Strange Sudden Cat Box Behavior

She is probably in the beginning stages of renal failure. The two elderly Siamese cats I took in a few years back were both in renal failure and both peed enormous amounts all over the place! That is one of the tell-tale signs, I think.

Cats can live for quite awhile with this condition as long as they eat the right foods and are under the care of a vet. Take her in ASAP to have her evaluated.

You may also want to put a mat or rug under her box (or use an enclosed box) to help with the messes.

Hi animalcrazy and welcome to the forum!

First of all, at 17, she is considered a geriatric cat....she's actually the equivalent of an 84 year old human!

If she's actually going INTO the box to urinate, my own "gut" feeling is that she probably isn't dealing with any pain-producing infection...generally, if a cat is experiencing pain while urinating, he/she will AVOID the litterbox. That said, no infection can be ruled out simply by generalizing about behaviours.

Secondly, at 17, it's very lilkely that she is dealing with arthritis...so, one possibility is that the "new" position she is taking inside the box is more comfortable for her...perhaps she is partially resting on the side of it - you will be able to see if she is perhaps partially supporting herself like that, which might be the cause of these "spills".

One solution might be to place her litterbox inside another slightly larger box - even a cardboard box lined with a plastic garbage bag...might make the cleaning-up a little easier.

Remember, though, if she's arthritic, you don't want to make her entry to the box more difficult - in fact, I'd suggest making some kind of ramp for her ease-of-entry. I personally would NOT make the change to an enclosed box at this stage in her life...that would be a major change (which cats dislike) and, as well, many cats dislike these covered boxes.

Now, as a geriatric cat, she should be seeing the Vet twice a year "no matter what". In her case, the new excessive drinking you're observing is most probably related to a very common - but serious - kidney health condition.....she needs to see the Vet for this...so you'd better get onto this ASAP.

If I were in your position, I'd go and see the Vet in person, without the cat, (perhaps at the end of the day, when clinic hours are finished) and have a private conversation explaining my financial position as well as the need for examining your cat. If you have any kind of history with that Vet, I would hope that she/he would extend you the courtesy of seeing your cat and you paying for that as soon as possible afterwards - a payment plan of sorts. What I would NOT do is get into any discussion of these issues with clinic staff...they have already been programmed to restrict/deny these kinds of courtesies. Besides that, I wouldn't want to discuss my finances with anyone except the Veterinarian.

As BlueRexBea has said, IF she has a kidney condition, this CAN be dealt with...what you need to know upfront is that many Vets will discourage treatment and encourage "owners" to let their cats go...should that happen, I'd suggest you don't make any snap decisions without at least discussing things with us first. You should also know that kidney disease is NOT painful in itself, so she would NOT be suffering from it. I'd also say that cats do experience pain with arthritis, and that many Vets will offer a medication called Metacam for this...I would NEVER use this with my cats because it destroys kidney cells. There are other, safer pain meds.

Hope this helps...keep us updated.