I took my 14 y/o male cat, Mr. Cuddles, to the vet last Monday morning because he was having urinary and other issues. He was diagnosed as having arthritis in his hind legs and the vet is 99.9% certain that is causing the urinary issues that I'm seeing. I'm supposed to try some joint supplements, but in the meantime, I still need help with the urinating issues.
What happens is that Mr. Cuddles steps into the litter box, tries to squat into position, but ends up peeing right over the side of the litter box. I end up with puddles on the floor. Right now I'm using pee pads made for humans as they're cheaper than the dog pads I could find. I don't really like this setup as litter gets everywhere and the other cats step in the wet pad when I'm asleep. Sometimes, the pads can't contain all the wetness and urine leaks onto the linoleum floor.
Changing the height of the litter box will not help, because I would need to raise it to prevent the urine stream from going outside. But then Mr. Cuddles would probably have more difficulty getting into the box. The vet is saying I need a litter box that Mr. Cuddles can walk into rather than step into, but I'm still going to end up with puddles on the floor.
Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do? Or is this something we just have to live with?
I actually typed this last week, but was not able to post due to the site upgrade. The other night, I saw Mr. Cuddles urinating on the floor without even attempting to get into the litter box - he was perpendicular to it. The vet still says it's his arthritis. However, his lab results show he has advanced CRF and I can't help but think they're related.
I would love to get some feedback on this matter.
What happens is that Mr. Cuddles steps into the litter box, tries to squat into position, but ends up peeing right over the side of the litter box. I end up with puddles on the floor. Right now I'm using pee pads made for humans as they're cheaper than the dog pads I could find. I don't really like this setup as litter gets everywhere and the other cats step in the wet pad when I'm asleep. Sometimes, the pads can't contain all the wetness and urine leaks onto the linoleum floor.
Changing the height of the litter box will not help, because I would need to raise it to prevent the urine stream from going outside. But then Mr. Cuddles would probably have more difficulty getting into the box. The vet is saying I need a litter box that Mr. Cuddles can walk into rather than step into, but I'm still going to end up with puddles on the floor.
Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do? Or is this something we just have to live with?
I actually typed this last week, but was not able to post due to the site upgrade. The other night, I saw Mr. Cuddles urinating on the floor without even attempting to get into the litter box - he was perpendicular to it. The vet still says it's his arthritis. However, his lab results show he has advanced CRF and I can't help but think they're related.
I would love to get some feedback on this matter.