Thank you all for your feedback. 
We are having a great day. All poop where it belongs, all eating and drinking and catnapping well.
(What does it say about a cell phone designer when its speller comes up with “catbapping” instead of “catnapping”?) No catbapping here!
“Flatching” I can get. Catbapping? No way!
Older cats can run into issues with their nails. They may be unable or unwilling to groom their nails. They can become overgrown and even ingrown.
Cats who have been declawed can start re-growing nails, sometimes inside the closed digit.
these issues can cause pain and box reluctance.
furrier cats can get Klingons as their force and push diminishes. The fur around the rectum and upper legs can be trimmed to avoid feces clinging then dropping off in places other than the box.
cans in general can be very particular about litter and if it changes, even scented or non-scented type, it can be rejected.
older cats produce larger urine balls and it may be important to scoop the box twice a day to keep it as fresh as possible.
“Furrier cats can get Klingons”? :lol: God bless Autospell wreck…
Any way, try a litter brand called Cat Attract. Little pricey but it can get the cat back to thinking the box is the proper place to go, Pheremone treated I suppose. Worked great to correct my much younger cat who suddenly stopped pooping in the box. That and the MiraLax or store brand equivalent. It’s a stool softener, not a laxative, no messes.
When my old gal hit 17, she had similar problems. I relocated a box to the corner she was using instead, that helped. Until she forgot, they can go in and out of confusion and Im sure sight and hearing aren’t what they were.
My vet told me elderly cats lose full use full use of the back end due to plaque building up in the large artery providing the blood to work it. Worse on the left side IIRC. It’s not just arthritis. Nothing can be done for it.
Thank you all very much for your feedback.
We are having another good day today; I am going to consider that one time a fluke and take it from here.
Will look for Miralax tomorrow; it is on my grocery list.
She is definitely constipated, I think. She tried to go about 3 times today but no success. I gave her Miralax, about 1/8 tsp or a little less in some tuna water for lunch, but the label said it could take a day or two. She seems to feel fine, is eating and drinking well. I am going to keep an eye on her tonight and give more Miralax tomorrow, if that doesn’t help her I will take her to the vet.
My boys get 1/8 tsp Miralax and 1/8 tsp psyllium powder daily, and sometimes I give it twice a day. If I stop giving it, I start getting hard poops and start seeing them outside the box sometimes.
She may need a visit to the vet to clear her out, then on a regular program of Miralax.
Thanks, Zevida.
I had been giving her yogurt and wondered if that could constipate her; some sites I looked at recommend yogurt for constipation, though; others recommend a little milk, others, canned pumpkin.
I will see how the Miralax does, may also try a senior cat food (have been feeding indoor). Also just switched to a different canned food because my younger cat will not eat any of the canned flavors of our usual brand. This new food is a pate, which of course has less liquid than the “gravy” flavors I have been getting; I may keep feeding this older kitty the gravy ones, for the liquid, and let the younger one eat the new foods since she likes them and is better about drinking water.
Pate usually mixes quite well with water, RPM. All my cats prefer it, and I mix enough water into it to make it the consistency of a thick pea soup. I’m of the opinion that the more water you can get into them, the better. And, if your cat cleans up her food, it works well for mixing with the Miralax, also.
Thanks, Louise.
My cats are good water drinkers, so I don’t add water to the food. I do feed a pate, and they eat it right up with the Miralax and psyllium mixed in.
Thanks, everyone!
I gave her Miralax yesterday and today and she has had two good poops! In the litter box, even! She feels fine and is eating well. I mixed some warm water with her food today (and for the other kitty too) and they both seem to like it so I will keep doing that.
She turned 18 today and we had a great party with catnip!
My “younger” kitty (11 1/2) is having no problems but I will probably go on mixing her food with water too since she is not exactly a kitten.
To also share things I saw online: giving a little milk can help with constipation ( (but I don’t want to give any more of this because I don’t want a UTI). A few greens can help (green beans or peas or kale or spinach – my girl ate a little bit of spinach today so I may use that as a fallback), or some canned pumpkin. I would rather go natural than medical as I do not want her to become dependent on a laxative, but as long as the Miralax is working I will stick with it, since so many of you recommended it from your own experience. I certainly won’t mix all the above!
My younger kitty drinks from their bowl; older kitty will only drink from the toilet, the kitchen tap, my water glass, or any glass/bowl she finds in the sink with water in it.
I found with a cat I had in the past that he often pooped outside the litter box when he had a urinary tract infection. He always urinated in the box, which seemed weird if he had an infection.
“Furrier cats can get Klingons”? :lol: God bless Autospell wreck…
nope, entirely on purpose
that is what we called them at work
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