Kitty won’t cover urine

Shants7

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Aug 13, 2019
Messages
34
Purraise
28
Hello cat lovers... I’ve posted before about my senior cat and his litter box habits. My latest question is behavior/litter brand question. I’ve researched the topic and from what I can tell it’s possible it’s because of our second cat but it seems more likely ( though I can’t be sure) that it’s sinply because of his age that he no longer covers his pee. He’s 18 and arthritic.. the problem I’m having now is that even though I do my best to scoop the box all day long and or cover his pee for him it’s fruitless when he pees, it literally forms a puddle no matter how good clumping the litter is it’s not soaking it up fast enough so he steps in it then litter gets all over his little paws and I have to clean up cat little paw prints and clean his paws daily which he hates. I can’t follow him to the cat box all day.. I have no problem tending to him but there has to be other options. Would a low traffic larger pieces of litter brand work? Does it absorb faster and not stick to wet paws? I’m currently trying worlds best litter ( the corn kind) and it’s a little better but his paws are still getting caked. I investigated the breeze system but he’s rejected pellets before and I’m worried the box will be too tall for him to climb into. I’m curious about crystals too.. if I have to make my own system I will.. anyone have any suggestion?
 

denice

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 7, 2006
Messages
18,836
Purraise
13,144
Location
Columbus OH
Have you had blood work done recently on your cat. This sounds like the litter box issues I have with my 16 year old cat and she is in the early stages of CKD. A CKD cat urinates more and their urine is diluted. I have to scoop more often and scooping is harder then it used it be. I haven't had the issues with her paws. I have two litter boxes for her so I think that makes it possible for her to not actually step in it. Maybe adding more litter boxes will help or larger boxes. Some people actually use the low sided storage containers because they are much bigger then litter boxes.
 

FeebysOwner

TCS Member
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jun 13, 2018
Messages
22,429
Purraise
33,191
Location
Central FL (Born in OH)
Besides considering a possible health issue - always the first step with an older cat - I will tell you Feeby (15+ yo) stopped covering her pee (and poop) a few years back, with an occasional exception. She also steps into the pee sometimes and has one of her back paws covered in litter. She is - and always has been - one to pee a lot at one time. She also has arthritis, but I am not really sure in my case that is attributing to the problem.

In Feeby's case, I have found making the litter very deep helps. She is notorious for using the same corner to pee in, so I pile the litter higher in that area. It helps with absorption, but hasn't done a whole lot to eliminate her 'litter paw' when she happens to walk through it. I do think that this is happening more often when she has to move to another corner of the box to poop, after peeing. I am also able to clean the box out after each use, so that helps as well. I also think that her box could use to be a bit bigger, but am having trouble finding a bigger one that have all sides at 9" (she also stands up to pee and poop). I use Fresh Step Ultra Unscented, and with the deeper litter I haven't had puddling, but she still pees through to the bottom of the box from time to time.

So, deeper litter to help with absorption, possibly a bigger litter box - not necessarily higher but bigger around, and by all means additional litter boxes might help. (2 cats = 3 litter boxes).
 

susanm9006

Willow
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 20, 2011
Messages
13,151
Purraise
30,217
Location
Minnesota
I am thinking you might be better off with a clay, non clumping litter. That would let the urinate sink more to the bottom of the pan and not sit on top like a clump does. A crystal litter would work as well since it holds urine without getting sticky. In either case, lining the litterbox with a puppy pad would make it easier to clean up.
 

jen

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 27, 2001
Messages
8,501
Purraise
3,009
Location
Hudson, OH
I too wonder if there is a health issue causing the cat to urinate so frequently and such large amounts.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6

Shants7

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Aug 13, 2019
Messages
34
Purraise
28
Have you had blood work done recently on your cat. This sounds like the litter box issues I have with my 16 year old cat and she is in the early stages of CKD. A CKD cat urinates more and their urine is diluted. I have to scoop more often and scooping is harder then it used it be. I haven't had the issues with her paws. I have two litter boxes for her so I think that makes it possible for her to not actually step in it. Maybe adding more litter boxes will help or larger boxes. Some people actually use the low sided storage containers because they are much bigger then litter boxes.
Thanks the the reply. Yes I’ve recently had a full senior kitty panel done and his kidneys are actually not bad for a cat his age. As for litter boxes we have 4 out now for 2 cats but he generally uses just one of those. He’s a corner pee cat and Goes in the same spot almost always so if he goes more than once either during the night or when someone isn’t home to scoop that one spot like I said it’s either a legit puddle of urine or a spot of now straight clay that he steps on, then steps in the dry litter. I can have his labs repeated but as far as health and number of boxes neither would address the actual problem of litter.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

Shants7

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Aug 13, 2019
Messages
34
Purraise
28
Besides considering a possible health issue - always the first step with an older cat - I will tell you Feeby (15+ yo) stopped covering her pee (and poop) a few years back, with an occasional exception. She also steps into the pee sometimes and has one of her back paws covered in litter. She is - and always has been - one to pee a lot at one time. She also has arthritis, but I am not really sure in my case that is attributing to the problem.

In Feeby's case, I have found making the litter very deep helps. She is notorious for using the same corner to pee in, so I pile the litter higher in that area. It helps with absorption, but hasn't done a whole lot to eliminate her 'litter paw' when she happens to walk through it. I do think that this is happening more often when she has to move to another corner of the box to poop, after peeing. I am also able to clean the box out after each use, so that helps as well. I also think that her box could use to be a bit bigger, but am having trouble finding a bigger one that have all sides at 9" (she also stands up to pee and poop). I use Fresh Step Ultra Unscented, and with the deeper litter I haven't had puddling, but she still pees through to the bottom of the box from time to time.

So, deeper litter to help with absorption, possibly a bigger litter box - not necessarily higher but bigger around, and by all means additional litter boxes might help. (2 cats = 3 litter boxes).
Sounds just like my guy! Same corner and so much per. He had a check up last month and all his lab cane back in range for his age. I ordered some crystals to just try them and see. I scoop all the time but just like your kitty if he moves to poop in the other corner the litter just can’t soak up the pee fast enough without him getting a wet paw then the caked foot.. I’ll try deeper litter and see if I can find a larger box.. I feel like the ones we have now are the xxl ones but could be wrong. Though the size of the box doesn’t seem to matter when it comes to where he pees.. always the right hand corner 🤦‍♀️. Thanks for the reply it’s nice to know my babes isn’t the only one who steps in his pee lol
 

foxxycat

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 31, 2014
Messages
8,089
Purraise
13,358
Location
Honeybee on my lap, music playing in background
When they get older=they don't cover. Could be a territory thing too. Some cats just don't cover. Wish my older new cat Lilah would bury her stinks because they are obnoxious. I find some cats have a hard time bending their elbows.

When the cat went to the vet, did the vet manipulate any of the arm/leg elbow joints to make sure no arthritis? Xrays can also show arthritis. They can do a supplement Dasuquin or injected glucosamine called Adequan. It was originally for horses but after studies=we see dogs and cats benefit from this. It's easy to do the injections at home once the initial month long injections are done..it's 2 weeks for every 3 or 4 days then once a week for a month then every other week for a month then once a month. I had pretty good results with this with prior cats.

Oral Dasuquin is also an option-this is powdered glucosamine that comes in capsules=some people sprinkle in wet food, some just pill the cat. None of my cats would eat it so I was pilling it daily.

The good news is=we have more options now to keep senior cats/dogs more comfortable than we had 10-20 years ago.
 
Top