12 year old cat has started peeing/pooing inside

Silent Runner

Our 12 year old cat has over the space of three weeks has had three incidents of peeing and/or pooing in a specific location in our house which is very close to an electric socket.

Our cat is an in/out house cat in that we don't have a litter box or a cat flap (we never will) but we just let her out when she meows at the window or the door. She had an incident this evening where she actually peed on the socket and flipped the switchboard:eek: I'm afraid of letting her back in the house in case she electrocutes herself

I'm going to get her to the vet tomorrow as I think there could be something wrong with her, I put the other instances down as accidents. But she has no blood in her pee or poop. The only strange thing I noticed this evening was that she was walking around the house meowing but she wouldn't go outside, then I heard the trickle. Do you think this sounds like a Urinary Tract Infection or blockage?

Zapperzy

Cats peeing in inappropriate places can be due to medical or behavioural problems. Always best to rule out medical problems first as you say it could be a uti or crystals/stones.
If that comes back all clear then start looking at behavioural problems, it's usually that there stressed for some reason so look and see has anything changed in your home or outside it, possibly a new cat in the neighbourhood coming into your cats garden. Is the electrical socket near a door or window? Is she spraying up against it rather than squatting on the floor?

What are you cleaning the pee up with? Probably best to cover the socket for safety too in the meantime!

Silent Runner

Zapperzy wrote: »

Cats peeing in inappropriate places can be due to medical or behavioural problems. Always best to rule out medical problems first as you say it could be a uti or crystals/stones.
If that comes back all clear then start looking at behavioural problems, it's usually that there stressed for some reason so look and see has anything changed in your home or outside it, possibly a new cat in the neighbourhood coming into your cats garden. Is the electrical socket near a door or window? Is she spraying up against it rather than squatting on the floor?

What are you cleaning the pee up with? Probably best to cover the socket for safety too in the meantime!

Forgot to mention she got neutered in her early year.

Also we live in a rural area and we don't have cats coming around our house and none of the neighbours have new pets. Nothing has changed here, I don't see what can be stressing her out, she is a very quiet/nervous cat anyways.

Yes the socket is just below the window, she used to do her business a foot or two from the socket as far as I can tell she squatted on the floor the last two times. But this evening she peed right up on the socket on the wall! Also she had just been outside at the time, she came in and did this

I cleaned it up with a hot towel, I think detergents with NH3 make the situation worse. Maybe vinegar and soda would be better?

I've temporarily put up the fire guard around the socket just in case:pac:

Zapperzy

Silent Runner wrote: »

Forgot to mention she got neutered in her early year.

Also we live in a rural area and we don't have cats coming around our house and none of the neighbours have new pets. Nothing has changed here, I don't see what can be stressing her out, she is a very quiet/nervous cat anyways.

Yes the socket is just below the window, she used to do her business a foot or two from the socket as far as I can tell she squatted on the floor the last two times. But this evening she peed right up on the socket on the wall!

If it's just below the window maybe it's coincidence but I'd be thinking territorial marking if she's spotted another cat outside the window? The spraying right up against the wall as opposed to squatting would tie in with that too.

Silent Runner wrote: »

I cleaned it up with a hot towel, I think detergents with NH3 make the situation worse. Maybe vinegar and soda would be better?

I've temporarily put up the fire guard around the socket just in case:pac:

What I'v used is a 10% solution of biological washing powder (biological bit very important as it contains the enzymes necessary to break down the cat pee smells so it doesn't smell like a litter tray to your cat) and warm water, scrub it in, rinse it out with cold water and dry with towels or a hair dryer. I'v also been told to spray some surgical spirits on the area after it's dry and scrub this in as it further breaks down the smell.

Yes definitely avoid all ammonia based products as it basically smells like a big bottle of cat pee to your cat! I'v also been told to avoid all pine, rose and lemon scented cleaning products for the same reason.

Good idea with the fireguard!

Hope the vet visit goes ok tomorrow. I'm not sure which outcome is best to hope for, not nice for the cat if it's a medical problem yet I know from experience cat pee related behavioural problems are a pain in the backside to sort out. Whatever the outcome I hope she's on the mend soon.

Silent Runner

Zapperzy wrote: »

If it's just below the window maybe it's coincidence but I'd be thinking territorial marking if she's spotted another cat outside the window? The spraying right up against the wall as opposed to squatting would tie in with that too.



What I'v used is a 10% solution of biological washing powder (biological bit very important as it contains the enzymes necessary to break down the cat pee smells so it doesn't smell like a litter tray to your cat) and warm water, scrub it in, rinse it out with cold water and dry with towels or a hair dryer. I'v also been told to spray some surgical spirits on the area after it's dry and scrub this in as it further breaks down the smell.

Yes definitely avoid all ammonia based products as it basically smells like a big bottle of cat pee to your cat! I'v also been told to avoid all pine, rose and lemon scented cleaning products for the same reason.

Good idea with the fireguard!

Hope the vet visit goes ok tomorrow. I'm not sure which outcome is best to hope for, not nice for the cat if it's a medical problem yet I know from experience cat pee related behavioural problems are a pain in the backside to sort out. Whatever the outcome I hope she's on the mend soon.

Thank you Zapperzy! I'm going to get bio powder tomorrow. I just used vinegar there, I think cats hate the smell of it, but it won't break down the "cat pee enzymes".

Funny enough this spot is near her perching place, where she sleeps on the head of the couch all day watching people walking out on the road (she's been sleeping here for years). Also these all happened at night time, it's hard to know what might be the cause.

I reluctantly hope its a treatable medical condition, she's a very nervous/unusual cat I think it will be impossible to work on her behavioural problems!:)

Qualitymark

Two little pieces of advice:

1) Clean up the pee and poo with *biological* detergent, which neutralises the smell.

2) Then, when it's dry, put a covered litter tray in the same place for her to use.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bill-Litter-Tray-Toilet-With/dp/B000RY698G/ref=sr_1_3?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1389767424&sr=1-3&keywords=covered+cat+litter+tray

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Omega-Paw-Rolln-Cleaning-Litter/dp/B0002DK2DU/ref=sr_1_4?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1389767517&sr=1-4&keywords=covered+cat+litter+tray

anniehoo

Silent Runner wrote: »

But she has no blood in her pee or poop

Haematuria (blood in the urine) is often undetectable to the naked eye, the same as in faecal matter. So if you can see it, it's really not good. With urinalysis the first port of call is a dipstick test. It can detect even tiny traces of red cells or haemoglobin that won't be visible to you, so don't rely on just your own judgement when it comes to this.

Melena (upper GI), haematochezia (lower GI) or occult blood are all different terms for "blood in faeces". Occult means "not seen" to the naked eye and can come from anywhere in the gastrointestinal tract.

So, just because you can't see it OP doesn't mean it isn't there [IMG]https://ci4.googleusercontent.com/proxy/89h98sISmUCo-Y1feb0mmG1-GVn1MmfQoCmPT0toBXA4qPv5pagvvf0mshze_u_rPH3JzWY6JOraFH3Ivw3Gi3ziNqNFcAdiIa3z=s0-d-e1-ft#<a class=outboundlink data-outboundlink=http://www.boards.ie/out?f=240&url=aHR0cCUzQSUyRiUyRmItc3RhdGljLm5ldCUyRnZidWxsZXRpbiUyRmltYWdlcyUyRnNtaWxpZXMlMkZ3aW5rLnBuZw==&h=c8ab3 href=http://b-static.net/vbulletin/images/smilies/wink.png target=_blank >[/img]http://b-static.net/vbulletin/images/smilies/wink.png</a>

Has she had many vet visits? She's 12 ..so if she's like many of the cats I've had, this is the time when they start telling you things can be wrong with behaviour changes like this.Hopefully it's nothing but it is best to get her checked over if it's been awhile.

Qualitymark

Apart from physical things like kidney infections, which I hope the vet has done blood tests for, old cats can be bullied; do you have a Feliway plug near there - that might help to calm the poor kitty.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ceva-Products-20066-Feliway-Diffuser/dp/B0031TFZRK/ref=sr_1_2?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1389785325&sr=1-2&keywords=feliway

taytobreath

Your cat is roughly 70 years old in human years, could it be possible she is just getting a weak bladder like alot of humans do at that age.


ok.... I just seen that she is pooing too so that may not be the case... sorry

Silent Runner

Hi all

Thanks for your concern. I brought her to the vet today and she couldn't see and obvious problem wither kidneys or bladder, but she's on an anti inflammatory for a week so we're just going to see how she responds to this. The vet seems to think it could be a behavioural problem, but I can't honestly see what could be troubling her as nothing has changed in or out of the home. But she's a strange cat so something trivial could be bothering her:o

We never vaccinated our cat so we bring her to the vet when there's something wrong, we worm and flea drop her ourselves. I've ordered a plug in "felliway", I also gave a bit of catnip so she's pretty much mellowed out for the evening!

franksm

Hi SR

Get a blood test or urinary test done for kidneys, your cat might be telling you something. My older cat starting doing the same as yours 6 months before being diagnosed with kidney failure - too late now, but I wish I had gotten her a blood test early on, it would have been detected in time to switch her to an appropriate diet (Optiplan renal dry food)

Let us know...

Frank