Could You Live With An Incontinent Cat?

[kristenann]

Could you live with a cat with urinary incontinence? Have you?

I just really need some feedback as this may be a reality I am soon facing and I'm struggling with it. I haven't given up hope yet as there are still more tests we can run/things we can try, but my newest addition Panzer seems to have intermittent urinary incontinence.

My initial feelings are no I can not, especially considering he is only about 6 years old. But he is such a nice kitty and if he doesn't seem to be upset about it, then maybe we could manage with diapers?

 

[Willowy]

If he'll wear diapers I don't see any problem with it. He'll probably need suspenders because cats are slinky and diapers don't stay on like with dogs. Like this: Piddle Pants™ For Cats – Joybies™ Pet Store for Dogs and Cats

If he won't wear diapers. . .well, I wouldn't be able to give up on him so I'd probably pee-proof a room for him to stay in. If he was incredibly unhappy about that I suppose hard decisions would have to be made but I'd try anyway.

 

[kristenann]

Thank you so much for your input! Those diapers seem pretty doable - especially with the suspenders. Thank you for the link I may eventually need those. I'm not really sure how he would tolerate them, he's a sweet guy so I would think he could maybe be trained?

I am hesitant to try diapers as I haven't given up yet that we can find a cure and I don't want to stress him unless I have to. It's so weird, he'll go days without leaking and then a day or two with pretty chronic leakage.

I actually tried to keep him in a pee-proofed room, he was very unhappy about it and opened the door so that's not really an option.

 

[Purr-fect]

I hate the smell of urine and poop. It makes me gag. It makes my eyes tear up.

But I would never ever turn my back on my boys. Somehow I figure out how to manage the problem.

As long as they want to live. ... I will support them.

 

[Timmer]

That would be a stressful situation and I'm not sure what i would do and I hope I never have to deal with that. I had no idea they had pee pants for cats.
Basic question tho, have you had the cat checked by the vet to find out why? It might be something simple like a UTI that needs an antibiotic.

 

[kristenann]

Purr-fect I admire your commitment to your kids. Would you do diapers then? Or just clean up messes?

Because he has only intermittent days of incontinence and we have no carpet I'm leaning more towards just cleaning up messes..

Timmer yes we are still looking into possible causes. So far the best guess is he has some sort of paradoxical incontinence caused by FLUTD which kind of fits in the his incontinence comes and goes. When he is having a leaky day he goes to the litter box frequently.

So far he has had blood work, a urinalysis, and an abdominal ultrasound. None of them really found an issue. He is currently on antibiotics just in case he has a low grade infection which we didn't see in the urinalysis because he urine was dilute. The dilution makes sense because he eats watered down can food. He is also on prazosin to see if he is having urethral spasms.

If we can't figure it out I'm going to look into cystoscopy to look for ectopic ureter. But if we go down that route I want to make sure we could fix it if we find that and I might need to save for awhile beforehand

 

[jcat]

Panzer is lucky to have you!

We've had a couple of incontinent cats and dogs at the shelter. Some wore diapers without a problem, while others ripped them off within minutes, so we just cleaned up after them. It wasn't a big deal due to the hard floors. Guess what? They found homes, so there are people who can live with it.

that you find a solution!

 

[neely]

I have never dealt with that particular health issue in a cat although I have with a senior dog obviously due to age and loss of bowel control. Regardless I commend you for exploring all options and not giving up. I think it is wise of you to save up whether for a cystoscopy or other related vet procedures. Please keep us update on Panzer and let us know how you are doing as well.

 

[Jill loves Geno]

If he'll wear diapers I don't see any problem with it. He'll probably need suspenders because cats are slinky and diapers don't stay on like with dogs. Like this: Piddle Pants™ For Cats – Joybies™ Pet Store for Dogs and Cats

If he won't wear diapers. . .well, I wouldn't be able to give up on him so I'd probably pee-proof a room for him to stay in. If he was incredibly unhappy about that I suppose hard decisions would have to be made but I'd try anyway.

I have a 6 yr old Manx and we have an appt with specialist about his incontinence. His last two vertebrae are impinging on his nerves to his bladder and he wets wherever he rests. My question is will the diapers work for tailless kitties.

 

[Willowy]

They sell doggie diapers for tailless dogs. If they don't have diapers specifically for tailless cats you can look for the dog ones and modify them if needed.

 

[Jill loves Geno]

I have been googling and trying to research what kind of cures they have for his issue. I think I remember reading someone had surgery and it didn’t work. That is my biggest fear because we have no money to do this right now. He is only 6 and otherwise healthy.

 

[basschick]

does your cat usually rest in a few of the same spots? you could get cat mats or folded up blankets and wash them whenever they get wet, each time rotating in another one.

our elderly cat is sometimes incontinent. the bed has plastic under the sheets in case of accidents, which do happen. he was missing his cat box a lot, so we now use an extra large dog kennel tray with litter on the entire thing over a larger piece of vinyl sheet flooring. our hardwood floor gets cleaned a lot, and we do lots of laundry.

 

[krisrath11]

I have 2 incontinent cats. I've had 1 since birth the other I adopted that way. They r my favorite and way less gross than a cat box to me. Idk if what happened, did u keep the kitty I hope? If u have questions feel free to ask, or I have a very long post in here from Bob right before birth til the present

 

[Jill loves Geno]

I have 2 incontinent cats. I've had 1 since birth the other I adopted that way. They r my favorite and way less gross than a cat box to me. Idk if what happened, did u keep the kitty I hope? If u have questions feel free to ask, or I have a very long post in here from Bob right before birth til the present

My kitty is on propan and it took more than 5 weeks to work. I use a compounded cream version which I rub twice a day in his ears. And it happened one day and he never had an accident after that. What a blessing! Now he is back cuddling and sleeping with me and no accidents!

 

[krisrath11]

My kitty is on propan and it took more than 5 weeks to work. I use a compounded cream version which I rub twice a day in his ears. And it happened one day and he never had an accident after that. What a blessing! Now he is back cuddling and sleeping with me and no accidents!

That's wonderful news!