Male cat doesn’t pee often

[mommyofpepper]

Hi all, I’m new here! Anyway, my baby Pepper has been exhibiting slightly odd behavior, which of course causes me to PANIC about the worst case scenario.

He has always been a once a day pee-er, and recently he’s gone about 27 hours without peeing, (a little over a day). He does NOT have a blockage because I successfully got him to pee by bringing him near the litter box and encouraging him to use it.

He got all huffy at me because I kept handling him and wanting him to use it, but eventually he went in and peed a giant stream.

So my question is, what could this be? All other behavior is 100% normal. Food, water, energy, sleep, etc. He does not appear to be in any distress— he just holds in his pee till the last minute and I don’t know why!

I am confident he is not peeing elsewhere, and signs of UTI’s seem to be accompanied by straining in the litter box and pain, which he has none of.

Should I keep panicking? If needed, we will see our vet, but I want to avoid a visit if I can due to the coronavirus procedures (we can’t go in with him and have to wait in the car which I cannot deal with unless it’s really needed )

 

[denice]

Since he isn't showing signs of a blockage or UTI I wouldn't be concerned about it. Cats with a partial blockage are in and out of the box a lot and only pee a little, it is often bloody as well. The same is true with a UTI and they often quit using the box.

 

[tabbytom]

He has always been a once a day pee-er, and recently he’s gone about 27 hours without peeing, (a little over a day). He does NOT have a blockage because I successfully got him to pee by bringing him near the litter box and encouraging him to use it.

He got all huffy at me because I kept handling him and wanting him to use it, but eventually he went in and peed a giant stream.

So my question is, what could this be? All other behavior is 100% normal. Food, water, energy, sleep, etc. He does not appear to be in any distress— he just holds in his pee till the last minute and I don’t know why!

I am confident he is not peeing elsewhere, and signs of UTI’s seem to be accompanied by straining in the litter box and pain, which he has none of.

Should I keep panicking? If needed, we will see our vet,

It's good to keep an eye on him. It all depends on how much water intake in a day. Though you may be feeding him wet food and have a water bowl for him, he may not been drinking much as he gets hydrated from the wet food.

If he's an adult cat, he holds his pee longer and again, though he is hydrated enough, he may not pee that often, unless he really drinks lots of water besides the wet food.

As long as he dies not strain and cries when he pees and also not peeing in very small clumps or tries to pee each time but no pee at all. As you mentioned, he has no signs of UTI or peeing elsewhere or peeing accompanied with traces of blood, I guess it's just his nature of holding his pee.

My boy also at times pee once a day and he's on wet food and has no drinking fountain or water bowl. He gets his hydration strictly from his wet food. His usual is twice a day.

So it's best just to keep an eye on your boy and if nothing to of the unusual happens, I guess it's ok. Try to encourage hi to drink more by adding a little more water to his wet food.

 

[mommyofpepper]

It's good to keep an eye on him. It all depends on how much water intake in a day. Though you may be feeding him wet food and have a water bowl for him, he may not been drinking much as he gets hydrated from the wet food.

If he's an adult cat, he holds his pee longer and again, though he is hydrated enough, he may not pee that often, unless he really drinks lots of water besides the wet food.

As long as he dies not strain and cries when he pees and also not peeing in very small clumps or tries to pee each time but no pee at all. As you mentioned, he has no signs of UTI or peeing elsewhere or peeing accompanied with traces of blood, I guess it's just his nature of holding his pee.

My boy also at times pee once a day and he's on wet food and has no drinking fountain or water bowl. He gets his hydration strictly from his wet food. His usual is twice a day.

So it's best just to keep an eye on your boy and if nothing to of the unusual happens, I guess it's ok. Try to encourage hi to drink more by adding a little more water to his wet food.

Thank you, you’re right. Honestly I’ve been trying to get him to drink more, and he eats wet food but only once a day (he has dry food in the mornings). I guess he just prefers to hold it, but I don’t understand why. I get uncomfortable when I hold my pee in, so I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t go when he initially has to.

That being said, it’s very possible this has gone on for a while and I’ve been tracking it very closely just now. I was up all night googling and worrying nonstop, which definitely didn’t help ease my worried LOL

 

[mommyofpepper]

Since he isn't showing signs of a blockage or UTI I wouldn't be concerned about it. Cats with a partial blockage are in and out of the box a lot and only pee a little, it is often bloody as well. The same is true with a UTI and they often quit using the box.

Yes, thanks! That’s exactly what I thought. It’s not like he’s actively trying to pee and not being able to. Plus, when I got him to use it, he DEFINITELY did a complete pee. It sounded like a human stream, it was as long and faded out at the end until it became a dribble (just like a human). That wouldn’t happen with a partial obstruction right?

 

[denice]

I have only seen one cat that was partially blocked and it wasn't like that. He got out of the box and peed in front of the box, just a small amount and it looked like pure blood.

 

[tabbytom]

Thank you, you’re right. Honestly I’ve been trying to get him to drink more, and he eats wet food but only once a day (he has dry food in the mornings). I guess he just prefers to hold it, but I don’t understand why. I get uncomfortable when I hold my pee in, so I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t go when he initially has to.

You are welcomed.

So one can of wet food is not enough to keep him hydrated and on top of that he's eating dry and you can't be sure if he's drinking from the water bowl.

Feed more wet food than dry will be better for him. You never know when a blockage will appear, not to scare you.

My boy had UTI sone time back and it's painful to see him in that state. Yes, if you hear gushing sounds during his pee time it's a good sign and dribbles at the end.
Sometimes when my boy is urgent, he runs quickly to the box and dig very fast and pee immediately but only a small amount as compared to when he's not urgent to pee, he'll dig his box north south east west and all the way to China and pee big clumps.

Encourage him to drink more will get him to pee more.

 

[mommyofpepper]

You are welcomed.

So one can of wet food is not enough to keep him hydrated and on top of that he's eating dry and you can't be sure if he's drinking from the water bowl.

Feed more wet food than dry will be better for him. You never know when a blockage will appear, not to scare you.

My boy had UTI sone time back and it's painful to see him in that state. Yes, if you hear gushing sounds during his pee time it's a good sign and dribbles at the end.
Sometimes when my boy is urgent, he runs quickly to the box and dig very fast and pee immediately but only a small amount as compared to when he's not urgent to pee, he'll dig his box north south east west and all the way to China and pee big clumps.

Encourage him to drink more will get him to pee more.

I understand, the reason why he has dry food is because our vet said it’s good for dental health, plus he ADORES it. He does drink water though, I make sure of that. He drinks from his water bowl every morning for about 10 minutes because his dry food makes him so thirsty.

Sometimes he’ll drink more at night too, and we have water bowls around the house as well.

Of course, hydration is super important. I’m just glad to know this probably isn’t something serious (I hope).

Quick question, do you know if me bringing him near the litter box is good or bad? Like is it giving him a negative association with it? I don’t want that to happen. It’s just so scary when he doesn’t pee for a while.

 

[tabbytom]

I understand, the reason why he has dry food is because our vet said it’s good for dental health,

Cats don't chew food like humans do. They don't have specialized flat molars like us to grind food before swallowing. Mostly they take a bite or two and swallow whole. So dry food don't clean teeth. It's not proven that dry food cleans teeth :-

does-dry-food-actually-clean-your-cats-teeth

6-reasons-dry-food-clean-cats-teeth

The only way is to brush their teeth which not all cats allows or like it.

tips-to-increase-your-cats-water-intake

Quick question, do you know if me bringing him near the litter box is good or bad? Like is it giving him a negative association with it? I don’t want that to happen. It’s just so scary when he doesn’t pee for a while.

As long as he's not peeing elsewhere, let him be and let him go to the litterbox on his own if needs to pee. Or you can have another litterbox at another location so that he has two to use.

 

[mommyofpepper]

Cats don't chew food like humans do. They don't have specialized flat molars like us to grind food before swallowing. Mostly they take a bite or two and swallow whole. So dry food don't clean teeth. It's not proven that dry food cleans teeth :-

does-dry-food-actually-clean-your-cats-teeth

6-reasons-dry-food-clean-cats-teeth

The only way is to brush their teeth which not all cats allows or like it.

tips-to-increase-your-cats-water-intake


As long as he's not peeing elsewhere, let him be and let him go to the litterbox on his own if needs to pee. Or you can have another litterbox at another location so that he has two to use.

I understand. Pepper does chew his food from what I can tell, and he adores it, plus our vet says it’s fine so long as 50% of his diet is wet. We also brush his teeth every single day!

And thanks for the advice, I’ll look into getting another litter box. Perhaps he’ll use that one for peeing more!

 

[tabbytom]

We also brush his teeth every single day!

Oh, that's good!

So I guess you don't have to worry that much but importantly is just keep an eye on him and just monitor will do

 

[She's a witch]

It’s also possible that he doesn’t like something about his litter box, either it’s position or maybe litter itself? If you use scented litter, cats usually don’t like them. Some have problems with pellets. Or if you use non clumping litter, maybe it’s too smelly for him? These are just ideas, I’d investigate this possibility if I were you. I agree with all the posters that it’s unlikely it’s UTI but I’d still be worried if he holds his pee somewhat on purpose.

 

[Talien]

I understand, the reason why he has dry food is because our vet said it’s good for dental health, plus he ADORES it. He does drink water though, I make sure of that. He drinks from his water bowl every morning for about 10 minutes because his dry food makes him so thirsty.

Sometimes he’ll drink more at night too, and we have water bowls around the house as well.

Of course, hydration is super important. I’m just glad to know this probably isn’t something serious (I hope).

Quick question, do you know if me bringing him near the litter box is good or bad? Like is it giving him a negative association with it? I don’t want that to happen. It’s just so scary when he doesn’t pee for a while.

Cats like dry food because it is loaded with flavorings, if it wasn't no Cat would touch it because most dry food is primarily plant based, usually corn or wheat, which are carb heavy. Carbohydrates are nutritionally barren for Cats and do nothing but contribute to weight gain.

You can also add water to his canned food if you are concerned that he's not drinking enough.

And like has been suggested, another litterbox is also a good idea. A good rule of thumb is 1 box per Cat, plus one extra.

 

[mommyofpepper]

Cats like dry food because it is loaded with flavorings, if it wasn't no Cat would touch it because most dry food is primarily plant based, usually corn or wheat, which are carb heavy. Carbohydrates are nutritionally barren for Cats and do nothing but contribute to weight gain.

You can also add water to his canned food if you are concerned that he's not drinking enough.

And like has been suggested, another litterbox is also a good idea. A good rule of thumb is 1 box per Cat, plus one extra.

Pepper doesn’t eat plant based dry food, it’s grain free and is made of meat. Do you mean additives in the food?

Also yes that’s a great idea! You guys are right, I’ll look into that

 

[mommyofpepper]

Update everyone, Pepper just peed (and pooped!) without me coaxing him or bringing him to the litter box. It’s been a little less than 24 hours, cause he peed right after 7 AM today and yesterday it was past 8 AM. Could be he’s just naturally a once a day pee-er?

Either way, I’m just so relieved it isn’t a blockage or UTI, but I’ll bring it up with my vet the next time I see him just to be on the safe side.

Thanks for all your help everyone!

 

[tabbytom]

Update everyone, Pepper just peed (and pooped!) without me coaxing him or bringing him to the litter box. It’s been a little less than 24 hours, cause he peed right after 7 AM today and yesterday it was past 8 AM. Could be he’s just naturally a once a day pee-er?

Either way, I’m just so relieved it isn’t a blockage or UTI, but I’ll bring it up with my vet the next time I see him just to be on the safe side.

Thanks for all your help everyone!

That's great to hear!

 

[Craigary]

Lots of great suggestions here but can I make a couple more? Glad he's doing a little better too.

Obviously it's great you're on top of it as far as monitoring this a lot and knowing male cats are susceptible to UTIs, which can be dangerous, so it's great that you are vigilant. I always recommend taking to the vet if you have any doubt or worry at all, or at least phone consults (maybe you did that already? Sorry if I missed it). But if they rule everything out it can definitely be more of a psychological or stress thing. I get not wanting to go, believe me, it sucks having to drop cats off at the vet right now and not be with them (maybe a calming gel can help with that, for you and him hahah) but their health is of course the most important thing.

And I went through this with a boy cat too. SO! Some things to try:

• CatAttract Litter: Dr. Elsey’s Cat Attract™ Cat Litter - the litter cats love™
• (Can get on Chewy, PetCo, etc. too.) We got this for our kitten two years ago who was nervous with other cats around and he was almost TOO attracted to this stuff, lol (he goes into the closet where we hide it and digs into the box!) so he was very encouraged to go in there.
• Can also spray Feliway spray on litterbox areas.
• Make sure the boxes are comfortable, big enough for him, and in a private or protected space. Do you have other cats? I didn't see here whether you do but that can add to litterbox stress (and holding it in), we have one extra litterbox for the total # of cats, with one in garage for private peeing (and of course that's the one they all use).
• Water fountains can encourage water drinking and make it fun.
• You are doing right thing, giving wet food and dry, but more wet food for him to give more fluids if possible, and if he's not super keen on it just try different brands til you find one he loves (we landed on Weruva brand, especially the ones that are like chicken+pumpkin, our cats love that). And even add a little more water to it on top of that.

Let me know if any of this helps and update us on how he's doing.

 

[mommyofpepper]

Lots of great suggestions here but can I make a couple more? Glad he's doing a little better too.

Obviously it's great you're on top of it as far as monitoring this a lot and knowing male cats are susceptible to UTIs, which can be dangerous, so it's great that you are vigilant. I always recommend taking to the vet if you have any doubt or worry at all, or at least phone consults (maybe you did that already? Sorry if I missed it). But if they rule everything out it can definitely be more of a psychological or stress thing. I get not wanting to go, believe me, it sucks having to drop cats off at the vet right now and not be with them (maybe a calming gel can help with that, for you and him hahah) but their health is of course the most important thing.

And I went through this with a boy cat too. SO! Some things to try:

• CatAttract Litter: Dr. Elsey’s Cat Attract™ Cat Litter - the litter cats love™
• (Can get on Chewy, PetCo, etc. too.) We got this for our kitten two years ago who was nervous with other cats around and he was almost TOO attracted to this stuff, lol (he goes into the closet where we hide it and digs into the box!) so he was very encouraged to go in there.
• Can also spray Feliway spray on litterbox areas.
• Make sure the boxes are comfortable, big enough for him, and in a private or protected space. Do you have other cats? I didn't see here whether you do but that can add to litterbox stress (and holding it in), we have one extra litterbox for the total # of cats, with one in garage for private peeing (and of course that's the one they all use).
• Water fountains can encourage water drinking and make it fun.
• You are doing right thing, giving wet food and dry, but more wet food for him to give more fluids if possible, and if he's not super keen on it just try different brands til you find one he loves (we landed on Weruva brand, especially the ones that are like chicken+pumpkin, our cats love that). And even add a little more water to it on top of that.

Let me know if any of this helps and update us on how he's doing.

Wow thanks for all the amazing suggestions! We currently have one litter box but will get another because as others mentioned here, it’s good to have extra.

Any unusual changes we normally report to the vet— but I do think it’s fine because we mentioned his peeing habits to the vet last time we saw him, and his habits appear to be back to normal, at least for him.

His litter box is clean and in a well enclosed space (a dark hallway), so I think it’s good there.

All your tips are super helpful! I’m gonna look into them, especially the water fountain idea. Thanks so much!

 

[mommyofpepper]

Lots of great suggestions here but can I make a couple more? Glad he's doing a little better too.

Obviously it's great you're on top of it as far as monitoring this a lot and knowing male cats are susceptible to UTIs, which can be dangerous, so it's great that you are vigilant. I always recommend taking to the vet if you have any doubt or worry at all, or at least phone consults (maybe you did that already? Sorry if I missed it). But if they rule everything out it can definitely be more of a psychological or stress thing. I get not wanting to go, believe me, it sucks having to drop cats off at the vet right now and not be with them (maybe a calming gel can help with that, for you and him hahah) but their health is of course the most important thing.

And I went through this with a boy cat too. SO! Some things to try:

• CatAttract Litter: Dr. Elsey’s Cat Attract™ Cat Litter - the litter cats love™
• (Can get on Chewy, PetCo, etc. too.) We got this for our kitten two years ago who was nervous with other cats around and he was almost TOO attracted to this stuff, lol (he goes into the closet where we hide it and digs into the box!) so he was very encouraged to go in there.
• Can also spray Feliway spray on litterbox areas.
• Make sure the boxes are comfortable, big enough for him, and in a private or protected space. Do you have other cats? I didn't see here whether you do but that can add to litterbox stress (and holding it in), we have one extra litterbox for the total # of cats, with one in garage for private peeing (and of course that's the one they all use).
• Water fountains can encourage water drinking and make it fun.
• You are doing right thing, giving wet food and dry, but more wet food for him to give more fluids if possible, and if he's not super keen on it just try different brands til you find one he loves (we landed on Weruva brand, especially the ones that are like chicken+pumpkin, our cats love that). And even add a little more water to it on top of that.

Let me know if any of this helps and update us on how he's doing.

Also he’s doing great! Just drank a lot of water and ate some more food! He’s still his wild self

 

[Craigary]

Yay glad to hear it Sounds good and you are welcome.
our biggest male cat would be most susceptible to UTIs fortunately LOVES to drink water. Aside from dishes of water and the CatIt fountain we also occasionally turn on the shower drip for him. Also gets wet food. But yeah for male cats we have to be especially vigilant, which you are. Glad he’s doing well.