Litter box senior cat

[Kilgore.Emily]

Hello all,
I have a low lying senior friendly litter box for my 18 year old, and she often gets in the box and then pees outside of it. I have started putting down puppy pads (which I hate for the environment) and have noticed she now occasional puts her front two feet in the box and will pee on the outside. She is on various kidney and liver meds, and it doesn’t happen every time so I was just wondering if anyone else has this issue and if you found a solution. I cannot keep the pad down once she pees on it while it dries because then she gets mad that it’s dirty.

 

[Maurey]

Given her age, it could be a sign of cognitive decline — is she on any supplements to aide cognitive function? As she’s a kidney and liver cat, it’s something to discuss with your vet, but vitamin E and antioxidants are a common recommendation for supporting older kitties.

 

[Kilgore.Emily]

I have her on some supplemental foods and she is supposed to be eating royal canin senior food but goes days with no interest in dry foods, only wet foods. I aim for food with supplemental qualities as she already gets a pill and a liquid every day by syringe and hates it...

 

[Maurey]

Understandable! It may be worth looking into something in liquid or powder form you could add into a high value treat, perhaps, though that may not be necessary if her food already has the necessary additions. Is this behaviour something you’ve mentioned to the vet? How long has it been going on? Perhaps they could provide more insight, as they have extensive knowledge on her history. As a thought, any chance she might be having some discomfort peeing, like due to an arthritis flare up, which will occasionally cause her to pee in a posture that requires her to arch her back less?

As a temporary measure, you could consider getting washable puppy pads so that you don’t have to use a new pad every time. there are loads available, but here’s a random listing from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GRPSQN1/?tag=thecatsite