Cat pee problem

[Texas Proud]

Forgot about this until I got home....

This morning when I got up and the cat wanted to be petted.... she smelled like urine... I told my wife she had peed again... I think she is doing it while asleep and getting it all over her... this tends to point to a health problem instead of a personality problem....


I agree that she can get a lot of things by letting her go outside... but she was an old cat when we got her.... she had been living on my driveway for probably 5 or so years with a family somewhere else... we adopted her when I got married and our little girl was able to befriend her and we heard the other family had moved over a year earlier... so the independent streak is very strong in her so we let her live her life like she wishes....

I have proposed to my DW to let my mom take her... she is also old and the cat seems to like her and since she lives in a high rise the cat can not get out.... but she loves the outdoors and I do not want to take that away from her...

[Calico]

I agree with the previous posters about taking the cat to the vet asap.

There can be any number of reasons for a cat to suddenly change their elimination behavior, most of which have already been alluded to in earlier posts. If a medical issue causes a cat to experience pain when urinating, they can begin to associate the litter box with the pain, and so avoid the litter box.

I have a friend whose 10-year-old cat suddenly began peeing outside his litter box - usually on the rug. One trip to the vet and he was diagnosed with diabetes. Perfectly treatable, and he lived for years after that. As soon as the diabetes treatment began, he went back to peeing in his box.

However, with luck it is a urinary tract infection which can be cleared up quickly.

I also agree with the posters who recommend using Nature's Miracle in the areas where the cat peed. That stuff is great (speaking from experience here with a 3-cat household).

Best of luck to your cat and hope she is on the mend soon.

[Sarah in SC]

I feel like all of our endorsements of Natures Miracle need to wind up on the stock picking thread if it is owned by a public company!

As for how often to the vet: this is controversial, I admit. But here is my and my vet's belief:

Once the cats are a few years old, have had regular vaccinations, and are "fixed"', then the only imperative is rabies vaccination. This can be given in a long-acting dose, like once every three years. That is all my older cats get. Several, as I mentioned earlier, have never even been to the vet office, because they come here for shot day. There are people who give HW preventative to outdoor cats, but I do not.

Of course, if an animal is sick, off to the vet we go. But ours are surprisingly healthy out here in the country. Cats range in age from 15 down to 5, and dogs are 15, 7, 5, and 4, plus foster puppy 5 months and new as of yesterday foster dog is 6.

If your cats are older than 3 or 4, I think just the rabies is fine.

[Sarah in SC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Proud Forgot about this until I got home.... This morning when I got up and the cat wanted to be petted.... she smelled like urine... I told my wife she had peed again... I think she is doing it while asleep and getting it all over her... this tends to point to a health problem instead of a personality problem.... I agree that she can get a lot of things by letting her go outside... but she was an old cat when we got her.... she had been living on my driveway for probably 5 or so years with a family somewhere else... we adopted her when I got married and our little girl was able to befriend her and we heard the other family had moved over a year earlier... so the independent streak is very strong in her so we let her live her life like she wishes.... I have proposed to my DW to let my mom take her... she is also old and the cat seems to like her and since she lives in a high rise the cat can not get out.... but she loves the outdoors and I do not want to take that away from her...

Some of this is sounding like kidney disease. A few of us have been there with our old cats for sure. It might be time for kitty to be inside cat w your mom on a more permanent basis if that's the case. You've done good by her, from your story. Gold star for that!

[eytonxav]

I would say that as to turning the cat into an indoors only cat, I would do that gradually, otherwise it may lead to other problems if this transition is done cold turkey.

[VRVS]

Any comments/suggestions[/QUOTE]
Having same experience, if they follow humans then it age. UGU

Vinnie

[MichaelB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VRVS Any comments/suggestions Having same experience, if they follow humans then it age. UGU Vinnie

Hi vinnie, welcome to the forum. Please stop by here and tell us a little about yourself

[Texas Proud]

Might as well update....

She was away from the house for two days... when the wife and kids came back from a short trip they went out and found her and brought her home... she peed on a bag and then a towel we put under her when she slept...

Took her to the vet today and he said there were three things...

> She could have an infection.... but he could not get her to pee to check

> She could be doing it just to do it... if so, we would have to live with it and make adjustments

> She could have a sphincer (sp) problem.... but did not think so as it does not happen to cats that much...

SOOO, we have drugs to treat an infection... if it works, that was it.... if it does not, he said we would need to adjust.... without any kind of check, he ruled out diabetes since her eating and drinking habits have not changed... he felt around and said he did not think there was any cancer (I do not know how he could tell)....

Let's hope the drugs work....

[Sarah in SC]

He made a good call with the antibiotics. It is often easier for bets to treat what may be the problem than to wait for confirm from an unwilling patient. Let us know how that goes.

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC He made a good call with the antibiotics. It is often easier for bets to treat what may be the problem than to wait for confirm from an unwilling patient. Let us know how that goes.

Actually, I made the call..... I asked how much it would cost to do the test?.. about $27... how much for drugs?... about 25.... what other options are there? none....

Soooo, I can either take the chance with drugs for $25, or wait to confirm for $52 and in the end I will do the same thing.... easy decision for me...


Also, after posting last night I went downstairs and she had peed on a pillow and it flowed onto the couch again.... my mom was there, but did not see her do it.... my wife is getting very upset and is ready to ban the cat to the outside... for now, she gets to stay in the utility room as there are no cloth items there except for the bed we made for her.... BTW, no pee on that this morning....

[eytonxav]

How long does the antibiotic regime last? We used to wrap pills with a little flat cheese and squish it into a small ball shape which made administering the pills easier.

[Purron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFW_M5 How long does the antibiotic regime last? We used to wrap pills with a little flat cheese and squish it into a small ball shape which made administering the pills easier.

I've tried this before with varying degrees of failure. Usually the cat would eat the food and leave the pill. That's why I prefer the liquid antibiotics. Squirt in mouth or mix in food.

[clifp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Purron I've tried this before with varying degrees of failure. Usually the cat would eat the food and leave the pill. That's why I prefer the liquid antibiotics. Squirt in mouth or mix in food.

+1

This seems like a wonderful opportunity to repost this classic.
HOW TO GIVE YOUR CAT A PILL
IN TWENTY EASY STEPS

Quote:

6 Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of closet. Call spouse from backyard. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously. 7.Retrieve cat from curtain rod, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered Doulton figures from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.

[TrvlBug]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Purron I've tried this before with varying degrees of failure. Usually the cat would eat the food and leave the pill. That's why I prefer the liquid antibiotics. Squirt in mouth or mix in food.

+2. Fortunately we have a vet pharmacy w/in driving distance as one of ours got an infection 3 days before vacation & I was able to p/u the meds the same day, get her used to them before the kitty sitter had to deal with it. They also overnight them for only $9. We dealt with meds for 3-4 years before our girls passed w/in 6 mos. of each other. Liquid and transdermal gel are the only way to go if you want to retain your sanity .

[Purron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrvlBug Liquid and transdermal gel are the only way to go if you want to retain your sanity .

Truth is, no cat lover is truly sane. My life is a testimony to this statement.

[eytonxav]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Purron I've tried this before with varying degrees of failure. Usually the cat would eat the food and leave the pill. That's why I prefer the liquid antibiotics. Squirt in mouth or mix in food.

Yep, liquid is preferable, but if you end up with pills, the cheese made it easier for us. Sometimes you may have to massage their throats and hold their mouths loosely closed so they don't spit it out.

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFW_M5 How long does the antibiotic regime last? We used to wrap pills with a little flat cheese and squish it into a small ball shape which made administering the pills easier.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Purron I've tried this before with varying degrees of failure. Usually the cat would eat the food and leave the pill. That's why I prefer the liquid antibiotics. Squirt in mouth or mix in food.

The vet said about 5 days, but gave us 7 days of pills....


We have already used one pill up on food that the cat refuses to eat.... even leaving that food as the ONLY food, she still refuses to eat it after 24 hours...

We are now using the 'force the pill down the throat' method, with varying degrees of success.... this mornings pill we thought had gone down because we say her licking etc. which I read was a sign she swallowed it.... only to have her cough it back up a minute later....


I wish I knew about the liquid, I would have gone that way if I had only known.... heck, my wife wanted to have shots....

[TrvlBug]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Proud The vet said about 5 days, but gave us 7 days of pills....

Depending on the type of infection, she may need a longer regimen. I remembered when one of ours started peeing outside the box, the regular urine tests showed nothing...they grew a culture and it was an e-coli infection. IIRC she was on 2 10 or 14 day regimens before the infection was licked. In her later years she did the same thing but after ruling out infections, senility/dementia was diagnosed.

Just my 2 cents, but I'm very surprised your vet didn't recommend urine tests.

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrvlBug Depending on the type of infection, she may need a longer regimen. I remembered when one of ours started peeing outside the box, the regular urine tests showed nothing...they grew a culture and it was an e-coli infection. IIRC she was on 2 10 or 14 day regimens before the infection was licked. In her later years she did the same thing but after ruling out infections, senility/dementia was diagnosed. Just my 2 cents, but I'm very surprised your vet didn't recommend urine tests.

He tried to get a sample when we were in there.... but the cat did not cooperate... he said we should get one, but when I asked if it would make a difference, he seemed to indicate it would not if she had an infection... giving her the meds did not seem to be bad if she did not... it was my decision to go the way we are....

We will try this and see what happens... so far, she seems to be back to the litter box as we have her there when we are not with her.... so we still would not have a sample for him to check...

[Sarah in SC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Proud He tried to get a sample when we were in there.... but the cat did not cooperate... he said we should get one, but when I asked if it would make a difference, he seemed to indicate it would not if she had an infection... giving her the meds did not seem to be bad if she did not... it was my decision to go the way we are.... We will try this and see what happens... so far, she seems to be back to the litter box as we have her there when we are not with her.... so we still would not have a sample for him to check...

If it does come to him definitely needing a sample, there is some special litter that he should have for you to use that "holds" the liquid in it so they can test it. My sister has used it before, but I'm not sure of the name. Her vet gave it to her.