Kidney issues?

[Mslouys]

Hello,

I have a cat who is 15/16 years old. He was diagnosed with hyperthyroid a few months ago after dropping a ton of weight. We knew kidney issues could arise or become apparent after controlling thyroid, and we had a good dosage/frequency with methimazole to keep kidneys and thyroid at good levels. I had a cheap dog bed tucked away in my closet/office for my cats to lay on. I found out about a week ago that it was sopping wet and appeared to have been for a while, as there with larvae growing underneath. There was no smell associated. I washed is multiple times. I noticed yesterday that my dog bed my dog uses, was wet. As I was removing cushions to begin washing process, I walked in snd my cat was squatted down peeing on it. I moved a litter box in upstairs (previously was only in basement with cat door access), and added a second one in basement, for a total of 3 boxes. I watched him use it twice yesterday, first time after walking in office, sniffing where previous Pee spots had been, then walked out and used litter box. This morning I found he had peed on the bare dog bed cushions I had left down for my dog. I then put the remaining cushions under a waterproof, large dog pee pad/blanket. I was working in my living room and came back to a wet spot on blanket. He does not seem to go to restroom in here while I’m in here. My vet can not get me in to see him until next Tuesday. I am concerned this is the end of the line. Has anyone gone through this before and have advice? I am at my wits end, two dogs beds seem to be destroyed after falling apart in washer/dryer and creating a massive mess or just not coming clean. Again, it does not smell. I don’t know what else to try. Could it just be a UTI? Do I need to try and find a different vet who can see him sooner? Any advice is appreciated. I do not know what else to do or try to get us through. I mainly worry because I am in a rental and these spots seem to be warping the floor.

 

[Mslouys]

Hello,

I have a cat who is 15/16 years old. He was diagnosed with hyperthyroid a few months ago after dropping a ton of weight. We knew kidney issues could arise or become apparent after controlling thyroid, and we had a good dosage/frequency with methimazole to keep kidneys and thyroid at good levels. I had a cheap dog bed tucked away in my closet/office for my cats to lay on. I found out about a week ago that it was sopping wet and appeared to have been for a while, as there with larvae growing underneath. There was no smell associated. I washed is multiple times. I noticed yesterday that my dog bed my dog uses, was wet. As I was removing cushions to begin washing process, I walked in snd my cat was squatted down peeing on it. I moved a litter box in upstairs (previously was only in basement with cat door access), and added a second one in basement, for a total of 3 boxes. I watched him use it twice yesterday, first time after walking in office, sniffing where previous Pee spots had been, then walked out and used litter box. This morning I found he had peed on the bare dog bed cushions I had left down for my dog. I then put the remaining cushions under a waterproof, large dog pee pad/blanket. I was working in my living room and came back to a wet spot on blanket. He does not seem to go to restroom in here while I’m in here. My vet can not get me in to see him until next Tuesday. I am concerned this is the end of the line. Has anyone gone through this before and have advice? I am at my wits end, two dogs beds seem to be destroyed after falling apart in washer/dryer and creating a massive mess or just not coming clean. Again, it does not smell. I don’t know what else to try. Could it just be a UTI? Do I need to try and find a different vet who can see him sooner? Any advice is appreciated. I do not know what else to do or try to get us through. I mainly worry because I am in a rental and these spots seem to be warping the floor.

Will add, he spends most of his time in his cube cat bed that is outside my office, about equal distance to where he keeps peeing and the upstairs litter. All litter boxes have different types of litter, to see if that made a difference.

 

[fionasmom]

While this could be behavioral, you have had this cat for years and did not mention that this was a previous behavior of his. Yes, changes in the environment, a new pet, strange person in the house, etc can trigger litter box issues but I am going to tell you to err on the side of caution in his case and try to get him to a vet. If he has a UTI he needs treatment for it, as he would for any other kidney related issue. You are almost a week away from the vet appointment, so I would try for another vet, or make it clear that this might be coming up on an emergency, even if just to get him in.

In the meantime, cover as much as possible with the dog pee pads. Some cats actually like to use them and if there is blood in the urine or anything else suspicious, you will see it more easily.

Fiona herself was on felimazole for several years and did have kidney issues as she aged (she passed at 16) but we never had what you are descibing.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Once a cat pees on something, even if it's washed, THEY can still smell it and will return unless you clean it with an enzyme cleaner that gets the smell out entirely. Our noses are so much less efficient than theirs that even though you cannot smell anything, believe me, she can.

Now, as to having three litter boxes with three different kinds of litter, cats can be strange about what litter they will use. I wouldn't necessarily try out new litters at this point in time. Whatever litter she Does use is what I'd put in all the boxes.

And lastly is WHY she is peeing outside the box in the first place. That's where a Vet comes into play. IF there have been any changes as mentioned above, it could be that. If nothing at all has changed, then my guess is that it's a UTI and the only fix for that is antibiotics. (and sometimes very specific antibiotics. One of my guys recently had a UTI and the first round of antibiotics did nothing for him. We ran a culture on it and turned out only two antibiotics would do the trick, and picked one and it worked) Did you tell your Vet what was going on when you scheduled the appointment? I would think they would try to squeeze you in for something like that.

 

[FeebysOwner]

All of the above! But, just so you know, dilute urine has less of a smell to it, and is one of the indicators of kidney issues. Give your cat some low sided boxes with puppy pee pads in them (in lieu of litter) and see if that helps any - in addition to the above suggestions.