Pet Anxiety Question

[Cooper]

So, I've got a bit of a dilemma. I'm really not sure what to do.

So, my elderly cat (14-15) started going outside her box. Here's the timeline for that:

* Moved
* Few months pass
* Let the rabbit live outside her cage (so they share territory all the time now, not just for a few hours a days
* Few weeks pass
* New litterbox. It's covered, taller.
* starts going outside cage
* puts box in front of litterbox to make it easier to get in
* continues going outside of cage
* changes litter, gets a shorter hooded box
* continues going outside of cage

Sometimes I noticed I'd have cleaned all the poop, went upstairs to have dinner (she's stuck downstairs because of another cat, who she has shared territory with before) and came back down to more poop.

Each time I caught her going outside her litterbox, I'd make her sniff the poop, put her in the litterbox. I can tell that hasn't worked, because today I did a test. I sat upstairs for a few hours. I came back down just now to find poop outside her cage. I've also still had to clean the box, so she is going inside her cage too.

Separation anxiety wasn't anything new with her. I'd always kinda figured it was a possibility: she always got rather upset when I left, always wanted to be in the same room as me, or at least have the option (if I took a bath the door had to be open so she could get in). She's always been underweight, and anxious about her food (settled when I just ripped the bag open, and she knows exactly how much food she has left.)

I've broken down and finally decided to take her to a vet. If the vet suggests an anti-anxiety medication, should I say yes?

I'm on one, but I worry about whether or not I'm considering this just to make her easier to be around and deal with.

[BlaqueKatt]

* New litterbox. It's covered, taller.
* starts going outside cage

being a covered box it may scare her, cats DON'T like change.
Mine will go outside the box if I don't have a specific litter.

Also covered boxes will hold waste odor, we may not smell it but they can(the plastic could be releasing fumes she can't tolerate)

It's also possible she's actually inside the box but she's cramped for space with the cover(if her whiskers touch the back she'll stop going forward) and her butt hangs out(especially as you didn't mention peeing outside the box, they squat lower to pee than poop)

[MoonCat]

Looks like classic anxiety to me, so I'd say yes to the meds if there's nothing else going on physically. Moving, new litter, new furry companion, can all be anxiety-inducing. If the vet feels she can handle anxiety meds, and you can get them down her, go for it. And ask the vet what else you can do to decrease her anxiety.

[Cooper]

I gave her catnip today and she's settled a bit. XD I had trouble opening the bag and she was like "GIVE ME IT NOW." She told me this by hopping in my lap and licking my finger, then trying to eat the bag.

So she's stoned.

As for the box, I heavily considered it, but she hasn't given up the box entirely, nor did the behavior start immediately. I do worry if all these changes have exacerbated her underlying anxiety, which seemed fairly obvious from the start.

for reasons like:

* when we first got our hamster, she would look at it, then put her ears down and look at us for about a month
* any time she met another cat, she would react very violently. This was fairly normal, I figured. A cat? goodbye. A kitten? fuck off. When we adopted my grandfather's cat, we expected trouble. What we didn't expect is that seven years later, the trouble will still exist. My grandfather's cat has said 'fuck it' and will roll over and just walk away while my cat attempts to instigate wwIII. After my first post, I watched her watch me put the cat out, then stalk the house like the other cat was still around.
* I often find scabs on her. We've been taking it as signs of fleas, but in the past few months, I've found them, and no other pets have had symptoms of fleas (we can usually see it on our white-fur'd cat).

And her interactions with the rabbit have been curious, but mostly because she surprised me with her intelligence. My rabbit is missing an eye, so she's very obviously blind. My cat sneaks around the rabbit on her blind side. If my rabbit approaches her, blind-side-facing, my cat watches her, but does nothing. If my rabbit approaches her seeing-side, my cat will warn her of her personal bubble by hissing and hitting.

[MoonCat]

Cooper, have the vet check for fleas anyway. A couple of years ago one of my cats had some (she was the only cat living upstairs at the time) but the rabbits did NOT have any, and I would've bet the ranch that the cat didn't have them either. I have a flea comb so I checked, because she'd been scratching a lot...and hell if she didn't have fleas. I was stunned. So check.

But also it's possible she's scratching from anxiety, or even a food allergy (these can turn up late in life sometimes). Just rule out fleas, first.

[Cooper]

Will-do. ^^

I'm pleased with her and the rabbit yesterday, They drank from the same water bowl (the rabbit has her own water, but like that matters) side-by-side without issue.

[Seshat]

You wouldn't be medicating her for your own convenience; your motive is clearly for the cat's benefit.

Chronic anxiety feels horrible to humans. Admittedly, we can't ask, but I assume it feels horrible to animals too.

Reward her for non-anxious behaviour, and pretend to ignore anxious behaviour - you don't want to encourage anxious behaviours because that might exacerbate the problem.

In the meantime, put a surface acceptable to both you and kitty where she's been going outside the box; and otherwise do your best to be loving and caring.

And get her to a vet.

And check her for parasites; and watch her for anxiety-induced overgrooming, scratching, or other scab-causing behaviours.

[Moirae]

I have to reiterate what others have said here, cats don't deal well with change.

Mine has been sitting on me every moment of every bloody day because I had to move and cover her kitty tower due to a fly infestation, and keep her out of our bedroom for the same reason (think they're almost all dead now but still doing this to be sure), along with the spritzing noise from the pet friendly bug killer and the sound of the vacuum to suck them up off the floor (both of which she thinks are two of the most terrifying things in the world).

Meaning, my kitty is scared and either all over me without a moments peace or hiding under things.

Cats find change really hard to handle and they start doing things like throwing up, scratching things up (including people), going to the bathroom outside their litter box, not eating, etc. Symptoms vary by pet.

Try placing some things down where she's been going (like newspaper and the like) so it isn't directly on the floor. She should eventually adjust.

[Cooper]

She's getting a pheromone-infused collar. It does seem to be working a bit. The rabbit approached her, and she groomed the rabbit. The rabbit pushed closer, and she hissed and batted her. So, y'know, progress. XD

[Moirae]

Damn, cats are weird lol. My kitty is currently tearing through the living room with her new toy mouse in her mouth going "mow".