Cat peeing in front of me !?

[mycatollie]

My one year old cat, Oliver, has been peeing in front of me occasionally the last few days, and I’m very worried. He’s previously had UTI troubles but has been on medication for multiple weeks, had crystals removed surgically, and is currently eating a specialized food mix for his troubles. He never peed inside until recently, even when his UTI first cropped up. He has access to a clean litter box and a small portion of the backyard if he needs to use the bathroom.
I’m nervous he may be upset with me, because he only seems to urinate inside when I’m around. He’s usually very cuddly and playful and he still is! Just, with peeing inside added onto that.

What do I do? I’ve sprayed the areas he uses with pet training deterrent (Messy Pet, specifically) but nothing seems to work

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi, and Welcome.

Cats don't pee inappropriately as revenge or because they are mad at you. I don't know when people started putting that type of thoughts into cats, but they just don't think that way. They think like cats not people. But it is a common misconception that they do urinate in the wrong places for revenge.

Cats do communicate with other cats through elimination, so there might be something he is trying to tell you. He may be having more urinary issues. There may be a reason he no longer wants to go outside. Perhaps there is a threat that you don't know about out there, or maybe another cat or animal went in the spot where he normally goes and he no longer wants to go there. I would look towards a medical reason first off, especially since he has had issues in the past.

You said he is on a prescription diet. Is that dry or canned? canned would be best. It is also very important for cats that have had crystals in their urine or bladder stones, to have allot of water in their diet. Canned is also better for this. In my experience, dry food seems to cause urinary problems, From what I have seen. Plus it leads to obesity in some cats. So if he will eat the canned version of the prescription diet that is best. Of course if he won't eat canned food that is an entirely different conversation. Just don't ever let a cat go without eating. They can get all sorts of problems doing that. They aren't like dogs, where you can wait them out with a diet to an extent.

If he is on a special diet, it is very important to not let him eat anything else. So, no treats or anything other than his Rx diet. Are you sure he isn't getting into anything outside? Is he supervised when he is out?

Is he using the litter box at all? Did you change litter recently? Has anything changed around the house or specifically near his litter box? Can you move a second litter box to the area where he is urinating? Do you have any other cats? Do they get along if they do? How many litter boxes do you have? The rule of thumb is one litter box per cat plus one. I have two cats and three litter boxes.

What is the name of the medication he is on?
Hopefully some of this helps?

 

[Alldara]

What types of boxes do you have and what kind of litter are you using?

Can you put a puppy pee pad down where he is peeing to see if he will use that?

 

[mycatollie]

Hi, and Welcome.

Cats don't pee inappropriately as revenge or because they are mad at you. I don't know when people started putting that type of thoughts into cats, but they just don't think that way. They think like cats not people. But it is a common misconception that they do urinate in the wrong places for revenge.

Cats do communicate with other cats through elimination, so there might be something he is trying to tell you. He may be having more urinary issues. There may be a reason he no longer wants to go outside. Perhaps there is a threat that you don't know about out there, or maybe another cat or animal went in the spot where he normally goes and he no longer wants to go there. I would look towards a medical reason first off, especially since he has had issues in the past.

You said he is on a prescription diet. Is that dry or canned? canned would be best. It is also very important for cats that have had crystals in their urine or bladder stones, to have allot of water in their diet. Canned is also better for this. In my experience, dry food seems to cause urinary problems, From what I have seen. Plus it leads to obesity in some cats. So if he will eat the canned version of the prescription diet that is best. Of course if he won't eat canned food that is an entirely different conversation. Just don't ever let a cat go without eating. They can get all sorts of problems doing that. They aren't like dogs, where you can wait them out with a diet to an extent.

If he is on a special diet, it is very important to not let him eat anything else. So, no treats or anything other than his Rx diet. Are you sure he isn't getting into anything outside? Is he supervised when he is out?

Is he using the litter box at all? Did you change litter recently? Has anything changed around the house or specifically near his litter box? Can you move a second litter box to the area where he is urinating? Do you have any other cats? Do they get along if they do? How many litter boxes do you have? The rule of thumb is one litter box per cat plus one. I have two cats and three litter boxes.

What is the name of the medication he is on?
Hopefully some of this helps?

He’s always monitored outside, and we use a covered litter box with unscented tidy cats litter. Our other cat is a barn cat and doesn’t want to go or stay inside. His medical food is a urine acidifier and it is dry. I try to make sure he always has access to water but I could definitely bump up the amount he has around instead of his usual bowl.
As for treats, he actually starting peeing inside after we stopped giving him extra snacks! That, and the misconception on cats peeing inside when they’re upset made me worry he might have been upset we don‘t give him his squeeze treats. Glad to know that’s probably not the case!

Actually, I mentioned our local barn cat and… that may be why he was upset! I was snuggling outside with her and he may have smelled her on me, and thought another cat was up in his territory (the living room). He’s not straining or whining like he did when it was hurting him to urinate during the UTI, so it’s my guess that it’s not that again. But I’m not an expert!

Thank you for bringing up these things! I’ll set out some more water for him and monitor his eating more closely, hopefully he just doesn’t like unfamiliar smells and he’s not relapsing back into being sick. Thank you!

 

[Alldara]

If you pop the lid off while he's having trouble that might sort it out. Usually you can pop it back on in a few days to weeks.

 

[misty8723]

Have you had him to see the vet since he previously had a UTI? I don't think cats get upset with up the way we get upset. At least that's not been my experience.

 

[stephanietx]

Since he has a history of UTI, I would get to the vet to rule out anything medical, then start looking at environmental issues such as change in litter, dirty box, change in kind of box (open or lidded), or even something outside. Also, do you run Feliway or Comfort Zone diffusers? That might help with any stress.