Cat urinating and defecating outside litter box
When my cat (now 17yo DSH female neutered) was about two years old we completed a long distance move. Prior to completion of the move, my younger brothers were cleaning her litter box while I was out of town working, and Misty developed the habit of defecating on a rug that I kept outside the litter box, but urinating inside the litter box. She has maintained that habit to this day. We moved (again) last December, and that was fairly traumatic for her, but she has adjusted and everything was fine until recently. Her litter box is in a very large walk-in closet; no clothing is kept there, just boxes on shelves. Over the years, I have always kept a shower curtain covered with rag rugs and placed her litter box on it. Recently, she has started urinating on the rag rugs, and defecating outside of the litter area. I have purchased new litter boxes, new litter (a kind that was supposed to "attract" cats), the same kind of litter she was used to with completely fresh litter and a new box (the same kind of box she was used to), new rugs (the same kind she was used to). I have not changed the location of the box, although for a while, I thought she might have felt crowded as there were boxes stacked about three feet outside the closet. I moved the boxes, but that did not help. She has also stopped sleeping with me, but I attributed that to the fact that I have a large fan blowing directly on me during the summer months. (I don't know if that is significant or not, but I am trying to give you as much information as possible.) She still sits in my lap whenever I sit down, so I haven't worried too much about the sleeping issue; I am also a very restless sleeper and sometimes that irks her. Nothing else in her routine has changed. I am constantly buying new rugs and shower curtains and new litter, to try to eliminate the odor. I am at my wits end and hoping you can help me. Misty hates going to the vet, so this seemed like a reasonable solution. Thank you. |
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Dog with problems walking
When I came home from work yesterday, Sparrow(6yo female neutered mix breed), who stays in my basement with access to the crawl space under the house, was having trouble going up the stairs. She seemed sick - hot nose & depressed. She has a knot midway up her tail about the size of a quarter. Her hindquarters are slightly swollen and tender. Her behind was dirty with dust, some fecal matter, and little black dots that looked like flea eggs (she doesn't have fleas - she's on med from the vet.) It seemed she had been dragging her bottom on the ground. My gut feeling is that she may have been bitten by a spider or god forbid a snake (in my basement?!!) but I'm also worried that she's hurt her back. She can still walk - even jump on the bed - but she is not moving correctly. She is still eating and drinking. She's not any worse this morning, but no better. She's not limping, but she acts stiff - is not moving her hind legs with ease, but I don't see where they look out of whack. For example, when she goes up steps, she just goes one step at a time, very slowly and carefully when she usually bounds & skips steps. It doesn't look like she's knuckling over, and her feet and legs look normal. Another thought after babying her this morning - she has had trouble in the past with her anal glands being blocked. Usually I try to massage & expel them when I bathe her. I haven't noticed her dragging her butt, which usually happens when her glands are filled and need expelling, but is it possible this could be the problem? Or constipation?
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