diarrhea and peeing outsid of box! D:

So, a little background on my cats first.

-all himalayan
-all about 4 years old
-two girls, one boy
-they live in secret in my town house basement (it's a fair size)
and let out as much as I can (which isn't too often >>) to play in the back yard.
-recently had them moved in with me at my own place from my mom's place (she only had them for about a month) and before that was with me and my dad in the house they grew up in.
-I just changed their food to Healthwise from a rich in grains purina food (they've been on purina for most of their lives)
-they were all extremely sick when we got them at 8 and 9 weeks
-all sensitive

The problem is, my two girls have really bad diarrhea (started yesterday)....it hasn't been this bad since I first got them....so bad they can't even hold it in sometimes!

Could it be the food? I started them on the new food about two weeks and slowly converted them to it. For the past couple of days now I give them only the new food. I freaked out a little today, so I mixed some of their old food back in with the new stuff >>;
I'm thinking about returning the new food now and getting a simpler dry food (california natural maybe?)

As for the peeing, I think it's the male (even though I haven't caught any of them doing it)....maybe he gets frustrated because I can't spend as much with him as I used to (he's the most attached to me out of the three) and because he can't go upstairs anytime he wants (my roommate has a cat that doesn't get along with mine). I know it's not a medical problem because whoever is doing it often does it in the same spots or on our belongings.
I'm going to be setting times and days where my cats are free to roam the house and outside for a few hours while the other cat is put away in the bedroom, but I'm just afraid that this will continue to the point that it's on furniture! D:

any thoughts on either on these problems?
what can I do to stop it all?

Originally Posted by Rain Drop

I know it's not a medical problem because whoever is doing it often does it in the same spots or on our belongings.

Click to expand...

Why do you think this means it's not a health problem? If a cat has a UTI (or worse) they may associate their litter box with pain. While certain spots and your belongs will have scents that are comforting to them - hence they'll go to those spots.
Unless you're a vet or have taken your cats to a vet to be checked you cannot rule out any health problem, and that should always be the first concern because it can mean the cat's life.

Since they all seem to be having problems of some sort of another vet checks for all of them would be a good idea, then go from there.

You really need to get them to a vet to rule out all possibilities.

You also need to try to reintroduce them slowly to your roommates cat one at a time. It doesn't seem fair that your 3 are in the basement, and your roommates one cat gets to roam free. Feel free to post in the behaviour section to get more help in introducing them.

How's the upstairs kitty's health? Any signs of diarrhea in that cat, too? I wonder if there's a possibility of something be passed among them by the humans in the home.

Thank-you for responding to my thread<3

@strange wings

You're right, I should check with a vet first.
and no, the other cat doesn't have any bowel problems or anything like that.

in fact, the girls are completely fine now
It's so weird. Maybe they both ate something weird....I've noticed there are more wolf spiders downstairs now that the fall is coming.

I really have to figure out which cat is peeing for sure though....

@sarahp

I know it's not fair, but they're either with me or they get taken away and given to a stranger. But at the same time, we're starting to get more time for them to run around in the house each day. It won't be like this forever since I'm getting a new place to live next year. It'll only be me, my boyfriend, and my pets

It's good that the girls seem a bit better. Maybe it could be their food? Sometimes cats can have issues with an ingredient and only get short bouts of diarrhea. If you've given them any sort of treat lately that could be the cause, too. Probitotics, as mentioned in current threads, could help if the issue is just bacterial related.

As for finding which kitty is peeing outside the box - you'll have to follow them around or take all the cats to be checked. UTIs can be deadly.


Good luck with getting your kitties checked out by the vet soon, and luck for getting a place next year. Sometimes you have to put up with less than ideal living accommodations - but you're luckily you have somewhere to stay that allows you to keep your cats at all.

Once you get an ok or nay from the vet you can tackle the peeing appropriately. Litter additives like cat attract, feliway diffusers, and maybe even experimenting with different litters and box types could help retrain your kitty.
If you notice a pattern to what is being peed on - say laundry or any items on the floor start removing those. Make it as least inviting to pee on those areas as possible. Get a good enzyme cleaner to neutralize scents on whatever urine spots you need to clean up.

The best thing you can do is go to a vet.

Thank-you strange_wings, you're very helpful. It could be the food....but with all three of them, they all get loose stool every now and then randomly (even when their diet and environment hasn't changed), it's just that this time was bad.
And I don't think it was treats though since only one of the girls and the male eats them and they've had them for awhile now....oh well, it seems okay now. I hope it stays this way.

I plan on taking my cat to the vet on Thursday or Saturday, so I'll be posting news on the visit later. I really do think it's the boy....he always has the biggest pee's and I rarely see them in the litter now.....in fact, I haven't seen him go pee in front of me in a long time!

@EverCats

Yeah, I'm going to see one soon, thank-you.