Recently we said goodbye to our Tuffy, who has been at peace for almost two months. Now the focus is on the oldest of our remaining three cats. 11-year-old Tiger, shown here with her adopted daughter Paisley, is developing her own share of problems.

Even as a young cat, Tiger was always obese, despite the fact that she eats the same food on the same schedule as the other cats in our house, who are of normal weight. As she is growing older, I find I must regularly bathe and brush her because she is not flexible enough to groom herself. While she loves to be in bed or on the couch next to us, she can no longer jump up on the furniture under her own power, and needs us to lift her. She doesn't walk so much as she waddles--it would be funny to watch, except that I imagine it is uncomfortable or painful for her, and I empathize.

Now there are new developments. For a while, there, we thought it was our young, healthy Alex, originally a house guest but now a permanent member of our family, who was leaving his droppings beside the litter boxes instead of in them. We supposed he didn't like having to share restroom facilities with other cats, and we wondered what to do about it. Even though we have the same number of boxes as we do cats, I didn't see a way we can designate one for Alex only, and stop Tiger and Paisley from using it. But, it turns out that's a problem we don't have to worry about, because we were wrong. It wasn't Alex. A few days ago, I caught Tiger in the act of doing her business beside, not in, the litter box.

The first thing we did was apologize to Alex for assuming it was him. Next we looked for a solution to the apparent problem that Tiger cannot climb over the sides of a regular litter box. We had been keeping an open-sided, uncovered box for her convenience, since we already guessed she could not climb into a covered box. But apparently even the open-sided box was too challenging for her. We asked for advice and got a good suggestion: an online friend said that when he had a cat with a similar problem, he used a cookie sheet lined with litter. We have now replaced the open-sided box with a cookie sheet as suggested, with mixed results.

This is where it gets strange.

Tiger knows to urinate on the cookie sheet. I've seen her do it, and I smiled my approval and told her she had it right. But she is still dropping her solid waste beside the cookie sheet, instead of on it. There is a bathtub mat underneath the cookie sheet, the same bathtub mat that had been under the open-sided litter box. She does do her business on the mat, as opposed to the unprotected floor. But why does she not connect it to the cookie sheet, when she knows to urinate there?

Warning, this next part is gross.

Furthermore, she appears to be constipated. Her stools are hard and dry even when they are fresh, and twice I have cleaned away hard stool that was hanging out of her. After preliminary research, I have eliminated the free range dry food from her diet. I put the dry food dispenser up on the counter top, where Alex and Paisley can still get it if they want it, but Tiger can't. We feed wet food twice a day, one can divided three ways, and now that's all Tiger gets. I've read mixed reviews on whether laxatives are safe for a cat, and I'm not taking a chance with giving her one until I check with a vet. When we have caught up our own medical bills a little better, we will take Tiger in for a checkup--sooner if she gets sick. I may have to give her an enema. I have given a kitty enema before, to a cat I had years ago, and it saved his life--he had gotten into my sewing box and had swallowed a bunch of thread, which blocked him up like a hairball. So I know how to do that if I have to.

Can anyone give me any other information on Tiger's condition? What laxatives, if any, are safe for her? What dietary changes, besides eliminating dry food, will help? Is 2/3 of a can of food every day sufficient for her? Should kitty treats be eliminated along with the free range dry food? And how can I help her to connect doing #2 with the cookie sheet, as she already connects doing #1? Or is leaving her droppings on the bathtub mat underneath the cookie sheet the best she can do?

[hentaywee]

Have you thought about it possibly being Tiger's way of trying to communicate to you that he is constipated? My cat acts differently (energy,vocals, litterbox use etc) when he gets that way. She my be in pain and attempting to ask for help by getting your attention that way.

I hope you get things figured out and that Tiger feels better soon

Suggestion for you............... we have been having a discussion about the same issue with my cat. Read the thread on "Quandry with my 8 year old cat" and after you read this thread, let's talk more about this.

Thank you. I didn't see that thread first. It was educational about the Miralax and the pumpkin.

Questions remaining: Is 2/3 of a can of food every day sufficient for Tiger? Should kitty treats be eliminated along with the free range dry food?

Question possibly answered: Why does Tiger urinate on the cookie sheet, but defecate beside it? The suggestion was made that maybe that's her way of telling me she's constipated.

And for the record, those with older kitties who can't climb into a regular box, the cookie sheet seems to be a good idea.

[Beauty From Despair]

No solutions, but some possible encouragement. Our cat is 17. She has had thyroid cancer twice and has been in kidney failure for about a year. The vet said she could live to 20! Kitties can be more resilient than we think!

I might know why Tiger is defecating beside the cookie sheet..... just a hunch............here is what I am thinking............I observe my cat taking a poop whenever I get the opportunity and it's all been about poop lately, which I don't mind. I have noticed that my cat digs deep into the litter for awhile, sniffs, turns around, digs in another place, and repeats this behavior until for some reason he has found the spot and then poops. I think Tiger can't dig because it's not deep enough and there might not be sufficient litter to cover it up. It's all instinctual. Then there is the pain factor too, which he is experiencing. My cat has been on a drug that has helped called Neurontin or the generic is Gabapentin. That is one theory. Perhaps buying a cooking sheet that has higher sides - one inch high or two inches high, to support digging and more litter but not to high to hurt him getting into the "litter pan".

Now, this website has ideas for litter pans and also, you can call and speak to someone who will listen and make suggestions about this:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/

I just found this website yesterday and it goes into alot of detail about constipation:
http://www.felineconstipation.org/

Lastly, your vet might be another good resource for you too.

The more fiber you get into your cat, the better the poop will be, hence why I am using Miralax. I am not taking him off of his dry crunchies as that is all he prefers, but I have added food that is designed for hairball control along with his adult light food, it's high in fiber. Treats, I would keep giving but limit how much you give. After all Tiger needs to be appreciated and treats help.

Then there is the anxiety factor for Tiger. Have you heard about Feliway? It's a pheromone and comes in spray or plug-in dispenser. You can buy it online or at Petsmart/Petco. It helps reduce anxiety and perhaps consider purchasing this and spraying around the litter boxes and see if this helps.

BTW, I love your pics, sooo cute (((hugs)))

Keep posting

Originally Posted by LovebirdsFlying

Thank you. I didn't see that thread first. It was educational about the Miralax and the pumpkin.

Questions remaining: Is 2/3 of a can of food every day sufficient for Tiger? Should kitty treats be eliminated along with the free range dry food?

Question possibly answered: Why does Tiger urinate on the cookie sheet, but defecate beside it? The suggestion was made that maybe that's her way of telling me she's constipated.

And for the record, those with older kitties who can't climb into a regular box, the cookie sheet seems to be a good idea.

Someone on another site suggested boiled or roasted chicken as a treat. I gave some to Tiger last night, and boy, did she love it! We can't stand the thought of giving the other cats treats and then leaving her out, so we've gone to just not giving her as many, but maybe we can also give her chicken when the others get dry treats, or buy wet treats just for her.

(By the way, Tiger is a female. I can see the reason for the confusion. Her full name is Tigerlily. We call her Tiger for short. She is also big for a female and of a color that is more common in males, but she is a lady, through and through.)

Her stools are looking a little better now, but she's still dropping them beside, not on or in. Maybe it is a digging thing. Thanks for the help. And pain is most likely a factor, since she doesn't squat to do her business. She just stands there.

We have instituted a rule that at meal times, Tiger gets served first. It was that way with Tuffy when she was with us, because Tuffy's food had supplements in it, and we had to make sure it went to HER. I think the other cats assumed it was because Tuffy was the oldest that she got served first, but they were cool with that, so we've continued it for Tiger. It seems only fair.

Been wondering how Tiger is coming along? Any improvement?

Originally Posted by LovebirdsFlying

Someone on another site suggested boiled or roasted chicken as a treat. I gave some to Tiger last night, and boy, did she love it! We can't stand the thought of giving the other cats treats and then leaving her out, so we've gone to just not giving her as many, but maybe we can also give her chicken when the others get dry treats, or buy wet treats just for her.

(By the way, Tiger is a female. I can see the reason for the confusion. Her full name is Tigerlily. We call her Tiger for short. She is also big for a female and of a color that is more common in males, but she is a lady, through and through.)

Her stools are looking a little better now, but she's still dropping them beside, not on or in. Maybe it is a digging thing. Thanks for the help. And pain is most likely a factor, since she doesn't squat to do her business. She just stands there.

We have instituted a rule that at meal times, Tiger gets served first. It was that way with Tuffy when she was with us, because Tuffy's food had supplements in it, and we had to make sure it went to HER. I think the other cats assumed it was because Tuffy was the oldest that she got served first, but they were cool with that, so we've continued it for Tiger. It seems only fair.

She's still not caught on that the cookie sheet is for stools as well as urine, but taking away the free-range dry food may have been a good thing. She's always been obese. Maybe just losing weight would help her. This morning I noticed she was walking better. We haven't had a chance yet to get a slightly deeper dish and see if that works.

Thanks for asking.

Been wondering about Tiger I'm taking away the dry food as well to lower my cat's fiber intake, but keeping up with the Miralax and grain free wet food. I have a thought for you. I took my cat to the vets yesterday and what I thought was constipation apparently isn't. He has alot of lower lumbar and hip pain. If your kitty is having pain and associates the litter box with pain, could be why Tiger is going outside the pan. Just a thought. My cat was giving a long acting steriod for inflammation and pain and I take him back in next Thursday. An hour after the shot, he pooped three times without any problem.

Originally Posted by LovebirdsFlying

She's still not caught on that the cookie sheet is for stools as well as urine, but taking away the free-range dry food may have been a good thing. She's always been obese. Maybe just losing weight would help her. This morning I noticed she was walking better. We haven't had a chance yet to get a slightly deeper dish and see if that works.

Thanks for asking.

I'm sure she does have lower lumbar and hip pain. It just plain *looks* difficult for her to walk, but it's getting easier now that we have taken her off the dry food. She might be losing a little bit of weight, which can only help her.

You can see her big fat self here; she's asking for a belly rub. (I don't tell her she's fat. I know how that feels. But I do want to help her lose weight, just like I need to do too.)