Blind cat toileting on carpet

Minxrat

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Poppy is 5. We moved 8 months ago to a new build, no other cat smells. Fast forward 3 months, she started weeing on the carpets and the occasional poo. I've cleaned up ok every time and she is now restricted to the lounge/kitchen, and at night time she is allowed in my bedroom (she has wet my bed 4 times so she's not allowed unsupervised, and definitely not under the covers even if I am there).

She had ecoli in her bladder - she is blind and a bit overweight so can't clean herself and poo was affecting her bladder. She won't take the meds, although she was ok with the milder antibiotics. When she poos she sits in it and tracks it everywhere and is constantly having showers.

She has wet my carpets in different areas 5 times since Friday; she had a shower at 3.30am Saturday morning due to poo over her backside and again 9.30pm last night.

I love her to bits but I wonder (a) if she would be better in a home without other cats, with maybe an older person who isn't out working and (b) how long my mental health can deal with the constant smell in my new home, and the constant cleaning of carpets.

If it is (a), can anyone advise how I can go about it? She's such an adorable girl but pretty much just spends her days asleep on the sofa, and I sit with her when I'm home. The other two cats are now restricted to where they can go because I've restricted Poppy and it's just not fair on them.

I feel I've come to the end of my tether and I don't know how to help her now.
 

FeebysOwner

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I presume Poppy has been blind all her life, or at least for a long while now? How did Poppy handle the move in terms of acclimating to a new home and layout? Were the other cats with Poppy in the old home too? Just thinking of things that might have 'upset her apple cat' attributing to her toileting problems. Stress is also a factor in urinary tract issues.

When was Poppy last tested for a UTI, and was she able to complete a full round of antibiotics? If no to the latter, then she probably has never entirely gotten rid of the UTI. There are ways to compound antibiotics so that the med flavor is at least somewhat masked, making it easier to get her to take them for the duration of the prescribed time. Lickable treats or pill pockets are other ways to administer meds, if not added to some bites of food.

Going forward, you can try to reduce the e-coli in her bladder through the use of pure D-Mannose powder which can be added to her food. Once I started giving that to Feeby, she stopped having UTIs affiliated with e-coli. I also typically had her on antibiotics for 10-14 days to ensure the infection was eradicated. D-Mannose also helps to reduce other bacteria from the bladder as well. It will not resolve an existing infection but is used to help prevent future ones.

If she can get stool all over her by sitting on it, it would seem that they must be a bit soft? Have you explored why that might be happening? Was this caused by the antibiotics, or perhaps she has a food intolerance? Sometimes probiotics can be helpful in both situations - s. boulardii is good for loose stools and can help to reduce imbalances in gut health.

I would continue to try to resolve her issues before trying to re-home her. A blind cat with toileting issues doesn't stand much of a chance of being successfully rehomed unless you plan on being totally upfront with potential adopters and make sure they are willing to work to try to fix her problems before agreeing to let them take her.

Maybe sharing more information with us will help members come up with other ideas for you to try.
 
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Furballsmom

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I personally don't think a different home will make a difference because first, she needs the meds, and second, she also perhaps needs a different litter, along with feebysowner 's excellent advice above. Also, you will want to consider a gradual diet, preferably with canned food.

I'm confused, you said you were restricting the areas she can go but it sounds like either you may want to restrict her further until this is squared away, or get puppy pee pads, or even just towels that are easily washed or discarded.

Your other cats are just fine.

Ask your vet if they have a tech who lives nearby that could stop in and help with giving the meds. Or, check with cat sitter organizations such as Rover . Com (registering with them is free and provides a much better view of the fees etc). TCS members have had good luck hiring someone who has experience giving meds to cats regularly for not much money.
 
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Minxrat

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Morning

Well this morning after she had peed on my bed (my fourth duvet in 8 months) I got the medication down her throat. Popped it in, rubbed her throat and then gave her some water. Hadn't thrown it up by the time I went to work.....

Bit of back story. She has been absolutely fine re weein all her life. She's had much too solid poos and had medication but at the moment they are loose. She has a bad habit of pushing her tail down when she poos and it smears over her backside and she has a sore under her tail (which I have creams for). I'm good at cleaning poo! However, this affects her bladder due to proximity.

So she had mild antibiotics twice this summer which were fine and worked for a while, but she had an ultrasound so they could extract urine and get it tested and that's when the E-coli was found. Her weeing has got worse over the past week so I'm determined to get those meds down her. I've wasted some already when she sussed they were in the licky lix. It boils down to her loose stools and inability to clean herself. She's lost a tiny bit of weight but without running around and playing like the other two do, it's down to food. She eats less than the other two.

I've had all three cats since kittens; Poppy is 5.5, Milo is 5 and Mindy is nearly 3.5. We moved to a new build end March so no other cat smells.

Poppy has been blind since 8 months old. She's been great acclimatising to the new home. If I see she's a bit confused, I help her - she knows where she is by smell and whether she is on either carpet/lino. She is restricted from everywhere bar kitchen/lounge except I let her into the bedroom at night but last night was a new weeind, actually on top of the bed. I will use my waterproof mattress cover (bought for her!) under my throw this time to protect the next new duvet......I find ways to work around but I'm a bit over it.

I will look for the D Mannose powder.

I know deep in my heart I won't rehome or have her put to sleep (she is my profile picture and she's such a good girl) but it's really super stressful right now; brand new home absolutely reeking of cat wee until I can clean it.

I have Catsan litter, which is the best I have come across and I have tried many! We have enough litter trays and she knows exactly where they are.

If the meds don't work then I really don't know what to do next. I am asthmatic and whilst I am ok at present, too much cat wee will start to upset my chest, especially as it's colder now and the windows aren't going to be open.

She has puppy pads under her blanket on the sofa - she has never wet the sofa. If I put them anywhere else, she scrapes them up. I have a gate across the hallway as she has wet numerous times in the same places past that. I HATE restricting her. It also restricts the other two - who are just fine and healthy as can be.

Poppy has cost me in the region of £400 in the past four months and it's not sustainable long term so I need to crack this sooner rather than later.

Thank you for your advice, I am off to amazon to check out s.boulardi and D Mannose.........
 

NekoM

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Apologies if this is simplistic, but looking at this from another angle you mentioned she was overweight, it’s possibly she’s a little arthritic and finds it a little painful and uncomfortable to use her litter box, also she seems to prefer soft surfaces, like the couch, bed and carpet. It could be a sensory problem, such as cat litter feels rough or the floor is cold.
 
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Minxrat

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So, a bit of improvement. I have remade the bed with the waterproof cover under the throw instead of on the mattress. Every time she moved, I had the light on checking!

She's going in the litter tray when I put her in it, which is good news, then turning around and going back in to do her poo. Today I heard scraping and she'd gone in for a wee on her own, which earned her loads of fussing and a couple of treats.

The vet is going to replace the hard drugs with a liquid form, to ensure she finishes the course.

I can see she's very wary when moving around, I think my boy cat circles her sometimes and it intimidates her.

But a bit of progress :)

I get about the soft/hard surfaces and yes, she does tend to go on soft surfaces, but also once on the bathroom floor, once on the kitchen lino, once on a paper bag and again on my laptop bag......so she's barred from my office!
 
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Minxrat

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Oh, and I have been crouching on the floor, holding her tail gently and virtually catching the poo when it comes out (with a bag of course!) thus ensuring no stinky bum......what has my life become......:frustrated::p
 

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FeebysOwner

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I can see she's very wary when moving around, I think my boy cat circles her sometimes and it intimidates her.
Interesting 'tidbit' that wasn't mentioned before. Any chance that has anything to do, at least in part, with her issues? Does he wear a collar with a bell that would help her to know he is 'stalking'? Was this a behavior in your previous home?
 
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Minxrat

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Interesting 'tidbit' that wasn't mentioned before. Any chance that has anything to do, at least in part, with her issues? Does he wear a collar with a bell that would help her to know he is 'stalking'? Was this a behavior in your previous home?
I only noticed his behaviour the other day. He used to have a collar with a bell but it broke a year or so back. He will be getting a new one! I've never seen the circling thing before, but I was sat with her when she got off the sofa so I watch her carefully now. I will keep an eye on his behaviour.....
 
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