Adult cat meowing and peeing

HI everyone!
I have two cats, male and female, both around 7.

The female cat has started meowing every morning, around the same time. If I open my eyes or pop my head up she will jump up on me and settle down. Sometimes she will jump off immediately and keep meowing. If I ignore, she just keeps at it, even scratching my dresser until I call her. 
 
They always have foot in the bowl, and water, so I know it can't be that.

Also, about two years ago she did this and she peed just outside the litter box a few times (maybe 3?) I mean, JUST beside the litter. The littler is kept clean and this is never an issue. I took her to the vet at the time and they checked her out, said there was nothing wrong and to keep an eye. She stopped after.

This morning when I got up I noticed she had peed just outside the litter. 

Do you think these are related? I haven't called the vet yet because of my previous experience and lack of help. 

 

Hi, and welcome to TCS

Peeing outside the box is often a sign of physical problems. I would definitely get her checked out. Make sure the vet does a urine test, to rule out a UTI or blockage. I would also want her checking for pain issues (such as arthritis) - particularly through her back and hindquarters, and in her paws.

[article="32366"][/article][article="32341"][/article][article="32493"][/article][article="29715"][/article]

I don't know why she'd be meowing at you in the morning, unless its simply that she wants you to get up! The only way to break her of the habit is to totally ignore her. Feign sleep, and give no reaction whatsoever. It's not easy, but its the only way. You may want to invest in some earplugs for the duration

If you want her to stop scratching at your dresser, try Sticky Paws or corner protectors, or even wrapping it in tinfoil! This article has more ideas
[article="0"][/article]

Hi there!
Thanks so much for all the advice. I've called the vet to make an appt. When I got home from work today she had peed beside the litter box again.
I'm thinking the constant meowing is because maybe she's in pain or stressed. She usually goes in the litter box during this time.

Hopefully the vet can get her in asap.

Good luck with the vet. I hope it gives you some answers.

Hi everyone,
So my poor little girl has been to the vet 3 times. they drained her anal glands, had a urine test done (results were fine) had xrays done (no stones) and an enema.
She is STILL peeing outside the box.

The vet seems think its behavioural - though I haven't heard from her since the enema. (3 days ago)
NOTHING has changed in the house, around the house, etc. 

Yesterday I again cleaned out the littler box and washed it out, and bought new littler to see if that could help (can't hurt?!) and like I said, today she peed beside the box again...

I am losing it here. I don't know what else to do  - the vet doesn't either. I've spent $600 and don't really have  much more money to keep going... Any suggestions?!?!?!

Right - now you know she's physically fine you can focus on changing the behaviour.

Have you tried Dr Elsy's Cat Attract cat litter? It's not the cheapest, but it can make a huge difference.

She sounds a little anxious too. Feliway diffusers are always a good start point for de stressing. You might want to look at Spirit Essences or Composure too. Start with the Feliway though - you may find that dies the trick on its own.

You might find that adding an extra box helps too. Go for one that's simple and uncovered.

Look over the links I posted before. There's lots more information there. These may help too [article="30316"][/article]
[article="32758"][/article]Good luck. You WILL get her through this

Thanks... I'll look into the diffusers...

I've added an extra, uncovered box a few days ago.. she hasn't used it.

Be patient. Changes won't happen overnight. I know how frustrating this can be. Hang in there.

Samantula said:

 
Hi everyone,
So my poor little girl has been to the vet 3 times. they drained her anal glands, had a urine test done (results were fine) had xrays done (no stones) and an enema.
She is STILL peeing outside the box.

The vet seems think its behavioural - though I haven't heard from her since the enema. (3 days ago)
NOTHING has changed in the house, around the house, etc. 

Yesterday I again cleaned out the littler box and washed it out, and bought new littler to see if that could help (can't hurt?!) and like I said, today she peed beside the box again...

I am losing it here. I don't know what else to do  - the vet doesn't either. I've spent $600 and don't really have  much more money to keep going... Any suggestions?!?!?!

Click to expand...

@Samantula   Can I ask you about having your cat's anal glands drained?  Is this a routine procedure for your cat, or does the vet do it to help diagnose your cat's condition?

The only reason I am asking, is because if your cat did have some blockage, and this had caused some pain, then she might have started avoiding her litter box. 

And does the type of food given to a cat affect the anal glands?

Since your vet thinks it's behavioural, then I would definitely do the things that Columbine suggested.  And those Articles have a lot of tips in them. 

Also maybe put down some 'puppy pee pads'...or newspapers around the 2 litter boxes...just for the time being...although I'm not sure if this would encourage a cat to want to go on the 'pee pads' versus inside the litter box...so maybe just using Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract Litter or just the Additive might help.

Can you also watch her go while she is standing in her litterbox, to see how she positions her body...making sure she's not just hanging her rear end out and missing the sides.

I also think it's going to take some time, to get her to revert back to using either box, so yes, stay positive and hang in there. Hopefully, some of the changes you make will get her back on track again.  Even something like location of box might help.

Hi there!

About 2 yrs ago she had this problem with peeing out of the litter - when i took her in the vet noticed her glands were full and drained them. It worked and she stopped.
(They did say though that it seems odd that the glands would cause the pee issue.)
So this time they tried it again but it didn't work. Then they did the urine test, then xrays. That's when they noticed she had quite a bit of poop which led to the enema.

When she pees its blatantly outside the box. Though I've seen it happen in the last episode where she had her bum sticking out the front of the litter.

Hi. You have been given some really great advice.Cat attract can help a lot of kitties.When you say no stones you mean no crystals or stones right?What about bacteria,rods etc? You should have your own copy of an xray's taken,urinalysis as these tests you are ALL privy to.Most xrays are digital & emailable.What xrays would they have taken? Or are you getting this mixed up with an Ultrasound?.That is a whole different thing.If you still, after all this advice, want to join a group that deals strictly with urinary issues.Stones ,crystals,stress.behavioral issues etc.I can send you to an excellent group.But I would personally try what you have been told.Also what kind of diet are you feeding?Canned or dry.Do you know her PH of her urine? This will all be on your kitty's urine test results.your looking for a PH of 6.0.The group, if  all else fails, they are a small high output group ,but super in the urinary dept.The link is https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FLUTD/info  Sometimes cats cry for no reason.But as we all know with cats they also hide pain very well.In fact most times we never notice them in pain until they do something"Bad" then they teach us to notice.Almost like a dog that is ignored and used negative behavior to get attention.As that is the only time the owner pays attention by yelling at him.Negative attention in dogs & cats is huge.I have two.HTH.If you do join pls post New Member kitty peeing outside the Box or something.Ok A title they have seen hundreds of times.But as for test results they will want them all.Once urine is on the floor it has to be washed with an enzyme cleaner or they will still go there.Like nature's miracle. etc.But she may be doing this for totally a different reason.Good you had her tested. As long as the test was very thorough.Urine was via cysto etc.Good Luck.C .Puppy pads have a smell to them that entices animals to pee on them.I would try to get to the route of the problem rather than basically telling her it is ok to pee here.But may help you in the cleanup dept.JMO you'll have to join Yahoo if you don't belong there.Just google making an account with Yahoo.(free) & follow the prompts.

Hi!
They were xrays. The vet wanted to check for kidney stones.

I feed them the same food they've had for most their lives. The vet was not concerned with the food?

I would have thought that whatever you're feeding is just fine - you've got the all clear from the vet, so I very much doubt that this is in any way food related.

Thanks for the added information @Samantula.

MomofMaxwell gave some more great advice and they're right...the puppy pee pads do have an attractant, so this might further confuse your cat into thinking it's okay to go there...sorry, for that lame suggestion...I was thinking easier to clean, but the whole idea is to get her to go inside the box and not on the outside.

It sounds like your cat is really trying to use the box, since she does go near it, so I'm still thinking it was her initial pain that caused her to stop using it.  Even having a bit of constipation and straining would be painful, at times.

I would suggest trying out a different type of box, for your cat.  Not a conventional litter box, but perhaps a high sided tote box, with a lower opening cut out the front or side.  Or even a larger, wider, under-bed storage box, with lower sides for easier entry and exit.  The higher sided one, or the wider one, may prevent the 'hanging the rear end outside of the box' situation.

As for food, I just ask my vets specific questions, as to what to look for in a food, if it would help my cat's health issue.  Usually, I have to write it all down, because it gets to be confusing.

Hi.

Vet's unfortunately are not nutritionists.Unless you hire a board certified one.Different story.A good read which is dead on is Dr.pierson's site and how her being a vet when a kitty came in with blah ,blah they just went to shelf and handed them C/D or whatever.She soon learnt over the yrs that that was not a good thing.But what vet's are trained to do.The key looking OUTSIDE THE BOX.Which is what I do.(Pun intended)If you want to use puppy pads an an attractant you would take out all the litter ,clean the box & lay a pee pad inside the box.Not outside.Cat Nap had some excellent points as per litterbox & style.Can i have some more history? How old is your baby & how many kitties do you have?Yes they actually make excellent litterboxes that are high sided but very low front for elderly kitties or just plain kitties with arthritis.Arthirtis is being seen in cats as young as 7 yrs of age.So they don't have to be 15 or older like most of us would assume.If kitty is going in the box but after assuming the position it goes over the top.You have a couple of choices.I always went the largest litterboxes as per the bottom & some had hoods & some didn't.I had 5 of them having 8 kitties.If this is something that has just started there is a reason for it.No doubt.The hard part is finding out just what.They wish they could tell us.They really do but sometimes show it in their actions so WE do notice.Even if it is a negative action.Foods like dry for instance can produce very high USG Urine specific gravity.Like 1050,1.055 right up to 1.080 off he vet's scale actually.Ph in 7.0 & higher.That is an indicator right there for vets to read and say "Hey" not good.Too low being a whole other can of worms.Thus the reason for having your own copy of the the urinalysis.Even if you can understand anything it says.That doesn't matter.I have people and there are people here as well that can read that urinalysis & see if anything sticks out.It may be all fine but without reading it.I don't know.Has anything changed in the house?New kitty? New carpet? New dog? New Baby? Different schedule because Mom now works?Any of these as well as many other stressers can cause a kitty to pee outside the box.If it is constipation which Cat Nap is right on it caused them pain to defecate & they will associate "That place" as  a place of pain.So you need to know for instance how big the pees are.How the poos are.No ball poos.Logs.Do you see straining?Are you ever there to be able to monitor this?A lot of us work and are not able to "See" Some actually use wireless cheap IP cameras aimed at the litterbox that will send them an email on their phone or record this view on your hardrive of the computer.Yes I have as well as many others seen botched veterinary exams.I am not saying this has happened.You yourself have to analyze more the situation.Observing everything about your kitty & body language etc.Bowel movements.Attempts in the litterbox & what happens.I kept a  hand written logbook for 6 yrs of absolutely everything my boy did.I had to.I learned to and it was not a pain in the butt for me.I loved him & I owed him that just in case there was a change in his habits I could go back & see if anything new was introduced.Just what I did.I opened every stool he ever had.Yes i got over the "yucky" stage 30 yrs ago.Things sprout up with our babies.We as petowners have to be aware that symptomology is there.To take notice.Real notice.You have done the right thing taking your kitty to the vet.First step.Can this be psychological.Yes.Many kitties are on prozac.But first rule out absolutely everything else.Get a copy of the urine test.I don't know if you can post it to this group or not.Otherwise join the flutd group & they will take it & post it to the group for all to see & all members will learn what the numbers mean.As for the litterbox if you see multiple attempts with still outside look for poops and confirm kitties bowels are working fine & are nice soft logs.This is more difficult in multi cat households.Iknow.If so then you have a choice to go with a high sided,low front one.Or a hooded lge one.I never recommend the smaller domed one's as some kitties feel squished so that can cause an avoidance.Look at your lifestyle,home ,etc for any changes that may have occurred all being very tiny changes but could be huge to a kitty.

HTH Honey.Every one here has great comments of advice.It will take work on your part as "YOU are there.We are not.But feel free if major frustrated to join the FLUTD group.But I can tell you right now they will want all documentation & will ask the same questions I have ,if not more to get to the route of it.That is what they do.like I said being a petowner you are privileged to have any copies in paper form of any tests done. Make a file for your kitty.I think you said you have 3 babies? How many litterboxes do you have?.Usually standard protocol is one per cat plus an extra.So if three babies in" a perfect world" you would have 4 toilets.

HTH C