2 cats, 2 days, one urination?!

kristin23

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I hate two indoor cats I keep at my apartment. I just got back from my parents home where I spent spring break. I took Gus and Liz along with me. I brought some of their normal Pro Plan cat food along with us, but they also ate some left over cat foor at my parents house. I think it was another Purina brand, not one currently on the recall list.

They both seemed to be going to the bathroom normally there. We got back to my apartment here on Saturday afternoon/evening and, after being gone for a week, they were obviously very glad to be home.

I hadn't noticed any behavior stranger than normal foe Gus. He's my "quirky cat" who yowls and meows at everything and always seemed to love spending time in the litter box. I've always been moderately concerned that might be indicative of some sort of problem, but he just seems to genuinely like playing in it.

I woke up at about 4AM this morning to get a drink and noticed there were a few clumps of bowel movement on the floor outside their covered litter box and three 2" puddles of urine. Whether or not I'm being trigger happy because of all the recent recalls, I'm not sure, but that never happens. They're both about 3 years old and they never "go" on the floor.

"Is the litter box so bad already that they're not wanting to go in there...?", I wondered. I took the top off to check and, after sifting through with the scooper, I found only a few pieces of bowel movement and only one large clump of urine. (Litter was clean when we got back and hasn't been cleaned until just then).

I have no idea whether or not this should be normal or which was to tell which cat is "going" since I'm rarely home during the day (grad school). It's so hard to tell. Water and food seem to be disappearing from their bowl, but I so freaked out by this that I'm not sure what normal is.

Basically, what has me freaked out is the tiny urine puddles by the litter box. After that anomaly, everything else seems suspect, so it's hard to separate that from what may be normal.

So... I feel ridiculous... I don't even know what my question is...


I guess I'm just curious about how many "urine puddles" for two cats should have been in the litter box from 5PM Saturday until now (5AM Monday) and what never-before-happening puddles of urine near the litter box could be. Please help!
 

mooficat

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oh I can understand why you might be worried about that - but maybe its cos they are settling back into your place - I have read this right and you took the cats to your parents house - so maybe and hopefully its just them settling back into the routine at yours - are they eating etc ok - just keep your eye on things, and if not back to normal, then, well, I suppose a vet visit is your next port of call.

Keep us posted
 

scamperfarms

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I havent had just two kitties in a while so i cant say how much they should be going..but if the going outside the box is a new bad habit the first thing you should generaly do is a vet visit to rule out health problems. My first worry would be crystals or a blockage or the less serious UTI
 

beandip

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Originally Posted by ScamperFarms

I havent had just two kitties in a while so i cant say how much they should be going..but if the going outside the box is a new bad habit the first thing you should generaly do is a vet visit to rule out health problems. My first worry would be crystals or a blockage or the less serious UTI
I agree. 2" puddles of urine are small...especially on the floor. My first suspicion would be a UTI, like scamperfarms said. Stress can bring those on, and all the excitement of traveling could have played a part. The bowel movement, I can't explain but perhaps cat #1 peed on the floor and cat #2 decided to leave "something" (bm) there too. A UTI is painful for kitty, and can get complicated (very serious) in a male especially.

I would call the vet. Best case, you'll find out that it was just something like mooficat said.

To answer your question I think most of my cats urinate twice a day each, some maybe 3.
 
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kristin23

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Thanks for the replies, everyone. He made a little "piddle" in the litter box at about 6 (maybe a couple tablespoons, but I'm taking him to the vet at 5:00 this evening to be sure). I'm a little concerned about the urinalysis they mentioned doing. I know it's necessary to pin this down, but I'm thinking... "wow, if he's already just coming back down from being so stressed this past week, it's storming (he hates storms), and they're probably going to be sticking a catheter (sp?) up him, his stress factor isn't going to go down from that...

It's better than doing nothing though, of course. I really hope the vet gives me some peace of mind.
 

beandip

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Originally Posted by Kristin23

Thanks for the replies, everyone. He made a little "piddle" in the litter box at about 6 (maybe a couple tablespoons, but I'm taking him to the vet at 5:00 this evening to be sure). I'm a little concerned about the urinalysis they mentioned doing. I know it's necessary to pin this down, but I'm thinking... "wow, if he's already just coming back down from being so stressed this past week, it's storming (he hates storms), and they're probably going to be sticking a catheter (sp?) up him, his stress factor isn't going to go down from that...

It's better than doing nothing though, of course. I really hope the vet gives me some peace of mind.
Yes, now if you saw and confirmed that he's only peeing small amounts at a time, it is very important to go to the vet. Especially being a male, it's very very important. Good idea.


If they told you they would "get a urine sample" at your appointment, then they'll most likely get it with a needle, through the skin into the bladder. It sounds scary but it's the preferred way to do it and normally no big deal for the cat. Surprising, I know...but it's OK.
The alternative is to let him sit in a cage all day, waiting to pee in an empty box. That's more stressful, trust me.
The sample with a needle is a better (cleaner, more accurate) sample, anyway.
 
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kristin23

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Well, we just got back from the vet's office. This was my first time going to a vet here since I usually just go to our family vet back at my parents' house for check-ups, shots, etc. The vet was so nice and put me at ease a little.

She seemed to think that it was probably just stress. She wanted to run a urinalysis just to be sure, but apparently his bladder is too small to get to with a needle. Great... As an alternative to keeping him overnight, she gave me a tiny cup of black plastic pellets to be put in his cleaned out litter box (I bought a new one just to be sure it was dust-free). She said I would have to keep him away from the other litter box to be sure he went in the pellets (which, by the way, don't even cover the bottom on the box, which is small as it is already).

I was/am a little skeptical because I can say with 90% certainty that there is no way he is going to try to go in a small litter box half-covered with something he's never used as kitty litter before.

I forgot to ask her what happens if a cat starts to eat them. Don't get me wrong, I love my cat, but that sounds like something he's try.

He did drink --quite a bit-- right before we left for the vet's office. That has me a little concerned, thinking that when that water starts to run through and he can only "go" in this weird new box with the weird "litter", he's just going to hold it in and make it worse.

Hmm...

At any rate, I'm keeping my eye on him tonight.
 

mooficat

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just checking in............oo I've never heard of those 'pellets' before, hopefully he has used them ok and she can get some tests done. Other than that maybe its is just the stress of settling back
 

catsarebetter

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Yep, they're not fond of using the little pellets. I have never had success with them. I've had to leave mine at the vet so they can get a urine sample. Of course, mine are on a plan so that's not a monetary issue for us.. since the "stay" is free, and I just drop off in the morning and pick up in the evening after work. A little more difficult is the handling of the cats involved.. mine are known for wounding the hospital staff.
 
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