I have a female 7yo cat who is pooping outside the litterbox, and it seems to be connected to her being left alone while her owners are at work. It's a bit of a long story.
We got her three years ago. She was consistently pooping outside the box for what seemed like no reason. She's been to the vet multiple times over the years and is always in good health aside from some clogged anal glands at first. We think that her problem is that she had some uncomfortable poops in the litterbox and made a false connection, assuming the litterbox was the problem.
Literally the only thing that got her to start using the litterbox properly was bringing another cat into the house. We think that seeing another cat use the litterbox just fine convinced her it was okay.
She did not like the new cat. She tolerated him, but he was a kitten with poor boundaries and was always trying to play, so he annoyed her very often. We had been told she didn't seem to like cats when we got her, but we wanted to see if another cat in the house might help her litterbox problem. We thought she might be less upset by a kitten coming in than an adult cat, but he just seemed to annoy her. They lived together for a year and a half, and when he was still causing her stress after that time we decided to leave him with some roommates while my partner and I moved elsewhere and brought her with us. She was consistently using the litterbox properly right up until we moved.
Now, after moving and no longer living with the other cat for a month or so, she is back to pooping outside the litterbox, especially when left alone for more than a short period. I work 8 hour shifts and my partner works 10 hour shifts, and there is a bit of an overlap where she is alone for several hours. It genuinely just seems like she doesn't want to be alone.
We're considering trying another cat, but we're not sure exactly what to look for in this new cat. I'm thinking a lower energy older cat, maybe even a senior, and I'm wondering if sex or size matters in this regard? Would she tolerate a female cat better than a male? Would she be less confrontational with a cat that is larger than she is?
I'm also considering a dog instead of a cat but I'm not sure if that would be a good idea.
I want to do it right and avoid having the exact same situation that I had before. Does anyone have any suggestions? Been in a similar situation? What would you do?