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Uggh! Cat pee everywhere...
Our 5 year old cat was recently diagnosed with a UTI, and now bladder stones. We took him to the vet because he had started to pee around the house, outside his litter box (and he had NEVER done this previously.) He was given antibiotics for the infection and has been put on a special diet, which the vet said should help the stones dissolve...
It's been several weeks now (we've gone to 2 vet appointments) and our cat has continued to pee around the house. I mean constantly. The vet explained that the stones make it painful for him to have urine in his bladder so basically whenever he has to urinate he just goes wherever looks good around him. He especially seems to love fabric (pillows...sheets...laundry...) but we've also seen him pee in grocery bags and on a dryer sheet that was sitting on the couch. He even got inside one of my purses. The vet said this behavior should stop once the stones dissolve, giving him more control over his bladder but this could take weeks...possibly longer, they weren't real definitive on that. I hate yelling at him when I catch him getting ready to go because he's sick, and he can't help it. On the other hand, I can't just stand by and watch it happen plus I'm worried that he'll get used to peeing all around the house and will think our whole home is his toilet. And I am SO sick of cleaning everything, not to mention I'm running out of places to hide items I can't have cat pee on. Unfortunately our place is pretty small, and we don't have an all tiled area that's big enough to barricade him in.
I've been washing everything in hot water with detergent and white distilled vinegar to help descent it, but I'm becoming paranoid that anyone who visits will think our house reeks of cat pee. Has anyone else been through this? Any ideas on how to get that cat smell out of just about everything? And any clue how long it takes for bladder stones to dissolve?
Re: Uggh! Cat pee everywhere...
Poor guy:-( poor you :-(
Are you cleaning with an enzymatic cleaner? Check out the FAQ up at the top I think there are other suggestions.
Do you have anywhere you can confine him for a bit? A room or anything? Just when you cant supervise 100%.
The food the vet recommended may not be the best option. A lot of the former posters on this board were very food savy and could lead you in the right direction. Maybe look into it a little more? Also, are you feeding wet food? I know that wet food will help with water consumption, and decrease stone production.
FF
"Cherish your furbabies today because there might not be a tomorrow"
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Hi everyone,
Thanks for the feedback. We are feeding him wet food and using white distilled vinegar on everything to clean it up (seems to be doing the trick for now.) We'll look into the food situation some more since our vet said he would have to be on this new diet forever to prevent more stones from forming. Our vet also suggested getting him a water fountain since he's part maine ***...they apparently love running water and she said that sometimes entices them to drink more.
From what the vet could see at his first follow up visit the stones didn't look like the kind that needed surgery...but who knows. At this point we're just supposed to keep giving him the antibiotics and feeding him is new food and see if things improve and if by his next follow up visit things are still really bad we will have to look into surgery. His urine is a lot less bloody than it was, but there's no way for me to know if that's a function of the antibiotics curing his UTI or if the food is helping to break down the stones.
I really wish we had a tiled room that was large enough to keep him in while we're at work, but the only room we could do that in is the bathroom which is pretty tiny. I don't want to cause him more stress by locking him up in a small room for most of the day.
I guess for now we just have to wait it out.
You need to use an enzymatic cleaner so the cat can't smell it. Otherwise, they may continue to potty in inappropriate places.
I would see if your cat can get another look. When one of ours had a UTI, she kept peeing out of the box even though everything was fine.
In addition, is there anything going on that is causing your cat stress? We have 2 of ours on medicine for anxiety.
5 cats. 1 baby.
Hi!
I had a very similar situation last year with my cat GraceAnne. As like you said, she had bladder problems, and had made an association between using the litterbox and pain. Some ideas that showed some improvement was- buying a brand new litter box and a new litter type. Moving the box to somewhere else the house. Putting a few boxes around the house so they are always easy to get to. That was a big thing that helped me. We also put old towels all under the box and around the area. SHe did start using the towels when she could even if she wouldn't go in the box. Then we just threw them out. It probably depends on your gross old towel count!
As for the smell, it was awful! We carpet cleaned by carpet FOUR times, and I felt like I could still smell it. The only way to get it out was if I found it immediately. Sorry I have no advice on that- I acutally just moved the couch over the worst spot and now I can't smell it. haha
As someone who has a cat who had bladder stones, I feel your pain. I would suggest using an enzymatic cleaner (Nature's Miracle or Got Pee) instead of the vinegar because even if you can't smell the pee after using the vinegar, the cat can and they will continue to pee where they smell it. Nature's Miracle can be found at Petsmart or any other pet supply store. I had to order Got Pee online. Got Pee is more expensive, but it worked better for us.
Regarding the diet, I would leave the cat on what your vet recommended until the stones are gone and he's urinating in the box instead of around the house. Then I would go to your local store and ask for opinions regarding other options. We have our girl on a grain free dry food, we supplement with wet food, and she gets a cranberry supplement in her wet food. It's a powder, we just mix it in. It's worked for us.
The water fountain is a good idea, we have one of those too.
Good luck! I know how frustrating this can be!