Cat's butt suddenly getting soaked in pee after going potty

[Sonnys_sonnet]

Day before yesterday, my cat went pee and after going he went to sit on the toilet lid. From time to time I'd see tracked litter on the toilet lid, but this time I saw puddles of pee! When I looked at his bum, I saw that it was partially soaked in pee (so he wasn't leaking pee, it's like he partially peed on himself while going.) He went again a couple of times after that and peed fine, no soaked bum. Just a while ago though, he went again, and his bum was soaked in pee! I had to bathe him which was not fun for either of us, and it especially sucks that I cannot get the pee smell entirely out of his fur. I watched him go and there was no unusual behavior; his pee wasn't extra stinky, no meowing, no unusual peeing "pose" nada (and his litterbox and litter hasn't changed.) I'm not sure why this is suddenly happening? Is it possible that maybe theres some sort of blockage down there that's causing him to pee weirdly? Maybe the fur on his bum is too long and getting in the way (though it hasn't gotten longer so I don't know why i'd be an issue now?)

 

[Alldara]

How old is your cat and when was the last vet visit?
Could be issues with arthritis. Sometimes a sore cat holds it longer and then the litter just can't absorb it fast enough and their bums or feet get wet.

Likewise with early signs of kidney issues.

 

[heatherwillard0614]

I don't know if it would be the length of his fur as it is a new thing happening to him..

I was about to say what A Alldara said.. so what about this as a possibility too??
Have you noticed any change in the size of his pee clumps?
Is he drinking more than normal?

I have an idea that maybe he is having a larger amount of pee coming out too fast to soak up so it is puddling and getting on his fur. Then while the urine continues to sit there the litter soaks it up so you don't realize anything unusual in the litterbox?? I don't know though I was leaning towards what is mentioned above.

 

[Sonnys_sonnet]

He's 6yrs, will be 7 in November. He went to the vet in May for a Urine Analysis since he suddenly had stinky pee. They told me he was fine and the smell went away. I haven't noticed any signs of arthritis so i'm not sure. And he doesnt seem to be peeing a lot when he goes (as if he'd been holding it.) He goes pretty frequently. I noticed though this last time he had a pee bum, that he did not dig a hole before going and that his bum was pretty close to the litter. I'm not sure what not digging a hole means but he's done that before and had no pee-bum.

I'm considering that maybe the litter I use too might be the issue. i've noticed that after he goes there will be a small puddle, as if the litter isn't absorbing it quickly. And the clumps occasionally fall apart easily. Though this happens, i've used the litter for a year with no urine issues so I've stuck with it due to it's good odor control and low dust tracking. Again, not sure why this is suddenly happening I've tried other litters so I really don't want to switch... Should I maybe add crystal litter to better absorb his pee when he goes? Maybe this will help?

I don't know if it would be the length of his fur as it is a new thing happening to him..

I was about to say what A Alldara said.. so what about this as a possibility too??
Have you noticed any change in the size of his pee clumps?
Is he drinking more than normal?

I have an idea that maybe he is having a larger amount of pee coming out too fast to soak up so it is puddling and getting on his fur. Then while the urine continues to sit there the litter soaks it up so you don't realize anything unusual in the litterbox?? I don't know though I was leaning towards what is mentioned above.

 

[Sonnys_sonnet]

He's 6yrs, will be 7 in November. He went to the vet in May for a Urine Analysis since he suddenly had stinky pee. They told me he was fine and the smell went away. I haven't noticed any signs of arthritis so i'm not sure. And he doesnt seem to be peeing a lot when he goes (as if he'd been holding it.) He goes pretty frequently. I noticed though this last time he had a pee bum, that he did not dig a hole before going and that his bum was pretty close to the litter. I'm not sure what not digging a hole means but he's done that before and had no pee-bum.

I'm considering that maybe the litter I use too might be the issue. i've noticed that after he goes there will be a small puddle, as if the litter isn't absorbing it quickly. And the clumps occasionally fall apart easily. Though this happens, i've used the litter for a year with no urine issues so I've stuck with it due to it's good odor control and low dust tracking. Again, not sure why this is suddenly happening I've tried other litters so I really don't want to switch... Should I maybe add crystal litter to better absorb his pee when he goes? Maybe this will help?

I should expand on this, i remember I did have a similar issue last year, where he would exit his litterbox with a damp tail that smelt faintly of urine. His tail was not soaked like his bum these last two times though. Eventually he just stopped having a damp tail. The damp tail happened with an older litter and his current litter, so my assumptions is that maybe it isn't a litter issue?. And the vet told us he has a clean bill of health. My only assumption is that it's due to his occasional habit of not digging before peeing and sometimes sitting too close to the litter (since this wet bum issue happened twice within the last 3 days and not everytime he's gone) . Pehaps I should add crystal litter or switch to the Breeze litter box that has a pee pad w/ pellets?

 

[heatherwillard0614]

It doesn't make sense that it would be because he sometimes doesn't dig a hole because he has been doing this correct? If this is not a new behavior then it is not only because he doesn't dig first.
Have you noticed if he is drinking more than normal?
I asked about the clump size to try to figure out if they are bigger in size than usual or if his urine output is rhe same with no size change.

 

[Alldara]

I should expand on this, i remember I did have a similar issue last year, where he would exit his litterbox with a damp tail that smelt faintly of urine. His tail was not soaked like his bum these last two times though. Eventually he just stopped having a damp tail. The damp tail happened with an older litter and his current litter, so my assumptions is that maybe it isn't a litter issue?. And the vet told us he has a clean bill of health. My only assumption is that it's due to his occasional habit of not digging before peeing and sometimes sitting too close to the litter (since this wet bum issue happened twice within the last 3 days and not everytime he's gone) . Pehaps I should add crystal litter or switch to the Breeze litter box that has a pee pad w/ pellets?

So of it's started with him being occasionally damp and then now has progressed to him being occasionally wet that sounds like more pee to me.

Personally, I would take him for some bloodwork. The mains signs of early kidney disease and diabetes are both increased urination. And both diseases can be fairly "silent" when it comes to symptoms until severe.

I don't mix litters and didn't care for crystal litter so I don't know the answer to your question. personally, I used Okocat paper litter for my geriatric cat when he started to pee causing puddling.

 

[Margot Lane]

Agree w/ the bloodwork. Don’t think it’s your boy’s digging abilities. Please though, keep us posted! Your results could help others!

 

[heatherwillard0614]

Yes I agree It seems more of him having more urine output.. which is indicative of the above mentioned medical diagnosis'.
Please keep us posted.

 

[Sonnys_sonnet]

Yes I agree It seems more of him having more urine output.. which is indicative of the above mentioned medical diagnosis'.
Please keep us posted.

I apolgize for my previous replies.... cat urine makes me quite frantic due to the smell and I am in general poor at explaining things haha.
He had an issue with a damp tail around august last year, and eventually it just stopped happening even with no changes being made.

I plan on going to the vet hopefully this week or next just to be on the safe side.

I assumed the issue was due to his digging since maybe digging a hole before-hand causes the litter to be further from his bum (verses peeing on flat litter.)

In the meantime before taking him to the vet i'm going to try Sustainably yours corn litter mixed with his clay litter. His clay litter isn't the best at absorption, which is noticeable by a tiny puddle of pee on top after going (and the clumps not really holding together.) And honestly when i think back, when I was using fresh step litter, there wasn't a puddle issue. So again, probably a litter absorption issue. His pee clumps haven't changed in sizes so I think this tiny puddle is just due to, again, poor asorbpstion. He's gone pee again since his wet-bum yesterday and he was fine, no wet-bum.
I also assume this tiny puddle issue isn't related to health (and again due to the litter) since there's always been puddles, even before he went to his urine analysis in may which came back fine. It happens everytime he pees. I just think the wet-bum issue occurs depending on how he's squatting in combination with the litter's poor absorption.

I'm also going to try trimming his bum's fur since i've noticed that the pee doesn't actually get on his private parts, but rather the fur around his bum. His fur is medium-length and partially covers his bum (i'm surprised this pee-bum hasn't been an issue before..)

But I am for sure going to go to the vet for sure this week or next! I just need to find one since our local one closed in July.

 

[Alldara]

Keep in mind that a urinalysis doesn't measure the same values as bloodwork.

We aren't saying it couldn't be a litter issue, just that there are many "silent" health issues with increased urination as the main symptom. Your vet should always rule out health issues before we assume it's a behavioral one. The urinalysis is great, as it ruled out some things, but it doesn't rule out others.

Edit: It's to be expected that the outmost hair is wet if there's puddling. I think both Heather and I understood that the concern would be the increase in puddle size and frequency of him getting wet indicates an increase in urination.

 

[Sonnys_sonnet]

Keep in mind that a urinalysis doesn't measure the same values as bloodwork.

We aren't saying it couldn't be a litter issue, just that there are many "silent" health issues with increased urination as the main symptom. Your vet should always rule out health issues before we assume it's a behavioral one. The urinalysis is great, as it ruled out some things, but it doesn't rule out others.

I'll keep that in mind and bring up blood work when I go to the vet!

 

[Kflowers]

Sometimes vets only check leg joints for arthritis. You need a full body x-ray to search for it. Our only hint that our cat had arthritis was she was cranky. She was only a year old when it was discovered. Injuries that they seem to throw off can cause it.

But, yes, get the rest of the blood work for sure.

And if the blood work is fine and no arthritis, you might ask your vet about getting him a sanitary cut, which would mean close fur cut on his pantaloons and possibly the underside of his tail near his body.

 

[Margot Lane]

Sorry to hear your local vet closed. I know exactly what you’re going through. If you haven’t considered it and are able to, you might try to get pet insurance. Vets bills PLUS long distance driving gas bills can add up! There are several threads on pet insurance on TCS. Also, you might try looking for traveling vets, which do exist here and there.

 

[Sonnys_sonnet]

Sorry to hear your local vet closed. I know exactly what you’re going through. If you haven’t considered it and are able to, you might try to get pet insurance. Vets bills PLUS long distance driving gas bills can add up! There are several threads on pet insurance on TCS. Also, you might try looking for traveling vets, which do exist here and there.

Awesome I will look for those threads. I was considering pet insurance since i'm having to take him to the vet again. He's getting older so insurance would help a lot.

 

[louisstools]

Have you noticed any difference in the mechanics of how kitty goes potty? A wifi security camera can help diagnose if potty mechanics have changed. Arthritis can have cause a lot of potty issues.

For example, my nearly 11 year old girl used to only have litter boxes downstairs and she'd hold it and hold it and only go twice a day and when she did it was monster pees. We eventually put two more litter boxes upstairs and now she goes pee 3 times a day and they're a bit smaller but they seem to be easier on her.

She also can have issues squatting and if she's using the smaller of the two litter boxes that are upstairs she can get splash back if she doesn't squat down far enough or if she gets too close to the walls.

 

[Sonnys_sonnet]

I haven't noticed anything different and his pees aren't long. I may have fixed the issue though? I added corn litter to his clay litter and have seen an big improvement in the litter's absorption. With the clay litter on it's own, his pee would puddle and spread, which would cause large clumps to form. With the corn litter added, I see little to no puddles after he goes ,and the pee doesnt spread which leads to smaller clumps! I think shaving his bum also helped a bit. I never noticed how much his fur covered his bum. So perhaps it grew longer and I never noticed? It's only been a week so hopefully this is a long-term solution.

 

[heatherwillard0614]

I would still recommend getting him checked out due to him being on the clay litter for a whole year and then all of a sudden he was getting wet just recently.. it isn't like the clay litter stopped absorbing as quick as it used to.. it really sounds like it's him peeing more causing a puddle.. I hope I'm making sense.. yes adding changes to the litter took care of him getting wet but it isn't fixing the problem causing him to become wet..

I don't think it is the length of his fur either because it would have grown longer gradually he would have been getting a little wet every time with more (length) fur getting wet until he became soaked.. it wouldn't have happened all of a sudden..

In May when he went what did they do for him what were all the tests that they ran and results?

I really think he just needs a check up it could be a number of things that either won't show up in urine but will in blood work or vise versa..

If he were my kitty I'd take him in even if everything is fine you will be 100 percent sure hearing it from the vet.

 

[Sonnys_sonnet]

He was using the clay litter for almost a year. But like stated in another reply, he had issues with a damp tail when he first started using it. It just eventually stopped happening. So he's been using it "without issue" for about 6 months. It is possible that his squatting mechanics have changed and I didn't notice, and that's why this issue is suddenly happening. Not sure. He hasn't had any other litter-box issues.
But just to clarify, I still plan on taking him to the vet. I've found one that seems to have good reviews. Just need to coordniate with a family member before making an appointment.
In the meantime- this corn litter situation has seemingly helped.

 

[Sonnys_sonnet]

He was using the clay litter for almost a year. But like stated in another reply, he had issues with a damp tail when he first started using it. It just eventually stopped happening. So he's been using it "without issue" for about 6 months. It is possible that his squatting mechanics have changed and I didn't notice, and that's why this issue is suddenly happening. Not sure. He hasn't had any other litter-box issues.
But just to clarify, I still plan on taking him to the vet. I've found one that seems to have good reviews. Just need to coordniate with a family member before making an appointment.
In the meantime- this corn litter situation has seemingly helped.

Without issue for like 9 months actually. (Sorry I don't know how to edit my post on mobile..)