Inappropriate elimination - medical?

lilblu

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I originally thought this was a behavioral problem, especially after talking with the vet. Now I'm not so sure.

I've been fostering three cats whose owner moved and could not take all the cats with them due to pet limit rules. I was only supposed to have them temporarily (a few months) but I've had them about 8 months and the way things are going, I'm either going to end up with all three permanently or just one permanently.

The oldest cat (Nina) is around 11 y/o and showed up as a stray when she was a kitten. The other two are about 3 and were adopted about two years ago. Nina has never gotten along with the other two, mostly because they try to intimidate her. Their owner never did a proper introduction.

Since I was only supposed to have them temporarily, I've kept them confined to 2 rooms, a small bathroom, and a very short hallway. I've been keeping them separated from my cats until I can get FeLV tests done on these foster cats. The vet clinic wants $180 for snap tests that have a history of giving false positives. Since I have no idea when these cats may be leaving me (if ever) no one can afford to pay $180 for tests with false positives. Within the next three months or so, I should be able to get the FeLV tests done for maybe $60.

Everything was going fine with the cats until mid-March. For the entire month of February I was really sick and was spending about 8-12 hours per day in the room with these cats. Nina would sit on my lap for hours. In early March, I felt much better and have been busy applying for jobs and writing my own resume and stuff like that. So I was not able to spend much time with these cats. There were several days where I only had time to feed/water them and that's it. In mid-March, Nina started urinating and pooping on my love seat (a small couch). I've kept it covered with pee pads the whole time so nothing gets into the couch. Cleanup is as easy as removing the soiled pee pad and putting down a new one.

I tried spending more time with Nina, but I've just been too busy to give her the time she wants. I tried breaking her from urinating and pooping on the love seat by putting a cat carrier up there. She just urinated and pooped around it. If I can catch her in time, I take her to the litter box and she will usually use it.

I talked to the vet who seems to think this is a behavioral problem, probably due to the fact that I spent 8 hrs a day with her everyday and now I can't even give her 30 minutes. There were no other changes at the time the problem started. I put a Feliway diffuser in the room near the love seat, but it's made no difference at all. Although, I think one of the other cats seems happier now.

Before Nina came to live with me, she spent most of her time outdoors. Now she only has two rooms or so to go in. She must be incredibly bored. I do try to play with her but it's hard to find the time depending on the day.

Do you all think this is a behavioral or medical issue? I have to get the owner's permission before I can take her to the vet's for tests. Based on the timeline, this does seem like a behavioral issue. Is there anything I can do to break her of this habit? It's getting to be a pain in the rear for me.
 

strange_wings

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The thing is, with cats stress can cause illness. You not being there could have stressed Nina to the point that she's having urinary issues now. But due to her age, you need to make sure it's not her kidneys, either.

The mistake here is that the vet is making this assumption without seeing the cat and it's misleading you a bit. Nina needs medical care, this could be more serious than you know.

In a way I'm reminded of a friend. She had a cat that was 16 at the time. He started peeing on her bed and on other furniture. She assumed it was just behavioral. By the time she took my advice and finally took him to the vet (around a year later) and had blood tests done his crf had progressed quite far. Treatment wasn't enough to save him.
 
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lilblu

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Ok. Thanks. I'll talk to the owner so we can schedule an appointment.

Do you think it would be best to get blood work done that includes everything, like potassium levels? The basic blood work does not include that as well as a few other things. It does include creatinine and BUN. The cat's last blood work was done around 2009 or 2008, I can't remember.

Also, I neglected to mention this in my original post, but the cat has put on a tiny bit of weight since coming to live with me. I reduced her food according to what the vet said, but I guess she has bad metabolism. I'd say she's maybe 1-3 pounds overweight.
 

strange_wings

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Oh! the weight issue is important. Have her blood sugar checked! And yes, full blood work. This is a senior cat and she really should have this done annually, or even every 6 months since there are some problems with her.

Weren't you wanting to work as a vet assistant? If so, you have got a ton to learn. No offense meant, so please don't take it that way. But as far as blood work, getting kitty to the vet/waiting and recognizing potential health issues you need to gain some knowledge, and confidence.
And I hope that you do and can be successful.
 
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