Hi. I have an 8-year-old cat that I recently took in from stray. A couple of months ago, he promptly stopped using the litterboxes and started using the carpet in my dining room. This was merely annoying for a while, then I noticed one day there was blood in his urine. I took him for a vet visit and he was diagnosed with cystitis. The doctor injected him with some medication for immediate relief and gave me a 2-week course of antibiotics to give him.
The vet said that cystitis was painful, and the cat began to associate the litterbox with pain. He said that once the pain subsided, he would return to the box.
The antibiotics have been taken and there seems to be no more blood in the urine. The cat seems to have returned to the litterbox to urinate, but still uses the dining room to defecate. I've even had my carpet professionally cleaned, thinking that maybe the smell drew him back there. No luck.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
By the way, I have three other cats and four total litterboxes. Thanks!
Cat not using litterbox?
Re: Cat not using litterbox?
Was a complete urinalysis and culture done? If not, your vet is treating blindly. Kitty might have crystals developing, or a bacterial infection that isn't responding to the antibiotics. Ideally, a complete urinalysis AND culture should be done to ensure that correct treatment is chosen. If crystals are present, those need to be addressed immediately! A prescribed veterinary diet to maintain proper pH and mineral composition is also important to maintain urinary tract health if UTI or crystals are present. If your vet hasn't discussed these things with you and never did a urinalysis and culture, see a new vet and get this done TODAY!
..........Traci
Re: Cat not using litterbox?
You're exactly right -- my vet said that cases of cystitis skyrocketed in April and October for some reason and so, since this occurred in October, he assumed that's what it was. So he didn't perform any tests, just medicated him.
However, if he still had cystitis, why would he only be defecating upstairs and not still urinating?
However, if he still had cystitis, why would he only be defecating upstairs and not still urinating?
Re: Cat not using litterbox?
Sorry, but just reading your posts, your vet is an idiot, and I'd strongly recommend seeing a more qualified, more comitted vet. He can't just say "cystitis" without proper testing and followup and just expect it to "go away". His comments about the litterbox are also wrong. See a new vet immediately.
Kitty could be in pain from FLUTD/inflammation, UTI, or stressed from something in the environment. Aversion of the litterbox usually means a health problem or stress...get kitty to a new vet to determine if he still has a UTI, or crystals developing or bladder thickening/inflammation causing pain, or something else entirely. His leaving stool on the carpet is his way of telling you something is wrong.
Are you keeping the boxes scooped daily and thoroughly cleaned and rinsed on a weekly basis? What kind of litter are you using? If he's painful and the litterboxes aren't easily accessible, he could be avoiding them (i.e.,if they are up or down stairs).
Kitty could be in pain from FLUTD/inflammation, UTI, or stressed from something in the environment. Aversion of the litterbox usually means a health problem or stress...get kitty to a new vet to determine if he still has a UTI, or crystals developing or bladder thickening/inflammation causing pain, or something else entirely. His leaving stool on the carpet is his way of telling you something is wrong.
Are you keeping the boxes scooped daily and thoroughly cleaned and rinsed on a weekly basis? What kind of litter are you using? If he's painful and the litterboxes aren't easily accessible, he could be avoiding them (i.e.,if they are up or down stairs).
..........Traci
Re: Cat not using litterbox?
He's using the boxes for urination, but not for defecation. That would indicate to me that there's nothing wrong with the boxes, or his urinary tract.
If there were something wrong with the boxes (i.e., wrong placement, cleanliness issues, etc.), I would think he wouldn't visit them at all. If there were something wrong with his urinary tract, I would imagine that he would choose to do that act somewhere other than the boxes (which he associates with pain), not just defecation.
If there were something wrong with the boxes (i.e., wrong placement, cleanliness issues, etc.), I would think he wouldn't visit them at all. If there were something wrong with his urinary tract, I would imagine that he would choose to do that act somewhere other than the boxes (which he associates with pain), not just defecation.
Re: Cat not using litterbox?
Please don't assume the opposite, cats will exhibit a variety of behavioral changes that don't always relate to the suspected condition. Any elimination behavior can be contributed to a variety of factors, and is not always specific. Again, it could be pain, and leaving stool on the rugs could be indicative of his trying to alert you to his pain or discomfort or something else.
And, you don't know if he has cystitis or FLUTD or something else, since your vet never tested for it, never did a urinalysis nor culture, or anything else. FLUTD in some cats is problematic and will reoccur if not treated appropriately in the beginning, or if not managed appropriately. Stress for example is usually ALWAYS a precursor to a reoccuring UTI or FLUTD, so his defecating on the rug could be due to stress, caused by pain. Some specific bacterial infections, for another example, will not respond to mild antibiotics and will reoccur again and again because the correct antibiotic wasn't chosen based on urinalysis findings or culture findings. That's the point I'm trying to make, don't assume, get kitty re-evaluated with a new vet, get a urinalysis and rule out the possibility of crystals forming, bacterial infection that doesn't respond to certain antibiotics, or something else that could be developing secondary to an infection etc.
And, you don't know if he has cystitis or FLUTD or something else, since your vet never tested for it, never did a urinalysis nor culture, or anything else. FLUTD in some cats is problematic and will reoccur if not treated appropriately in the beginning, or if not managed appropriately. Stress for example is usually ALWAYS a precursor to a reoccuring UTI or FLUTD, so his defecating on the rug could be due to stress, caused by pain. Some specific bacterial infections, for another example, will not respond to mild antibiotics and will reoccur again and again because the correct antibiotic wasn't chosen based on urinalysis findings or culture findings. That's the point I'm trying to make, don't assume, get kitty re-evaluated with a new vet, get a urinalysis and rule out the possibility of crystals forming, bacterial infection that doesn't respond to certain antibiotics, or something else that could be developing secondary to an infection etc.
..........Traci