Urination Issues with Elderly Cat

[zanetashadoe]

My cat is 17 and has problems urinating outside of the litter box. She is my only cat and I have two boxes for her. I have tried hooded and unhooded, different types of litter, I clean them almost every day and she still continues to urinate on carpet. She still does use the litterbox, but only about half of the time. I have tried putting waterbowls, aluminum foil, and even citrus scents where she urinate to deter her, but nothing seems to work. The vet said she had mild kidney disease. I feel like I've tried everything, is there nothing left I can do? Is it just an elderly cat thing? Should I just accept it and move on?

 

[susanm9006]

With older cats sometimes it’s a matter of bladder control or rather lack of it. It does help them if you put out additional litter boxes in the rooms they frequent. They also sometimes have arthritis which makes climbing in and out of a box more difficult, so they need boxes with an entry or lower sides. And you want to look carefully at her paws to make sure she doesn’t have any sores or ingrown nails. These can make walking on litter painful and something they avoid. The alternative is to use puppy pads or a very soft litter like Swheat.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

With the information from your vet in mind, I entirely agree with susanm9006 . Something like this:

KittyGoHere Senior Cat Litter Box, Green, Large - Chewy.com might do the trick! And extra boxes in her favorite rooms couldn't hurt a thing.

Are you cleaning her accidents with a good enzymatic cleaner? That is crucial for removing the odor that would attract her back to the same places.

And remember...your girl is around 80 years or so in human terms! Some of it may well be simply a lack of control due to old age! Happens to the best of us.

 

[susanm9006]

One other thing I recall from dealing with my senior cats - sometimes as they get older they get disoriented at night in the dark, so it helps to leave lights or at least night lights on for them.