Please help: Cat won't stop peeing.

[Agent Foxtrot]

In our household we have 4 cats. They're all pretty healthy, except for one. She's the sweetest, most lovable cat ever. She's also very low-energy, overweight, and has had a history of multiple tooth decay.

She's occasionally missed the litterbox slightly in the past, but recently, she's taken to peeing on either the bathroom rug or the floor in front of the litterbox. Just those two places; never anywhere else. And she's not even hiding it... last night, she peed on the floor while looking straight at my girlfriend. This is becoming a daily thing for her.

She's not an angry cat. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body. If you could think of the cat with the perfect personality, she'd be it. She loves to lie on my chest and lick my nose. She's never once hissed, scratched, or bitten anyone, even under duress.

If she had a urinary tract infection, I imagine she'd be peeing everywhere. Besides, she just got back from the vet a few weeks ago, and all her systems check out OK. The litterbox is cleaned every day.

Does anyone have any idea what's behind this behavior? How do I get her to stop?

[MLS]

How thoroughly did you clean up after her "accidents?" If there is the slightest lingering odor, she will interpret that as an indication that this is an OK place for peeing. The rug should be removed and washed, not just mopped up. Scrub the floor and spray or wipe something citrus-y on it.

One of our cats decided a particular part of the living room was a satisfactory litter box substitute. After cleaning the rug, we laid down a cloth treated with lemon juice on the area. Most cats hate citrus.

Did your vet check for diabetes? The same cat was later found to be on the verge of diabetes, and is now on a special diet for that. He's lost enough weight now to be a normal-sized cat instead of a furry football, and his inappropriate peeing is also gone.

[Antigen]

I wish I had an answer for you, but another visit to the vet wouldn't be a bad idea.

I'm going through this with one of my cats and we've tried cleaning the area, adding litterboxes, changing kinds of litter and boxes, and moving them to other areas. We've ruled out diabetes, tried antibiotics, anti-anxiety medication, and thyroid medication (which he was allergic to). We had his teeth cleaned and two rotting teeth pulled, thinking maybe it was the mouth pain causing him to act up. Nothing helped.

The latest thing we're trying is a calming pheromone collar, and it seems to be helping but it's hard to tell because I don't always find the pee right away. We might soon be treating him with radioactive iodine for the slight hyperthyroidism, which could be causing the peeing (the vet isn't sure), but it's very expensive and he's getting old, so we're on the fence about it. He's in otherwise fine health and the vet isn't sure the thyroid is causing the pee issue, so it seems like an unnecessary procedure at this point.

Good luck to you - I hope the issue is easily resolved. I know how frustrating it gets when you come home and smell pee. Again.

[purplehorseshoe]

Originally Posted by MLS

...
One of our cats decided a particular part of the living room was a satisfactory litter box substitute. After cleaning the rug, we laid down a cloth treated with lemon juice on the area. Most cats hate citrus. . .

OMG I just bought a big bottle of orange oil, and one of our cats has taken to peeing on the bathmat. Always in the middle of the night, too. (Boy, we have GOT to get into the habit of just always closing that door, eh?) Anyway, if this idea of yours works, I will owe you five hundred internet points, a gold star, and a pony that farts rainbows.

Unfortunately, some cats just have this "trigger" and the only real solution is to remove that trigger. For our current cat, it's the bathmat - and fabric in general, really, when he's feeling particularly suicidal. (Kidding ... !) For a previous cat, it was papers on the floor, so we simply kept a particularly tidy home: no tossing the half-read newspaper on the floor while you got a snack, etc.
Side hijack: he endeared himself forever to the Other Shoe by taking a small dump directly onto our tax returns.

[Nawth Chucka]

A UTI can come up in a cat within just a few days. She may be in pain and yes, it's going to be another vet visit - sorry for the expense! Until you can get her in, give her extra fluids in the form of wet food and drained tuna water. Hope they can get you in today or tomorrow!

[cwthree]

Originally Posted by Agent Foxtrot

She's also very low-energy, overweight, and has had a history of multiple tooth decay.

...And she's not even hiding it... last night, she peed on the floor while looking straight at my girlfriend. This is becoming a daily thing for her.

When our overweight cat started peeing in spectacularly inappropriate places and circumstances (e.g., we were petting her on the bed and she just stood up and peed where she was), it turned out to be diabetes and a bladder infection. She was creating lots of urine and simply couldn't hold it long enough to make it to the box. The vet treated the bladder infection with antibiotics and showed us how to manage the diabetes with insulin.

BTW, diabetes in cats is incredibly easy to manage. They're easy to inject, thanks to their nice, loose skin. Their diet is easy to control, so it's easy to predict how much insulin they need. They lack money, transportation, and opposable thumbs, so they are generally unable to get food, treats, and liquor that they shouldn't have.

[Candyman74]

How old is she?

Every cat I've ever known eventually expired from kidney failure - it's the default old age death of cats - and it's always preceded by a year or two of incessant peeing,

Won't apply if it's a young cat, but if she's old - that's unfortunately how it usually goes.

[chizzuk]

Originally Posted by Candyman74

How old is she?

Every cat I've ever known eventually expired from kidney failure - it's the default old age death of cats - and it's always preceded by a year or two of incessant peeing,

Won't apply if it's a young cat, but if she's old - that's unfortunately how it usually goes.

No, it happens with younger cats, too. My parents had a 5-year-old cat that had behaved like OP's ever since he was a kitten suddenly die one afternoon. He started acting incredibly sick and was rushed to the vet, where they barely had time to diagnose renal failure before he just died right there on the table. They were going to try to help him, since he was so young, but they didn't get the chance. It was horrible. The autopsy showed he'd been born with only one functioning kidney and it was diseased. I don't know what could have been done for him if it had been diagnosed earlier, but we were kicking ourselves over it for months.

OP, how extensively did the vet check your cat's kidneys? Because my parents had their cat tested multiple times (obviously we knew his peeing behavior wasn't normal) but it got missed.

[Mrs. Cake]

I had this probelm with one of my cats that turned out to be diabetes, but even though we had taken her in twice before, it wasn't until it got so bad she collapsed one evening that it really showed up on her bloodwork. Fortunately we were able to bring it under control, and I will second what cwthree said about it being pretty easy to manage a diabetic cat. Once I got over my own hesitance to give her the shots, it was no big deal.

[Magiver]

Originally Posted by Candyman74

How old is she?

Every cat I've ever known eventually expired from kidney failure - it's the default old age death of cats - and it's always preceded by a year or two of incessant peeing,

Won't apply if it's a young cat, but if she's old - that's unfortunately how it usually goes.

That's what killed one of my cats. Same exact behavior and physical attributes as described by the op.

[MLS]

Originally Posted by purplehorseshoe

OMG I just bought a big bottle of orange oil, and one of our cats has taken to peeing on the bathmat. Always in the middle of the night, too. (Boy, we have GOT to get into the habit of just always closing that door, eh?) Anyway, if this idea of yours works, I will owe you five hundred internet points, a gold star, and a pony that farts rainbows.

Unfortunately, some cats just have this "trigger" and the only real solution is to remove that trigger. For our current cat, it's the bathmat - and fabric in general, really, when he's feeling particularly suicidal. (Kidding ... !) For a previous cat, it was papers on the floor, so we simply kept a particularly tidy home: no tossing the half-read newspaper on the floor while you got a snack, etc.
Side hijack: he endeared himself forever to the Other Shoe by taking a small dump directly onto our tax returns.

First, obviously, clean off the soiled area as best you can. Then take a clean cloth somewhat larger than the area that you need to protect. We used an old sheet. Rinse it in a lemon juice solution. Let it line-dry -- do not put in the dryer. Then spread it over the area.

[Agent Foxtrot]

The cat in question is around 8 years old. Should I be seriously worried about her kidneys?

[cwthree]

Originally Posted by Agent Foxtrot

The cat in question is around 8 years old. Should I be seriously worried about her kidneys?

That's not at all old for a healthy cat, but it's getting into middle age. Kidney disease isn't out of the question, diabetes is definitely a possibility, and bladder infection is entirely likely. A trip to the vet should help you pick the winner.

[Agent Foxtrot]

I bought a new litterbox over the weekend, and so far, no "accidents." I think I may have found the problem: the old litterbox was over 3 years old and getting a wee bit disgusting. I wouldn't want to pee in there, either.

That said, I'll probably take her in for a once-over after I get back from vacation. Cheers, all.

[WhyNot]

It may very well be the old litterbox. The plastic gets etched eventually, and the smell gets trapped in there. Fingers crossed that that is the issue.

Also, you should have at least 5 litterboxes. The recommended formula is one per cat plus one. That way, if she's in a silent pissing contest with one of the other cats, she's got a shot at using a litterbox that isn't used by her opponent.

[notquitekarpov]

Have the vet check for diabetes.