My 10-year-old cat suddenly poops on the bed. Is it anxiety?

These types of behaviors can be very frustrating and can be difficult to resolve. The easiest thing to do is to add an additional litter box in that area to see if this helps. A good rule for cats is one litter box per cat plus an additional one. Another option would be trying feliway which is available as a spray or a diffuser to see if this helps with some stress your pet may be experiencing when you leave. Other types of medications for behavior modification would be prescription based so I would recommend reaching out to your family veterinarian regarding those options if necessary. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hi there. Yes, you could certainly try leaving the litter box in your attached bathroom so that it's closer and easier for her to get to, as a starting point. But in a cat this age, I would be very suspicious of an underlying medical issue causing this behavior - this can be true even if she appears generally healthy otherwise, on the outside. Possible causes would include hyperthyroidism, a GI problem such as chronic pancreatitis or inflammatory bowel disease, or arthritis making it difficult or painful for her to get into the litter box when she needs to go. I would recommend a vet visit for a thorough physical exam and some basic lab work to check for these issues. If she has a medical problem of some kind, having it treated appropriately will often resolve the unwanted accidents.

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. A cat can be "healthy" and still have urination issues as you have described because the problem is behavioral and not medical. If it has been ruled out that she does not have any underlying medical conditions (kidney issues, bladder problems, UTI, etc) then you should try the behavioral modification medication. The medications work well and cats rarely have any side effects with their use. Please talk to your vet about this. This problem is not only stressful for you but also for Prune. And typically what happens is, if you rehome her, she will do the same behavior at the new person's house. Inevitably they get frustrated and they will rehome her and the cycle continues as she is passed from home to home. She may even end up at a shelter as unadaptable which in some shelters means euthanasia. Please don't do that to her and speak to your vet about medication. I can tell you love her very much and someone else may not feel the same about her. The medication is not expensive and typically is easy to administer. The medication does not usually change their attitude towards you or change their personality in any drastic way. It is an easy solution. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. This is a frustrating thing and is very likely behavioral since it is both poop and urine. If it’s the exact same spot on the bed, the first thing I would try is getting a litter box for right on the bed where he goes. If he goes for that, awesome. Leave it there a few days (cleaning it daily of course) and then slowly start moving it toward the side of the bed, an inch or two each day. 

 This could be that he feels there is competition with another cat, has anxiety, cor some other thing that we may never figure out. 

 Spraying that area with products designed to get rid of the smell, rearranging the furniture, keeping th bedroom door shut at all times are also all tactics to try.

 Finally, speak to your vet about anti-anxiety/behavior modification medication which can help quite a bit with inappropriate elimination. 

 Best wishes to you and Jack.

If this is a recent behavior change for Cuddles, the first step would be to have him examined by a vet as soon as you are able to - there are a number of medical problems that can cause accidents outside the litter box, so your vet may recommend basic blood work and other testing to check for any evidence of a problem. If everything comes back normal, then it is likely that the issue is behavioral. Having accidents like this is often a stress or anxiety-related behavior in cats - if there have been any recent changes in the household, such as a new pet or a new baby, a move to a new house, or a guest staying with you, these could all be reasons for him to be pottying in inappropriate places. There may also be something about the litter box that he finds objectionable - he may not like the type of litter provided, or the location of the box. It can sometimes take some detective work to pinpoint the problem in cases like this, so if you're still stumped, I would consider making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist - he/she can meet your cat in person and do an in-depth evaluation to help diagnose the problem and develop a plan to treat it. In the meantime, you can try a Feliway diffuser in the house or a natural calming supplement such as Composure to see if this helps.

I’m sorry to hear you are dealing with that, I know how frustrating it is. She might have a health issue, such as a urinary tract infection, bladder stone, or an endocrine disease, or it may just be behavioral. Take her to your vet to have her examined, and have some lab work run to rule out a medical cause. If it is behavioral, there are things you can do to try to help. You may find this article helpful: https://www.petcoach.co/article/inappropriate-elimination-urination-defecation-spraying-in/ Before we call it behavioral, a medical condition should be ruled out. Thanks for asking PetCoach!

Poor Lalu! It sounds like he's quite worried about having to be around your other cat since they don't get along, as well as being a somewhat anxious kitty in general. There are a few things you can do to help. First, I would make sure that you have multiple litter boxes, food and water bowls, resting places, scratching posts, and other resources in different parts of the house so that he doesn't have to go around your other cat - this can help tremendously to reduce stress in multi-cat households. Especially try to make sure that all of these things are available in the areas that he normally likes to spend time in - many anxious cats have accidents outside the litter box, or don't eat well, because they can't get to their litter box or food bowl without crossing the other cat. You can also try Feliway pheromone diffusers throughout the house to help reduce stress and promote more social behavior. Finally, you could also use a natural calming supplement like Zylkene or Composure to help with his anxiety - these can be ordered online without a prescription, and are very helpful for some anxious cats.