Male not using litterbox...owner wants to put to sleep!!

Gothic_Amethyst

This stems from my personal experience with my male neutered male who was at risk of UTI.

I had transported him 1600 kms, roughly 1000 miles, a trip that was meant to last 6 hours total, turned into a 12 hour marathon for the little guy. Anyway, from that night, I noticed that something was amiss.

He strained to do his business in the litterbox. (I am an attentive kitty momma and I monitor EVERYTHING.) I then noticed that he preferred to only urinate in the shower where it was tiled. I took him to the vet two days later which was the soonest that they could fit me in.

In the meantime, I was advised not to change his diet and to provide plenty of water and to keep everything as normal as possible. (Near impossiblity since he had just moved!)

Still two days later, Russell was still urinating in the shower. I was given an antibiotic in an effort to combat a possible UTI. The vet did not want to take any chances with him as he could not even manage to get a sample of urine from Russell and each time he tried Russell became more stressed and made up his mind and refused to stand and sat there glaring and growling.

A week later we returned to the vet and this time a sample of urine was taken for urinalysis with the reult being all clear. But to this day I keep an eye out for symptoms of UTI. Cats don't urinate in inappropriate places for no reason.

And as for food, all cat food went through reformulation in the 1980s and 1990s to prevent alkaline urine which promotes struvite crystals forming in the urinary bladder as these were thought to be the main cause and irritant. So in my opinion, although cat food does not promote alkaline urine from forming, it does not mean that a cat will become immune to the condition which can be life threatening. In extreme cases it can be urinary tract cancer, but this is in very extreme and rare cases.

I really do hope that Vergie goes to another vet for a second opinion. And it is not uncommon for cats at around four years of age to develop UTI.

PrincessPur is right. UTI's don't always show up right away. That's true in humans as well. There are Cat food's that claim to "promote Urinary Tract health." But I'm not sure how effective they really are. I wonder if this cat food would give a false negative test??

Tammie & Peaches

I wonder if he is getting a negative test...
is uti the only cause of male spraying if shes tried everything with the box and if she's even left it how it was when he used to go??
Would being fixed have anything to do with it???

So any luck with convincing vergie that the kitty needs to go to a vet?

I took zooey to the vet the other day, and pretty much INSISTED that they check for a UTI and true enough she had one. The reading wasn't very high but she did have one and since she's been on antibiotics the bed has stayed april fresh!!

Can you call the vet? Or get your friend to call the vet to find out EXACTLY what he said?

I agree.... just like with people uti's don't clear up forever. They can come back.



Just a thought: Does cranberry juice work on cats?
It works on humans...

And another thought:
like xastion said do you think maybe some stray cat is peeing on the other side of the door and thus causing him to pee on the inside of the door?

or maybe a dog?

maybe the answer is simpler than the problem...

maybe you can get one of those black lights and look for urine... inside and outside the house....

while waiting for the vets next opinion it might be worthwhile to rule out all the other possibilities.... just so IF it isn't a UTI and you go and have all the uti treatment done and he's still peeing she's probably not going to be too happy and you might loose your credibility with her.... and that might be the end of kitty.

Feliway?
Nok Out?

Maybe animal welfare can hook you up with a different vet...
They usually have an inhouse vet right?

Pretty please your fiancee... he'll pretty please his best friend and he'll pretty please his gran.... sugar, cream and cherries on top??? but i'm sure you're already doing that...

I really hope it all works out....

Being neutered doesn't cause a male cat to spray. The procedure is reccommended if a male cat is spraying, though it takes about a month for the testosterone levels to subside in order for the cat to feel that there is less need to spray.

suraya_putra brings up a good point. Are there any other cats in the area that he may feel threatened or feel that he needs to mark his territory?

And just how long ago was he neutered?

Has Vergie taken him to a vet for a thorough check up?

I'm VERYYYYYYY sorry It's taken so long for me to respond. I am in the middle of a very painfull proccess of giving away my cats and kittens. I am keeping 6 of the 32...*major crying*

Suraya_putra:
I saw Virgie on Sat...she says he's still doing it and that I better figure something out cause she doesnt want to keep cleaning it up. If only she would give him away...someone else would be more patient with the solution instead of killing him the way she wants to!! I dont know if the vet would tell me anything since Im not her or a family member...I've figured that maybe it has to do with other cats since he mainly sprays the back door and poops on the newspaper she keeps there. Problem with Virgie is she doesnt want to mess with anything...she wants a quick fix and has no patience...*thinks in head*:sounds like a common elderly thing...my grandma wants to take my cats to the pound instead of letting me give them away. *rolls eyes* atleast Ive gave 5 away..that's 5 that wont die. This spray deal is a good mystery..but one that I wish I could hurry and solve...each day she gets more mad.

a_loveless_gem:
hmm..not from neuter...guess that makes sense. She said that was y she neutered..I was just curious.
This town is small and there are alot of alley cats...atleast from what my friends that live in town said.
Im not sure the exact date he was neutered...I'll ask the next time I see her. I'm trying to talk her into taking him to the vet for another UTI test or just a check up. I just hope if I do she doesnt let them put him to sleep instead....

Insist on a thorough check up, not just your ordinary exam. An ordinary exam will not pick up on UTI or other more serious conditions.

In my opinion, the cat needs a new home if Vergie isn't willing to have patience and work with you in finding a solution.

I went to her house yesterday since My fiancee(Lyle)was over there with his best friend(Brandon). Virgie said he was fixed about 2 years ago. He stopped using the litterbox about one year AFTER he was fixed.
Does this help any??
Oh and I told her how UTI's come back and how sometimes the test is negative and that he should be taken back the vet. I hope we can solve this mystery. The cat came up to me last night and looked at me. He's not tame with anyone but her...and he only sniffed my fingers and walked off. The same as always...I've only got to touch him once or twice and that was only because he didnt expect it. Could him not being used to people affect his UTI test if he was too nervous???

Please, take that cat to a vet. He's stopped using the litter box for a reason. He did use it for a year. But something has happenned after a year of using the litter with no incidents. If all environmental factors, (presence of other cats, been spooked, unhappy with a change etc), have been ruled out, then it is highly possible that there is something medically wrong with Vergie's cat. It really has to be made clear that a vet visit is in order and insist that a thorough check up be done.

I have heard of cases where stress in cats have caused different readings in urinalysis resulting in a positive reading. I am not sure of how true this is, and this should be no reason that Vergie's cat does not see a vet as soon as possible. Blood tests are usually best as a wide variety of tests can be performed in order to pinpoint a wide range of medical problems.

Can a UTI test at all show up if she does a blood test?? Or does that test only work as a urine test (if not maybe the blood wouldnt show as negative.)
I think that he has a UTI again and it just came back as a negative test. So there are 3 possibilities: Another UTI, Stray cats outside, or something else. I agree that he needs to be examined thouroughly. My truck tore up, but when I get a chance, I will tell her.

I don't believe a UTI can be detected from a blood sample. Has to be a Urine analysis.

Tammie

i really hope everything works itself out.
i have to agree that he needs to see a vet, but how do you get vergie to agree to let him go...

and the more i think about it the more i think that he needs a new home... i mean there are people who have the patience, i'm sure if you weren't moving you would have taken him in. . . or at least thought about it.

But i SO know what you're dealing with. My grandmother has these ancient theories about animals and their place in society as well. It's infuriating!!! It's SO infuriating!!

well, thumbs up for being so concerned. there are loads of people who would have just let by gones be by gones.

just out of curiosity....
How many times has he been to the vet to check specifically for a UTI?

I can just imagine how exasperated you must be. I mean i've just been following what's happening on the computer and my blood pressure is goes through the roof evertime i think about the poor kitty kat.

Did you speak to Brandon about it? Does he have any thoughts on the whole thing? Maybe he can intervene.

suraya_putra:
She is fed up with the spraying and thinks nothing will work and would rather put him to sleep that's y I keep trying to talk her out of it by telling her what we have figured out about it. Now all I gotta do is convince her to go to the vet.

If I wasnt moving I would definately take him in. Problem is I already mentioned me taking him when I moved and she said "no. I cant trust anyone to not hurt him" and here she is wanting to put him to sleep for spraying!! GRRR.

It does suck the way certain people feel twards cats in the world and society...I have 2 friends that say I care about my cats too much and that I wouldn't still be living here if it wasnt for my cats. (I wont leave untill I find GOOD homes for the ones that I cant keep). That makes me SO mad. They say that my life is more important then the lives of my cats and to take them to the pound instead of being miserable here. My cats are my responsibility and I'm not gonna let them be (mostlikely) murdered because I want to move into my own place. People really piss me off sometimes *laughs*. I guess I just cant see how ANYONE could NOT love cats!!

Thanks for the thumbs up. I saw Virgie's litter box and knowing how my grandmother feels about my cats, I had to see what Virgie felt about hers. It sucks the way she feels about him right now, but maybe somehow I can save him. *verrrrrry hopefull*

I think he's been checked twice. That's how the first one was found. The second test (to see if it was gone) came back as negative.

Oh yes I'm frustrated..I deal with this cat stuff from MY grandmother too. I hate this helpless feeling. I hope I dont act like them when I become elderly!!

Brandon cant really say much to her about it anymore than I can. We both try to talk to her and make her atleast wait a while to give me the time to figure something out. I just wonder why we get more stubborn with age!!!

Thanks...but that does suck. Too bad it isnt possible...maybe there wouldnt be negative tests that way.