Senior cat

My poor baby is 11 years old and has been pooping outside her litter box often.  Also has blood in it at times.  I have tried to seek answers from at least 3-4 different vets in my state but no one can answer or they simply say I don’t know.  Could this be just her age starting to affect her health?  Should I consider euthanasia?  Please I need advice here.

Hello and thank you for this interesting question.  I wonder how easy it is for your cat to get in and out of that particular litter tray when they want to defecate?  Conditions such as early hip or spinal arthritis, or else just rectal discomfort brought about by very solid pooh, can really affect a cat's ability to climb in and out of a plastic tray.  Hip pain alone wouldn't explain the blood in the faeces, but the act of faeces going hard in there might.  Worms, which can flourish at times of low immunity, might also be to blame.  I also wondered whether there might be a lump or bump in the tail-end of the gastro-intestinal tract, which might have the same kind of effect.  Such lumps are not necessarily cancerous; a rectal polyp, for example, might be another possibility. In general, I would always recommend sticking to one vet, even if they don't initially come up with an answer; most vets will try simply solutions first and only get down to the serious business of looking for something more severe, if the initial treatments don't work. Perhaps it's worth going back to the vet that you got on with best and asking what can possibly cause the symptoms that you are seeing.  After that, perhaps you can come up with a plan together to rule out some of the possible issues.