Why Do Cats Poop When Scared

Do Cats Pee & Poop When They Are Scared or Fighting?

While the ideal situation is to never have to see a cat when it poops out of stress or fear, you must know that it does happen.  Oddly enough, you may be surprised to discover that it is not only something that happens to cats, but there are actually many different animals that poop when they are stressed or scared.  This is because pooping is a regular response to the fight or flight situation that many different animals run into, that including humans as well.  So, the big question that you may be asking yourself is why cats poo whenever they are scared?  Here is what you need to know about why cats tend to poop when they become scared.

Why Cats Poop When They are Scared

Whenever your cat is experiencing any type of extreme stress, there is going to be a very large list of different physiological changes that will occur in order to help optimize their fight or flight response.  One of these changes is going to be to tighten up their stomach muscles, while simultaneously relaxing their bowel control.  Essentially, this means that your cat is squeezing their stomach and all of their digestive system but relaxing their bowel system at the very same time.  It is for this reasons that your cat may take a poop whenever they are stressed or scared.

Here is everything that you need to know about why your cat may take a poop when they are in fight or flight mode.

Take a Look at Other Species

To fully understand why it is that your cat poops when they are scared, you must look at other species of animals (including humans) if you are truly going to understand why it happens.  While the fact of the matter remains that you are not able to compare different species of animals to each other (such as a rat and a cat), there is still going to be a whole lot that you can learn about the comparisons when it comes to why your cat poops when it becomes scared.

As an example, there was a study that was done in 2008 that discovered that sometime during World War !!, over a quarter of veterans in combat urinated in their pants while they were in combat.  The same study found that over a quarter of them also defecated in their pants while they were in combat as well.  You already know that cats and humans are in no way, shape or form the same, but we are going to share many of the very same fundamental responses, such as the fight or flight response.  In fact, this response is something that can be found in many different species of animals all over the world.

Focus on What is the Most Important

The entire concept of being able to focus on what is important is something that is considered to be ‘putting it nicely’.  Whenever your cat does go into their fight or fight mode, any kind of digested food is immediately going to be considered as non-essential.  This means that it can be discarded and have no positive affect on your cat.  Essentially, when your cat is scared and ends up removing waste out of their body, it is going to be the waste that will not have any benefit for your cat in that state of being scared.  

At the very same time, there are some people who believe that your cat will take a poop or pee so that they weigh less and are much faster than if they didn’t make that poop.  While this is a theory that is not very popular among those who have pet cats, it is something that can potentially be true.  Simply ask your cat and they should be able to let you know if it is true or not!

It is a Deterrent for Any Predators

When it comes to stress, fear, or fighting for your cat, there is a very strong argument that pooping is going to deter a potential predator from attacking. When you think about it, it makes sense.  Would you try to attack somebody who is taking a poop?  

Neither will many other animals.  In fact, a study has shown that most animals (including prey animals), are going to defecate whenever they feel as though they are being threatened by any type of predator.  Now keep in mind that there is a very good chance that this is only a part of the fight or flight response, but at the very same time it can also be a way to deter a predator from attacking your cat anymore.  Afterall, that particular predator was more than likely looking for a delicious meal that was very tasty.  Now factor in having to smell a fresh pile of poop, and that same predator animal may not feel that this is a delicious meal anymore.

Your Cat Has Stinky Glands

When it comes to your cat, they are actually going to take the whole ‘skunk’ idea and take it to the next level.  What this means is that your cat will more than likely not only poop when they are scared, but they will also release a very bad smelling liquid into the air as well.  

Your cat has a couple of different sacs that are located on both sides of their anus at four and eight o’clock.  Whenever your cat is scared, these two sacs will be released in the form of a stinky liquid.  And if you are unsure whether or not your cat has just done this to you, rest assured that this will be one of the smells that you are not going to be able to forget…ever.

There are many different things that can potentially scare your cat.  When your cat is scared though, you need to be prepared to have them make a poop.  This is simply something that cats do and that you will need to deal with.