Average Size Of Cat Urination?

Hey guys, I'm a rather paranoid person, so to help alleviate my concerns, I wanted to come here and get some reassurance.

My I saw my cat pee the other day, and for whatever reason I think that he isn't urinating enough. He didn't have any issue while urinating. He got in, pee'd, and got out. There was no meowing, or any signs of distress. I didn't see any blood or anything unusual in the urine. The only reason I got concerned was because his pee seemed somewhat smaller than my other cat's. I have one female who has "solid" sized pees. My boy's pee was somewhat smaller. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a few drops or anything, but me being paranoid, it caught my attention.

If I had to estimate, I'd say it was about an inch deep (maybe slightly less) and about 4-5 inches across (give or take). He's acting perfectly normal and running around acting like himself. He doesn't appear to be in any distress, but I want to get some reassurance. Here's an estimate of the size of his pee (to scale)



It's probably slightly smaller than the picture, but that's a rough estimate. You'd essentially have a perfect match if you cut off the top corners of the "heart", which would leave you with something resembling a circle. That would be a close match to what his pee looks like.

Can you guys please alleviate my concerns?

For what it's worth, he's peeing multiple times per day (I know that he has gone at least twice in the last 24 hours, but he isn't constantly hovering around the box. As I said, he's acting perfectly fine.)

Golly, I m not a vet and it all depends on intake and output, but it looks and sounds ok to me.

He is otherwise playing, eating, acting normal? Does he heat wet food or dry?

If you are this concerned, give the vet a call and tell them what your concerns are.

Originally Posted by farleyv

Golly, I m not a vet and it all depends on intake and output, but it looks and sounds ok to me.

He is otherwise playing, eating, acting normal? Does he heat wet food or dry?

If you are this concerned, give the vet a call and tell them what your concerns are.

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Yep, he's acting completely normally. He's racing around the house like he always does, he's eating as normal, and nothing seems to be amiss. He's on a wet food diet.

To be honest, I've never closely examined him peeing before so I can't determine if there has been any kind of a change.

Again though, everything is perfectly normal, he's acting great and eating great.

This is just an irrational fear of mine, but I'd like to hear from some people here.

Sometimes a cat's bladder just isn't as full as other times. You might get a larger pee out of a cat after they've been asleep for a while than say if they had peed a few hours ago.

I've also learned something recently (not that I didn't know it, just that I didn't realize how much). Most of what you see in a urine clump is litter, the actual amount of urine out at one time really isn't as much as it looks.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Sometimes a cat's bladder just isn't as full as other times. You might get a larger pee out of a cat after they've been asleep for a while than say if they had peed a few hours ago.

I've also learned something recently (not that I didn't know it, just that I didn't realize how much). Most of what you see in a urine clump is litter, the actual amount of urine out at one time really isn't as much as it looks.

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Overall though, do you think I have any reason to be concerned?

Given that the type of litter you used made the urine spread and clump, it doesn't look too off. However, if you're used to seeing large clumps from the female cat she may actually not be peeing the normal amount.

Just like people, cats pee sizes vary. Wessie makes huge pees, and tiny pees. I don't think you have anything to worry about,

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Given that the type of litter you used made the urine spread and clump, it doesn't look too off. However, if you're used to seeing large clumps from the female cat she may actually not be peeing the normal amount.

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I was thinking about it, and I think I may have come up with a reason why his pee's look smaller.

A male cats has a much smaller urethra, so naturally, the surface area that the pee will be covering is much less, and so you'll see less "pee". With a female, who has a larger urethra, their pee is going to cover a larger surface area, and therefore it'll absorb more litter and appear larger.

Could this theory be possible?

Originally Posted by catbehaviors

Just like people, cats pee sizes vary. Wessie makes huge pees, and tiny pees. I don't think you have anything to worry about,

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Note to those who haven't seen the threads: This person's cat recently had a UTI/crystals that weren't treated with vet care. Huge pees are usually a sign of urinary issues, and multiple tiny ones can come from crystal/inflammation. Variation is only normal when there isn't a large difference.

Originally Posted by catbehaviors

Just like people, cats pee sizes vary. Wessie makes huge pees, and tiny pees. I don't think you have anything to worry about,

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Sounds good. Thanks for the feedback.

I'll keep an eye on him as always, and if I see any behavioral change (of any kind) I'll get him checked out, but hearing this helped me relax.

I saw him go again tonight and the process was the same.

1)Get into the box.
2)Shake his butt a little, and then pee. I could hear a really strong stream and it lasted for about 3 or 4 seconds.
3)He hopped out and it was about the same size as last night.

Thanks for the reassurance. You're right - Cats, just like humans, are different. Some have larger pee's, some have smaller pee's. Assuming that he's acting fine and is peeing, then I shouldn't be at all concerned.

Thank you again.

Originally Posted by vertigho

I was thinking about it, and I think I may have come up with a reason why his pee's look smaller.

A male cats has a much smaller urethra, so naturally, the surface area that the pee will be covering is much less, and so you'll see less "pee". With a female, who has a larger urethra, their pee is going to cover a larger surface area, and therefore it'll absorb more litter and appear larger.

Could this theory be possible?

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Depends more on litter and if your cat is a "digger". All of my girls dig a bit so when I used something that clumped I saw no difference. Overall clump, and the weight of the clump, if much larger out of one would warrant some investigation. I suppose when I was using litter that weight was more what I paid attention to.

Originally Posted by vertigho

I was thinking about it, and I think I may have come up with a reason why his pee's look smaller.

A male cats has a much smaller urethra, so naturally, the surface area that the pee will be covering is much less, and so you'll see less "pee". With a female, who has a larger urethra, their pee is going to cover a larger surface area, and therefore it'll absorb more litter and appear larger.

Could this theory be possible?

Click to expand...

Yes, of course it could be right. But that doesnt look small at all. I would say that is about the same as my 12 lb male cat produces. You really only need to be concerned at a marked drop in urine output. If you have to take a picture and ask, it's fine. Now, if my cat started peeing golf ball sized like my kitten, I would be concerned.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Note to those who haven't seen the threads: This person's cat recently had a UTI/crystals that weren't treated with vet care. Huge pees are usually a sign of urinary issues, and multiple tiny ones can come from crystal/inflammation. Variation is only normal when there isn't a large difference.

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Would you consider what I'm describing as tiny?

Again, I'm ultra paranoid about stuff in general, but I lost two animals this past year so I'm SUPER-ULTRA paranoid now-a-days.

In other words, would you consider what I described to you an alarmingly small pee? Or if he's acting fine and his pee's stay the same size should I not worry?

His wouldn't alarm me if he was my cat. But I don't scoop his litter box so I wouldn't know what is normal day in and day out.

But I have to wonder, what else besides this one pee clump is bothering you? We all see an occasional smaller pee and don't really worry about it. So I have to wonder if somewhere in the back of your mind if you've seen some behavior out of him that's been bothering you a bit. If so, go ahead with the check up. When was his last one, anyways? If one can afford it and the cat is willing, twice a year check ups are not excessive.

What's his age and what does he eat?

Originally Posted by strange_wings

His wouldn't alarm me if he was my cat. But I don't scoop his litter box so I wouldn't know what is normal day in and day out.

But I have to wonder, what else besides this one pee clump is bothering you? We all see an occasional smaller pee and don't really worry about it. So I have to wonder if somewhere in the back of your mind if you've seen some behavior out of him that's been bothering you a bit. If so, go ahead with the check up. When was his last one, anyways? If one can afford it and the cat is willing, twice a year check ups are not excessive.

What's his age and what does he eat?

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I'm just a really paranoid person. I haven't seen any other behavior out of him that worries me, I'm just a naturally stressed out person.

His last vet visit was back in October. We had him to the vet about 4 or 5 times to have chest x-rays and an echocardiogram, combined with 2 basic checkups. He was panting on exertion and we wanted to get him checked out. We ruled out the heart and I started giving him some herbal pills that were supposed to help clear out your sinuses. Since then, I haven't seen any panting at all.

Due to that fiasco, plus losing two pets earlier this year, I've been having irrational stress. I'm about to upload some photos of his actual pee. One sec.

PHOTOS:









Any thoughts? These are actual photos of his pee.

Oh I understand worrying. I thought one of mine had crystals the other day, took some urine with me and it turned out to be off the seeds I was using. Thankfully.

If he's a bit older, 7+, then more than one visit a year isn't being paranoid. If he's on a grain-free diet it can cause some urinary issues in some cats.

And it's good that you got the panting checked out. Some people don't or will wait.

ETA: You have a tight clumping litter! That's what you're seeing. That and it looks like an afternoon/night pee.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Oh I understand worrying. I thought one of mine had crystals the other day, took some urine with me and it turned out to be off the seeds I was using. Thankfully.

If he's a bit older, 7+, then more than one visit a year isn't being paranoid. If he's on a grain-free diet it can cause some urinary issues in some cats.

And it's good that you got the panting checked out. Some people don't or will wait.

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Oops. I completely forgot to answer your previous questions:

He's approximately 1-year old, and he's eating California Natural Wet Food, the Venison and Brown Rice formula.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Oh I understand worrying. I thought one of mine had crystals the other day, took some urine with me and it turned out to be off the seeds I was using. Thankfully.

If he's a bit older, 7+, then more than one visit a year isn't being paranoid. If he's on a grain-free diet it can cause some urinary issues in some cats.

And it's good that you got the panting checked out. Some people don't or will wait.

ETA: You have a tight clumping litter! That's what you're seeing.

That and it looks like an afternoon/night pee.

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So assuming that he continues to act fine and I see no drastic changes, then I should have no concerns?

Also, great call. This was a late-afternoon pee. The one I saw the other day was a night-time pee.

I don't think there is anything wrong there...
When Bugsy had his UTI/Inflammation, his pee was tiny - I mean tiny... like... about the size of your thumbnail.
Also, he would jump in and out of the box trying to pee... Jump in, sit there, jump out, jump in again, jump out... Lick his bottom, jump in, jump out... He was trying really hard to pee and couldn't.
Have you ever had an UTI before? Know how you want to go to the bathroom all the time? And then you can't pee? Same thing with the kitty...

So... I think your kitty is alright... If he starts jumping in and out of the box trying to pee, then you have a reason to worry.... Or if he pees outside of the box too of course...