Insulin/Food Change and Bathroom Issues?

Hi all - I'm new to this situation and would appreciate any information you can provide. My 15-yr old cat, SweetPea, was diagnosed with diabetes a month ago. She's on one unit of insulin (PZI Wedgewood) twice a day, but after about a week, she started having really soft poop (like pudding - sorry to be so descriptive!). She also pooped on my husband's clothes for the first time EVER. Now we're having a problem with her continuing to pee where she pooped (instead of in her litterbox). She's never in all her life missed the litterbox, and suddenly over the past couple of weeks, she's repeatedly peeing elsewhere. As far as the poop, she's pooping outside her litterbox (which is in the basement). She actually has two separate litterboxes, and they both are cleaned regularly. Can this sudden change in habit have anything to do with a) the insulin; or b) the change in her dry food to DM? She still gets her 9 Lives canned food (as she has her whole life) at dinner, but I did change to the DM dry food in the morning and as a little "extra" to her canned dinner per my vet's advice. My husband is really upset and having his clothes used on an ongoing basis as an alternate litter box and I'm desperately trying to see if anyone else has run into this shortly after a diabetes diagnosis. (Not sure if this matters, but her glucose level was 322 originally and it's come down to 219 over a 3-week period.) Any thoughts would be welcome. Thank you so much!

 

I am sorry you are having such issues with SweetPea! A lot of times when kitty's glucose levels get high they tend to use the bathroom outside of the litter box. It is probably not a symptom of the insulin. The poo consistency difference could be because of the change in food. Have you taken a look at Janet & Binky's food charts in the diet section on the main page? You want to feed SweetPea wet food that has less than 10% carbs, preferably less than 5-6% if possible. I know others will chime in here, but I would strongly urge you to check out the charts and stock up on a couple flavors of low carb canned food to see which one she likes best and it might cure your bathroom issues.

 

Also, once a kitty "uses" a spot, that spot tends to get reused as long as the smell is there. To clean the spot so that it no longer smells, there are several options.

Many of us like ZeroOdor, which can be sprayed on the spot - works instantly - and can also be put in the laundry for the clothes that have been messed on. (You can get ZeroOdor at online at http://www.zeroodor.com/ [or other online vendors - just search the product name] or in some Bed, Bath, and Beyond stores.)

Other people have had luck with white vinegar or other pet-odor-remover products from pet supply stores. I'm sure you'll get recommendations from various folks about their favorite products for this purpose.