Urinary question

[SandyC]

Hello, I'm new to this forum and found you by searching on problems I am having with my very much loved female Calico cat, Charlie.

We adopted Charlie at 7 to 8 weeks of age back in I believe 1998 or 1999, making her about 12 years old. She has always been fed dry cat food, has a litter box along with 24/7 access outside to do her "things".

Lately, she still goes outside and still uses her litter box, but she also is urinating and defecating on our bathroom rugs (small rugs in front of toilet, tub, etc), has urinated in my husband's tennis bag where he carries his racket, towels, etc, also urinated into an opened suitcase full of our clothing, and she dedicates on tile floors in the bathrooms.

She is healthy, although slowing down with age, is somewhat overweight (although not "fat", eats Purina Natural dry cat food, gets no other treats or anything. She is still fairly active when outside, chases birds, moles, mice, frogs (some of which she likes to share with me - although rarely the whole animal - YUK!) She exhibits no pain on urination or defecation, no blood - it's just as though she's decided she doesn't want to bother going to her litter box or outside - this spot is more convenient. It doesn't seem to be any type of urinary tract infection or the like.

Before we take her to the vet and spend a small fortune having test after test run, I thought I would ask here for suggestions.

I apologize for the length of this post but wanted to try to give you as much info as I could.

Any information would be helpful.

Thank you

SandyC

[E's]

Sorry Maam, but the long-held rule is: vet FIRST, advice on coping later.... this protects administrator(s), established forum members, and newcomers too... Good luck!

Dot B ('Eowyn's Hobbit)
Austin, Texas

[E's]

... to say nothing of being safest for the cat

[Tina B and crew]

E's is right, and a vet visit doesn't have to be a laundry list of expensive tests. They can start with ruling out a UTI and/or parasites. Begin with that, just to be safe, before starting to work on behavioral issues. Sometimes when a cat has a UTI or anything that causes pain when using the litter box they will associate pain with the box and therefore avoid using it. So vet check first.

Second, it really is best to not allow her outdoors. Too may dangers and the fact that she is chasing and possibly catching/ingesting birds, mice, moles, and frogs puts her at additional risk for harm. Some frogs excrete a poisonous secretion that can be harmful if ingested. People still poison mice/rats and if a cat catches and ingests they could be affected by the poison. Lizards carry a parasite that can be fatal to cats. So many dangers outside it is best to keep a cat indoors and give them a place they can safely watch the critters via a window or screened patio. Please see
http://www.cathelp-online.com/health/indooronly.php

Thirdly, I'd ask how many litter boxes do you have for her, how often are the cleaned, and have you changed their location, litter type or anything about them? Has there been any stress in the household? Any changes?

But first, please take her to the vet to make sure there is nothing wrong physically. Let us know how things go. This forum can be a plethora of information but your vet is always the best place to start when there could be a problem.

[Traci]

Please understand we ALWAYS advise owners take their cats to a vet first because we do not want to waste valuable time for a kitty with a potential illness.

It could be any number of issues, from diet (because she's older, she may require a more specific diet geared to her age and needs), to urinary tract infection, to IBD, to undue stress and changes in the environment as Tina explained.

I also want to emphasize the points Tina made: outdoor access is not helping your kitty, particularly as she gets older. Ingestion of rodents, birds, frogs et al can cause any number of problems, particularly parasites, harmful bacterial infections, fungal disease, toxins. Likewise, allowing a cat outdoors for litterbox activity will also carry that tendency indoors. She could also be developing arthritis, which could be making it difficult for her to get to and inside and out of her litterboxes.

If you have not had bloodwork done on her in the last 6 months or longer, it's time to do so. All cats over the age of 6 or 7 should have this done yearly to keep ahead of hidden illnesses.

Only a vet can examine her, test her, evaluate her urine/stools, etc and will take into account any history you provide him of your kitty. He'll do the necessary part in diagnosis. If there is no primary health issue going on, then we can discuss behavioral issues and solutions.

Please get kitty seen immediately, the most important thing is ruling out potential health problems first. Please don't undermine this, and post back what the vet determines.

If it's strictly behavioral, we can certainly help you with problems and solutions.

Get her seen right away, ok?

[Traci]

P.S. In the immediate sense, take up all bath rugs, towels, and put out of reach your personal items in your closet. Close closet doors, and provide an extra litterbox in her usual litterbox area, maybe a bit more shallow than her regular box in the event she's having trouble getting into it. Also make sure her litterboxes are easily accessible to her, that she doesn't have to climb stairs or navigate the home to get to them. No litterboxes in heavy traffic areas please, nor near heavy appliances, doors, etc.

It would be best to keep her strictly indoors from this point onward. For one, in the event your vet determines the potential need for medications, so you don't have to go looking for her and possibly end up skipping doses or screwing up timing of doses, and secondly, due to her age, her senses may not be as keen as they were in kittenhood, juvenile, young adulthood. The only safe outdoor cat is the cat who is monitored by his/her owner, and on a harness with the lead attached to the owner's hand, or, safely inside a safely constructed kitty containment system (with the owner still supervising).

[SandyC]

Thank you for all the replies.

Charlie was in for updates on her shots a little over a month ago and other than being a little overweight, she was healthy. It's just been in the last few weeks that she's been doing this.

Her litter box is very shallow and is in the garage with easy access for her - one step, and she always has used it. However - here's possibly the problem - about two weeks ago, my husband bought a fresh bag of litter but a different brand. She still uses the litter box, but it appears to be not as often, leading me to think she doesn't like it. We're cleaning out the box today and getting the old brand. Hopefully this is the issue. If not - to the vet she will go.

Again, thanks to all

Sandy

[Cleo]

Did you introduce this new litter gradually? The change may very well be the case for her recent elimination behavior but I also have to add that we advocate indoors only unless you can safely observe her outside for short periods of time (in a fenced yard). Having said that though, if she's catching rodents and other little critters that carry parasites or risk for other diseases, I'd be sure to make sure her vaccines were current and her deworming and flea/tick treatments were on schedule. These are things that could create bigger problems then urinating where she's not supposed to.

Good luck and let us know if going back to the old litter did the trick.

.... with 24/7 access outside to do her "things".

She is still fairly active when outside, chases birds, moles, mice, frogs (some of which she likes to share with me - although rarely the whole animal - YUK!)

[Traci]

Is the area in the garage with her litterbox, enclosed? Or not? If the litterbox is in the garage with cars coming in and out, this is not truly appropriate.

[SandyC]

Well, today is Thursday. We switched her litter back to the old brand and she's using it! There have been no accidents in the house since. Let's hope that was the problem and that she was doing her thing inside the house to tell us she did not like that litter!

We have a large two car garage with an enclosed workshop/storage room in the back part. Her litter box is inside that enclosed room with a small "kitty" access door. It is well protected and very private.

So far, so good. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks

Sandy