recommended number during the best of times) for a single cat that is having issues.

If your kitty is repeatedly using one spot next to the box, I'd place the second box right on that spot.

I hope that helps and please keep us posted on her situation.

-Kurt