My Cat Keeps Peeing Help

We got a beautiful white Persian girl this February and everything was fine; no accidents and what not. Maybe it started at 6-7 months when she started getting not too big for her litter box but she’s maybe the same size of it. I’m aware I need to get her a bigger litter box and we’re working on that currently (I know I’m late but better late than never). We had bathroom rugs and she started peeing on them so eventually we just took them out hoping it would stop her, which it did. But then she started peeing on clothes in the bathroom floor. She’s only done this a handful of times. But then she started peeing in plastic bags, boxes, random areas in the house. I understand that it might be UTI but I’ve done my research and she doesn’t really show any symptoms besides peeing random places. The most recent place was the bathroom floor right next to her litter box. The night before she climbed on top of her tower and peed there. She eats regularly, she’s playful, we groom her and everything else plus more. She’s also FIXED so I don’t know what’s going on. It’s really hard for me to go to the vet because of money issues. I’m really hoping you guys can help. NOTE: we haven’t bought a bigger litter box yet although we’ve ordered it, should be here next week. Thanks in advance

Hi. My Feeby has had multiple UTIs and other than peeing outside of her litterbox she displays NO other signs. So, it still could be a UTI. Yes, the litterbox could be part or all of the reason, but the UTI needs to be ruled out or confirmed.

If you can buy UTI strips to test her urine (yes, they have a cat version of the human test strips) - that is if you can manage to hold the strip under her urine stream.

Or, if you can collect some of her urine in a clean container, most vets will allow you to bring in a sample for testing - cheaper than a vet visit. You just need to keep the sample refrigerated until you take it in; it is viable when refrigerated for up to 24 hours.

First thing to do - rule out or confirm the UTI.

Oh okay, thanks so much for that!

How long did she have it for?

? Feeby has had 3 or 4 just this year (long story behind this). Once I determined she had a UTI she was put on antibiotics for anywhere from 7 - 10 days. Usually, by day 4, she would generally begin religiously using her litterbox.

BTW - if you would choose to do the test strips, you might want to ask the vet if they will take the results from that - or, if they would rather have the urine to test. The test strips would tell you about a basic UTI, but a urine culture is preferred by vets in most cases to determine the type of bacteria and narrow down the best antibiotic. So, tbh, the urine sample would be the best route to go.

Cleaning whatever she has peed on is pretty necessary as well. Carpeting and the like can be treated with a product called "The Equalizer" (amazon.com). It is easy to use and does not require the carpet to be saturated to remove the smell/stain.

All bedding/clothing need to be washed ASAP, preferably with baking soda added to the detergent - most of the times if the materials have not been left sitting with urine on them for any length of time, this process will work.

Thank you so much I really appreciate it

Let us know what you find out!!

Same here. When Demi had a UTI, the vet gave him 10 days of antibiotics and I increased his canned food, decreased the dry food.

maggiedemi said:

Same here. When Demi had a UTI, the vet gave him 10 days of antibiotics and I increased his canned food, decreased the dry food.

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We only feed her dry food. We’ve tried giving her canned food but she never finishes it and it goes to waste! I know she needs canned food, just so hard to find one she loves

Feeby is 14+ and I just started adding canned food to her diet a year or two ago. She is a all day dry food nibbler, so the canned food was a whole different thing for her. The way I have managed to get her to eat it is by piling it up in the middle of the dish. She then will eat some but when it is flattened out she stops. So, I have to go back and pile it up again, then she'll eat some more - "rinse, repeat", you get the idea. At the end, I add some water and she will then almost finish it all off.

I do this for dinner only - the rest of the time I leave dry food out for her. But, I have noticed since starting this routine, she generally eats a little less of the dry food over the course of the day.

FeebysOwner said:

Feeby is 14+ and I just started adding canned food to her diet a year or two ago. She is a all day dry food nibbler, so the canned food was a whole different thing for her. The way I have managed to get her to eat it is by piling it up in the middle of the dish. She then will eat some but when it is flattened out she stops. So, I have to go back and pile it up again, then she'll eat some more - "rinse, repeat", you get the idea. At the end, I add some water and she will then almost finish it all off.

I do this for dinner only - the rest of the time I leave dry food out for her. But, I have noticed since starting this routine, she generally eats a little less of the dry food over the course of the day.

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Oh wow okay that’s a good idea! How did you know which canned food to get?

Well, that's a hard one for me to advise you on, as Feeby is strictly on urinary care foods. If it would turn out that your cat needs something like that, then I would tell you I use both Royal Canin SO and Hills C/D - in dry and canned. There are also urinary care foods offered by Purina (both canned and dry), and while I don't use them, I believe they are less expensive than the two I do use.

I mean, there is no harm in putting a cat on urinary care foods even if they aren't prone to urinary infections, but I am hoping some of the staff/and other members on this site will come along soon and offer some other canned food suggestions. Trust me, if they do, you will get lots of recommendations...

FeebysOwner said:

The way I have managed to get her to eat it is by piling it up in the middle of the dish. She then will eat some but when it is flattened out she stops. So, I have to go back and pile it up again, then she'll eat some more - "rinse, repeat", you get the idea. At the end, I add some water and she will then almost finish it all off.

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I have a 10 year old kitty that I wanted to eat more wet food, and this seemed to be the only way he'd eat more of it.

stellasmommy said:

We only feed her dry food.

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I feel for you. Demi pees all over the house when he gets too much dry food.
The only canned food he will eat now is Friskies Shreds. Maybe give that a try.

You'll probably want to get a vet diagnosis first before you decide which canned food diet to put her on If it turns out she has crystals or some other FLUTD issue she might need to be put on a prescription diet that targets her problem. If the peeing is behavioural then I would think any healthy canned food diet would be beneficial, but won't solve the issue.

perhaps try mixing up her dry food with some wet food
also get a bigger litter box asap-if she is a fluffy Persian she might not like the feeling of her fluff bumping into to the walls of the box

stellasmommy said:

We only feed her dry food. We’ve tried giving her canned food but she never finishes it and it goes to waste! I know she needs canned food, just so hard to find one she loves

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I have a picky wet food eater too. She LOVES Soulistic pouches though bc it has a lot of liquid in it. I also add warm water to make it more appealing. There are also things you can buy to sprinkle on the wet food to get her interested. But a little is better than none so keep trying. A lifetime of UTIs due to being dehydrated on dry food is no fun and certainly not cheap.

Thanks so much for all the replies you guys!! I will be calling the vet tomorrow for an appointment. Will keep you updated. Really appreciate it

UPDATE: just went grocery shopping tonight and put the plastic bag for maybe a minute and I see my cat peeing on it again. Ugh. I’m so frustrated she just peed in the bathroom floor this morning. And her pee got on my bed. I’m so sad