Pooping outside the box possible sign of Hyper T

So Squeak and Cleo went to the vet for their annual checkup yesterday....Cleo is doing great but got her rabies shot as she sneaks outside everyday and brings home mice, and we got blood work done as she's 13 years old now...

Squeak's gums are red and we HAVE to start using the dental gel everyday as he is getting too old for dentals (he keeps trying to die during them....) and he's fat....

I mentioned that he pretty much consistently poops outside his box on the floor, so much so that we've started laying paper on the floor to make it a bit more sanitary and easy to clean up. My vet said that for some reason, there seems to be a correlation between cats with hyper T and pooping outside the box, but she has no medical reason for it.

Anybody else heard or experience this?

Squeak has been tested in the past (cannot remember if we had regular or free T4) and comes out just fine...

Jen

 

My HyperT cat is very good about using the litterbox - even when two of his housemates started NOT using it because they were afraid of Rusty.

Buster has been treated for HyperT for approx 18 months, and had symptoms for a year before that (his regular blood panel showed normal thyroid two years in a row - I finally insisted on getting the T4/Free T4 test done which confirmed HyperT.

 

none of the 3 cats i've had with hyperT poops outside the box. so i'm not sure about that one. a vet would certainly know more than i would, tho...

 

If he's fat, or old, maybe it's difficult for him to get in and out of the box. The plastic storage boxes that are designed to slide under beds make great litter boxes, especially for old cats, because they're roomy and have very low sides.

Some hyper-t cats pee outside the box because, like unregulated diabetics, they have to pee so often and in such volume. Maybe your vet was having a "senior moment" (I hate that expression; I don't believe I'm using it!) and was thinking pee not poop.

 

When Podo was first diagnosed she often would pee and poo outside her litterbox. Often right next to the box, just not in it. I think it was because of her muscle loss and lack of energy. She has never been diagnosed with Hyper-T, just diabetes. I found if I scooped the litterbox many times a day, then she would do it less but it didn't stop the behavior completely.

 

Yes, two of mine over the years, always clean cats too, started doing it and were dx'd with Hyper T. I always added to my list of signs pooping outside of the box and losing their hearing.