Another Pee Problem...

[SarahB91]

(Background info- domestic longhaired female cat, 6 years old, 14.9 lbs, down from 15.9 lbs last year, target-weight of 10 lbs, believed to be feral when I adopted her around 6 months of age.)

A year ago after we moved, my cat would pee in 2 spots of my house: in the guest bathroom and in the corner of the kitchen. It took us so much trial and error to figure out how to stop it.We installed feliway outlets and put the calming collar on her. We bought her a bigger Litter Robot (the Open Air) because we thought she had maybe gained too much weight to use the old Litter Robot she had been used to for a year. We ended up closing off the bathroom and put her food right on top of the pee spot in the kitchen. She quit peeing outside of the Open Air, using only that box. Everything was going great for months, until last week...

Our vet told us she needed to lose weight so starting in the beginning of August, we switched from giving her meow mix and occasional fancy feast wet food to giving her only Natural Balance Fat Cats dry formula. She would also get a morsel of the other cat's wet food on top. She was ok with it for 2 weeks but it seems like as time went on, she would look up at me in agony wanting more than just the Fat Cats I was giving her. Then comes an unnoticed litter box malfunction: the box accidentally got turned upside down into "empty" mode, so there was no litter in it for at least 4 hours. She peed on the floor right in front of it. I don't know if this was the straw that broke the cat's back but she continued to pee outside of the box after we had rectified the issue. Then she peed on the dog bed, then on another corner of the kitchen, dog bed again, pretty much anywhere and everywhere in the downstairs. This goes on for a week until I put her out on the screened porch for the night 2 days ago. The next day, I went out to see her and she used the litter box in front of me on the porch, I gave her a treat. I let her inside, she used the Litter Robot and I gave her another treat. Another time, used the Litter Robot and then was rewarded. Then she circled in a corner of the kitchen and started to pee. I rushed her to the vet to see if she had an issue because she tried to pee 4 times in 5 minutes. They couldn't get a urine sample from her (her tank was empty) but based on her past, they think it's behavior-related. I took her home and switched her back to wet food. Today, after a full day of wet food, she hopped in the porch litter box 4 times in a row in front of me. I gave her treats every time. I found no pee spots out on the porch unlike the days before.

I guess my questions are:

Is my cat smart enough to fake using the litter box to trick me for treats?

Could she be trying to tell me that she can come back inside because she knows to use the litter box?

Could she have a urinary tract issue that the vet is not catching?

Ugh!!! I miss her at night and want kitty cuddles. I need a cat whisperer. Please help.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

The next day, I went out to see her and she used the litter box in front of me on the porch....

Is the porch litter box the same as the inside litter box? If not, I'd certainly try an old fashioned litter box inside for a time and see if there are any further "accidents."

As to her veterinarian's indicating that, "she needed to lose weight," did he or she recommend a feline nutritionist? The simple fact is that more than eighty percent of obesity in cats (and dogs) is owed more to sedentary lifestyle than to any other single factor, and a larger percentage of cats being put on diets by veterinarians is owed to veterinarians trying to sell more specialty cat food so they can upgrade their investment portfolios.

Consider that strictly anecdotal, although based upon having lived quite nearly sixty years in multiple-cat households, always feeding ad libitum, and allowing the cats to self-regulate their intake. Do they live twenty years and more on average? They do. Are they content? They are. Are they overweight? At this point, two are according to statistics - but statistics are just that, and don't take overall health nor basal metabolic rate baselines into account.

...as time went on, she would look up at me in agony wanting more than just the Fat Cats I was giving her.

I think this says a great deal. Personal consideration: try the old fashioned litter box for thirty days, in concordance with a non-restrictive diet, and make an effort to increase organised play time in an effort to increase activity. If at some point you feel that a "diet" is the proper direction, I'd suggest that your read through this article:

Obesity in Cats & How to Put a Cat on a Diet | petMD | petMD

despite the fact that it glosses over many points, it does make the singular point that, "...putting a cat on a diet or weight loss plan needs to be approached very carefully." A cat who is underfed or food-deprived will be increasingly more prone to behavioural issues; a cat whose activity levels are increased to match his or her food intake will be healthier and happier as well.
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