Interesting bathroom behavior...

[Kitty Beholder]

Hello,

I recently moved my litter box into my office. I was born with a lack of smell, so it saves my girlfriend a lot of grief. It also lets me better monitor my cats when they have to go.

I noticed my boy, Galahad, squatting right next to the litter box and peeing. When I checked to clean, there was only a tiny little bit of urine. For as long as he was squatting, I was expecting a large puddle! There was maybe a tiny little stream of urine along the wall that came up with one wipe.

I checked the litter box and it did need cleaning. I clean it every day, but we were gone last night so it was slightly more 'used' than usual. Could it be that he saw the litter box was more 'full' than normal and decided to go outside of it? It was certainly not overflowing or anything like that!

Galahad is due for a checkup soon, so I will ask the vet about this later in the week. Has anyone ever noticed strange behavior like this? The amount of urine was also concerning!

 

[verna davies]

It could be that he didnt want to use the box because it wasn't clean but he might have a urine infection. Can you check if he is going as often as usual and the size of the clumps. If he isnt emptying his bladder, going in and out and producing little or nothing, he will need to see your vet. Keep us updated.

 

[MissClouseau]

Like verna davies said it could be because of the litterbox, but it could also be a blockage and if it is the case that's an absolute emergency. So you definitely need to monitor him if he went normally in the next hours.

 

[Kitty Beholder]

Thanks for the quick responses. After reading about blockages, I decided to take Galahad to the vet this morning! The vet said it was an bladder infection, which I assume rules out a dangerous blockage! Yikes! They gave me an antibiotic to deliver via syringe. I gave him the first dose this morning and he did not care for it at all.

I will have to look up tips for delivering medicine via syringe, but I'm glad it all worked out. This is my first time delivering medicine to an animal.

Here is a picture of my guy:

 

[Kitten girl (aka Keira)]

Hello,

I recently moved my litter box into my office. I was born with a lack of smell, so it saves my girlfriend a lot of grief. It also lets me better monitor my cats when they have to go.

I noticed my boy, Galahad, squatting right next to the litter box and peeing. When I checked to clean, there was only a tiny little bit of urine. For as long as he was squatting, I was expecting a large puddle! There was maybe a tiny little stream of urine along the wall that came up with one wipe.

I checked the litter box and it did need cleaning. I clean it every day, but we were gone last night so it was slightly more 'used' than usual. Could it be that he saw the litter box was more 'full' than normal and decided to go outside of it? It was certainly not overflowing or anything like that!

Galahad is due for a checkup soon, so I will ask the vet about this later in the week. Has anyone ever noticed strange behavior like this? The amount of urine was also concerning!

This is an completely unrelated question but where do you live

 

[Kitty Beholder]

This is an completely unrelated question but where do you live

Southern Indiana.

 

[stephanietx]

Bladder and urinary tract infections can be triggered by stress. The litter box move might have been enough of a stressor to trigger it. Have you considered adding a second box back where the box used to be? That might help.

 

[Kitty Beholder]

I will look into multiple litter boxes. Our apartment is rather small, so there aren't a whole lot of places to put one. Luckily, we are moving to a much larger house fairly soon!

An update on Galahad...he seems to be doing better. The day we came back he was very lethargic and would no get up from the cat bed...he did not pee/poop at all. The next day and today, he became much more active and sought attention from us, so I see that as a positive.

He hates being given medicine. I have been scratched and bit every time...so we have invested in lots of Band-Aids. I have read that it would be okay to put it in his wet food, but my concern would be that he would not get it all. Anyone have any ideas as far as syringe medicine? Thank you all!

 

[FeebysOwner]

If he will eat a small amount of his wet food (instead of the entire portion you would give him for one meal), then it should be OK to add the med to his food. That way you can make sure he eats it all - then, you can give him the rest of his regular meal portion afterward.

If that doesn't seem to work, you can use canned tuna in water (or chicken) - put the med in a dish and add just enough of the water from the can to it and let him lap it up. That is how I give Feeby liquid meds. After she laps it up, she always gets a bite of the tuna or chicken as a treat!

 

[Kitty Beholder]

If he will eat a small amount of his wet food (instead of the entire portion you would give him for one meal), then it should be OK to add the med to his food. That way you can make sure he eats it all - then, you can give him the rest of his regular meal portion afterward.

If that doesn't seem to work, you can use canned tuna in water (or chicken) - put the med in a dish and add just enough of the water from the can to it and let him lap it up. That is how I give Feeby liquid meds. After she laps it up, she always gets a bite of the tuna or chicken as a treat!

Great idea! I will give that a try.

 

[Kitty Beholder]

I have a new development. Galahad is going to the vet first thing Tuesday morning. Unfortunately, with the holiday tomorrow I doubt there will be any openings.

I went into the litter box room to find many pee spots. This was over the span of maybe a couple hours. These were full pee spots that had spread around the room, so I guess him just peeing a tiny bit like he was is no longer an issue. I should note that this has never been a problem before. I have seen Galahad use the litter box many times.

The thing that concerns me is this: As I was mopping up the pee, I noticed several maroon colored spots dried up on the floor. These were not 'blended in' with the pee, but were clearly in the same general area. Sadly, I mopped these all up before I thought of taking a picture. I took a pic, but when I checked it, the glare had covered up the spots. Whoops.

My main concern is that this is blood. I am sure blood in the urine is a serious thing, but I cannot be entirely sure. He is going to a vet, but just wanted to provide an update and see if anyone else has had this issue. I'm quite worried about my kitty.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Peeing outside the litter box so many times, regardless of the volume is still a sign of a cat associating the litter box with hurting when they pee, so they avoid it. And, they continue to go multiple places in hopes of finding somewhere they can go that doesn't hurt. But, you finding 'maroon' colored deposits there - or nearby - could, to me, indicate blood. However, as implausible as it may seem, the maroon spots could be from anal gland secretions as well. As long as he pees - and continues to eat/drink, you should be OK until your vet visit.

Keep us posted.

 

[Kitty Beholder]

Peeing outside the litter box so many times, regardless of the volume is still a sign of a cat associating the litter box with hurting when they pee, so they avoid it. And, they continue to go multiple places in hopes of finding somewhere they can go that doesn't hurt. But, you finding 'maroon' colored deposits there - or nearby - could, to me, indicate blood. However, as implausible as it may seem, the maroon spots could be from anal gland secretions as well. As long as he pees - and continues to eat/drink, you should be OK until your vet visit.

Keep us posted.

Thanks for the reply. We did switch from regular to pellet litter, but that was a while before this started and he does still poop in the litter box.

 

[IndyJones]

I know this is a bit late but I've found the best way to give a cat liquid medication is to stick the syringe into the cheak and squirt it in. You can hold his head still if he sqirms

 

[IndyJones]

That definitely sounds like blood in the pee. He needs a vet visit sooner rather than later. My boy had kidney stones when it happened to him.

Try and take him with a full bladder so the vet can extract sterile urine from it. This works much better than the nosorb crap.