Indoor Cat Question

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I have a 13 year old neutered male cat. I've had him since he was 6 months and he has always been an indoor cat. In the last year, he has started to urinate in different rooms of the house. It always seem to be on an article of clothing left on the floor for the most part, but not always. He is not sick, as active as he was as a kitten and eats well. Does anyone have an explanation for this behavior and how to stop it?

-- Patrick (psroll@aol.com), February 14, 2002

Answers

Have you gotten a new cat? Mine does that if we let the outdoor cats in. Sounds to me like he is marking his territory. Has anyone new moved in. A new puppy? A new person? Anything could make them do that. They can also get Urinary tract infections. I doubt that is it if he is acting fine.

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), February 14, 2002.

Agrred something changed at home. Your cat feels that he is getting challenge however, 13 years old well maybe he has arthritic pains, and he can get to the "toilet" or he is forgetting where the toilet is. How he is eating? Good luck to you.

-- Ralph (rroces1@yahoo.com), February 14, 2002.

Patrick, the above mentioned things could well be it, also this behavior is often the precursor to a urinary infection. A urine tests at the Vets might not be a bad idea. Sometimes you can catch this a little early and avoid a crisis. If the initial cause is a urinary problem then you probably know it can be "sand" or tiny stones in the bladder and will lead to a blockage. Hope all is well, and he does OK. LQ

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), February 14, 2002.

Also, make sure his litter box is extra clean - As cats get older, sometimes they get pickier - If it isn't clean enough for him, he'll go someplace else! ;)

-- hmm (h.m.metheny@att.net), February 14, 2002.

Patrick, get a urine sample into the vet asap. Ours instructed us to put non-porous aquarium gravel in the litter box and then pour off the sample. The test only takes a small amount of time and it's best to do about once a year after a cat is four years old or whenever it displays this type of activity. Urinary infections are partially caused by what they eat, or in some cases what they don't eat. Cat foods should contain taurine (less than 0.16%). This helps control the infections.AL

-- al (yr2012@hotmail.com), February 14, 2002.


My cat, not quite as old as yours, displayed this same behavior. A trip to the Vet showed kidney problem. Have him on a special diet cat food now and he seems OK.

-- Duffy (hazelm@tenforward.com), February 15, 2002.

My 5 y/o cat just did the same thing, and I brought home a new puppy 5 days ago...one thing to consider, my other cat is on a low ash diet for urinary problems, I had him diagnosed when I noticed him trying to pee in the bathtub; he cried when he peed ad there was a little bit of blood in it. He is just fine now on the diet...

-- Susan (ridgebackmom@statetel.com), February 17, 2002.

Please, please get your cat tested immediately for FUS/Feline Urinary Syndrome...

Male cats are more prone to this and it can be life threatening. Crystals form in the urinary track and can even block the bladder...I have seen a stone removed that was 90% the size of the entire cat's bladder...

If you are lucky and it is NOT FUS...then look around to see what is causing this. Something New in the House...Something Moved around...something different...

-- BC (katnip364@aol.com), February 19, 2002.


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