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- May 3, 2016
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Hi, I'll try to condense this information down, but if there might be any pertinant information i've missed please ask!
So currently my cat has very low to no vision from retinal deterioration and is having troubles with using his cat litter. He's 16 now and has his entire life used tray without fault. A few months ago he started 'missing' the tray entirely, although he was still going in just peeing over the edge. At the time the vet and I both assumed it was athritis and I switch to a large wall container with a doorway cut out. That worked most of the time, except he would often just walk in and pee straight out the door!
Since then he vision has got markedly worse and he began not using the tray at all, although he would usually go in the same room. Now, he sometimes peesin places around th house and is not really using his tray at all. My first impression of it was that he was having difficulty finding the tray as he has to sort of feel his way around at the moment. Although I'm more sceptical of this theory now as he usually always finds the room, and goes just near by, and his No.2 is a always in the tray?
I've tried a shallow tray, medium height one, and the very tall container and doesn't seem to matter. I've read through some threads here and will try using an enzyme cleaner and switching to a new type of litter to see if that helps. Even if I can get him using the large container again, I think he would pee out the door again. I have heard that I cut the door or the side thus he would probably reorientate himself before going?
He has been very thoroughly checked recently over several vets visits and his vision is the only thing that comes up. One other thing to note, that the vet isn't sure about, is that over the last few months, he was peeing more often but in smaller amounts. I mentioned it a few times, but all his tests check out and he doesnt have any urinary issues. He does have kidney disease, although this is closely monitored and his levels have all been in an ok range and consistent.
Sorry for the long post, I wanted to give all the puzzle pieces as it's quite confusing. Obviously stress and the lack of vision are main factors here, but I'm not sure what other steps to take. Any thoughts or advice would be really appreciated!
So currently my cat has very low to no vision from retinal deterioration and is having troubles with using his cat litter. He's 16 now and has his entire life used tray without fault. A few months ago he started 'missing' the tray entirely, although he was still going in just peeing over the edge. At the time the vet and I both assumed it was athritis and I switch to a large wall container with a doorway cut out. That worked most of the time, except he would often just walk in and pee straight out the door!
Since then he vision has got markedly worse and he began not using the tray at all, although he would usually go in the same room. Now, he sometimes peesin places around th house and is not really using his tray at all. My first impression of it was that he was having difficulty finding the tray as he has to sort of feel his way around at the moment. Although I'm more sceptical of this theory now as he usually always finds the room, and goes just near by, and his No.2 is a always in the tray?
I've tried a shallow tray, medium height one, and the very tall container and doesn't seem to matter. I've read through some threads here and will try using an enzyme cleaner and switching to a new type of litter to see if that helps. Even if I can get him using the large container again, I think he would pee out the door again. I have heard that I cut the door or the side thus he would probably reorientate himself before going?
He has been very thoroughly checked recently over several vets visits and his vision is the only thing that comes up. One other thing to note, that the vet isn't sure about, is that over the last few months, he was peeing more often but in smaller amounts. I mentioned it a few times, but all his tests check out and he doesnt have any urinary issues. He does have kidney disease, although this is closely monitored and his levels have all been in an ok range and consistent.
Sorry for the long post, I wanted to give all the puzzle pieces as it's quite confusing. Obviously stress and the lack of vision are main factors here, but I'm not sure what other steps to take. Any thoughts or advice would be really appreciated!
