Long haired cat soaking his hind fur with pee when using the box- HELP!

[bellaluna05]

Hi, So I've only posted here once before about my last kitty who has now passed But now I have two new kitty's and one has been having some potty issues My new boys, Otter and Chai are almost 2 yrs old now, but I've had them since they were 6 weeks. I posted many pics of them to share

So onto the issue... Chai who is a Long haired Maine Coon mix, started off having problems with his poo getting stuck in his fur all the time b/c it would get too soft on & off and he is super furry back there. After a lot of bathes which I just couldn't do anymore due to my severe pain, we took him to a new vet that does Western and Natural/ Eastern/ Holistic medicine. We had taken him to his previous vet and he just wanted to put him on one of those prescription diets, I don't like those so.... new vet. Now we have him on probiotics and he's been doing better so far, YAY!

But he recently also started peeing all over himself, sometimes soaking his inner legs and backside while peeing in his box, which we did mention to the new vet but she was more concerned with the poo problem. It had only happened a few times by then, but now it keeps happening, not every time he goes, but often enough to be worrying me! I don't notice any other signs of a UTI that I know of but wanted to see if anyone had any other thoughts as to why he might be having this problem or if anyone thinks it could still be a UTI??? There were a couple days before going to the new vet that he was walking around crying loudly which isn't like him, he hasn't been doing that for a couple weeks now though. I don't think he's using the box anymore frequently then usual, if anything he sometimes holds it a little bit. Not sure why as a I keep their box extremely clean, I clean it at least 3 times a day and immediately scoop out any #2's. I live in a very small place and don't have room for two boxes unfortunately but my two boys are incredibly bonded, e en the new vet noticed and they have never seemed to mind sharing, they even bury the others #2's if one was forgetful to do so, lol. Or in case a I didn't realize someone had gone and they want to let me know by scratching very loudly at the box, not even the litter, just the noisy box itself. They've gotten very spoiled having it cleaned so often, they've become a bit demanding, lol. But a I like it clean too so... sorry I'm rambling....

So anyway if anyone can help me with this I really appreciate it!! I think maybe he sits in the litter all the way when he goes or something cuz he also gets the litter all over him back there. I use Okocat natural wood clumping litter by the way. And they do have a covered box but it's huge and the lid is very tall, looks like plenty of head room. They are big boys, not fat just big, Chai is 16lbs and Otter a Siamese mix is almost 15 lbs. Luckily Chai isn't afraid of the water so it's not too stressful for him to get bathed, he used to just like to play in the water, but he's starting not to love it so much after all the baths needed from the poo problem, so a I really hate having to keep bathing him b/c he has soaked himself with pee. If it's just a little I either let him worry about it or use these wipes called Water Wipes that my Mom found at Target, they are literally just water and 1% grapefruit, no aloe or anything toxic, Yay!

 

[bellaluna05]

Sorry for the typos above, I didn't actually mean to post it yet, I wasn't finished but I do t see a way to edit it, is there? Thanks so much everyone!!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

as fr as editing, at the bottom left corner of your posts, if you catch them early enough, you should see a little pencil.  click on that and your post will open up and you should be able to edit it at that point

Now, as far as your guy having a possible UTI, it doesn't sound like you are describing any symptoms of a UTI, just because he is soaking himself with urine.  Symptoms of a UTI are typically them urinating places outside of the box, and normally in small amounts.  That's there way of letting you know there is an issue.  Either that or they will "assume the position" anywhere, including the box, and nothing will happen.  Of course, if you have a covered box, you won't be seeing that.

When you say you have a large box, just how large is it?  I don't have Maine Coons, but my litter boxes are actually Rubbermade Storage containers that I cut an opening in the front of so they can step in and lined that with duct tape.  Now THAT's what I would call LARGE

  It gives them plenty of room to get in, turn around, dig to china (without tossing the litter on the wall), or getting themselves soaked.  I do NOT put the lid on the storage container because I've read that cats like to be able to see around them when they are doing their business, and also, even as large as the container is, I don't think it would be tall enough with the lid on.  I can see my boys' heads above the rim when they are in there.  OH, and one of my guys is medium haired - he definitely has "pantaloons"

I would recommend at least removing the top from their litter box and see if that helps.  If that doesn't work, then try getting him a shave on his back end.  some cats need to have that all the time.