20 yr old cat suddenly stops using litter box

We have a 20 year old cat, Midnight, who has stopped using the litter
box to urinate. She still uses it to go number two, but not number one.

We know that Midnight knows she is doing wrong. If we happen to be
looking at her at the time, she will look at us defiantly, hiss, then
squat and urinate.

We have taken her to the vet. She is in early stages of kidney
failure, but otherwise is in good health. She is expected to live for
quite some time still, and shows no sign of distress, discomfort, or
pain. She refuses to eat dry food. She is fed wet food three times a
day. She is underweight, but is starting to gain it back.

This is a multi-cat household with multiple litter boxes. All cats
have been indoors their entire lives.

Personality-wise, she's a little demon. High-strung, she tolerates our
19 1/2 year old cat, Kimba, as she grew up with him. She doesn't like
our "kittens" (eight year old brothers Midnight's Shadow and Skitter)
whom we raised from feral kittens.

We have exhausted our attempts to correct this behaviour. We are
looking for your ideas.

Please note that at NO TIME will we ever consider "getting rid" of her.
If we can not correct this behaviour, we will simply have to keep
cleaning it up. But destroying her is not an option. Fortunately, we
have a log home, so no carpets to ruin.

Lighthope

Pearls of Wisdom - Friendly fire isn't.

Lighthope wrote in
:

We have a 20 year old cat, Midnight, who has stopped using the
litter
box to urinate. She still uses it to go number two, but not number
one.

We know that Midnight knows she is doing wrong. If we happen to
be
looking at her at the time, she will look at us defiantly, hiss, then
squat and urinate.

We have taken her to the vet. She is in early stages of kidney
failure, but otherwise is in good health. She is expected to live for
quite some time still, and shows no sign of distress, discomfort, or
pain. She refuses to eat dry food. She is fed wet food three times a
day. She is underweight, but is starting to gain it back.

This is a multi-cat household with multiple litter boxes. All
cats
have been indoors their entire lives.

Personality-wise, she's a little demon. High-strung, she
tolerates our
19 1/2 year old cat, Kimba, as she grew up with him. She doesn't like
our "kittens" (eight year old brothers Midnight's Shadow and Skitter)
whom we raised from feral kittens.

We have exhausted our attempts to correct this behaviour. We are
looking for your ideas.

Please note that at NO TIME will we ever consider "getting rid"
of her.
If we can not correct this behaviour, we will simply have to keep
cleaning it up. But destroying her is not an option. Fortunately, we
have a log home, so no carpets to ruin.

Lighthope

Pearls of Wisdom - Friendly fire isn't.


Did the vet suggest Amitriptyline, aka Elavil? If not, ask for it.
That's what we gave our old cat for about 5 years for peeing where she
shouldn't. It doesn't harm them. It's a mild (human) antidepressant,
also used for cats in daily tiny doses. It mellows them and gets rid of
whatever it is that's stressing them out. It's very cheap and the vet
can give you the prescription which you can have filled at any pharmacy,
if you prefer. You'll know the dosage is too high if your cat is too
listless. With our cat, it was a 95% improvement right up until she died
at 19. We too didn't even consider putting her down, and the only
choice was to drug her. It worked.

Bobble

Bobble,

Did the vet suggest Amitriptyline, aka Elavil? If not, ask for it.
That's what we gave our old cat for about 5 years for peeing where she
shouldn't. It doesn't harm them. It's a mild (human) antidepressant,
also used for cats in daily tiny doses. It mellows them and gets rid of
whatever it is that's stressing them out. It's very cheap and the vet
can give you the prescription which you can have filled at any pharmacy,
if you prefer. You'll know the dosage is too high if your cat is too
listless. With our cat, it was a 95% improvement right up until she died
at 19. We too didn't even consider putting her down, and the only
choice was to drug her. It worked.

I have printed out your message and will ask about it.

Lighthope

Pearls of Wisdom - "It's not enough to be sorry when you've done
something wrong. You must correct what you did." - Father Mouse ('Twas
the Night Before Christmas)

"Lighthope" wrote in message
...
We have a 20 year old cat, Midnight, who has stopped using the litter box
to urinate. She still uses it to go number two, but not number one.

We know that Midnight knows she is doing wrong. If we happen to be
looking at her at the time, she will look at us defiantly, hiss, then
squat and urinate.

We have taken her to the vet. She is in early stages of kidney failure,
but otherwise is in good health. She is expected to live for quite some
time still, and shows no sign of distress, discomfort, or pain. She
refuses to eat dry food. She is fed wet food three times a day. She is
underweight, but is starting to gain it back.

This is a multi-cat household with multiple litter boxes. All cats have
been indoors their entire lives.

Personality-wise, she's a little demon. High-strung, she tolerates our 19
1/2 year old cat, Kimba, as she grew up with him. She doesn't like our
"kittens" (eight year old brothers Midnight's Shadow and Skitter) whom we
raised from feral kittens.

We have exhausted our attempts to correct this behaviour. We are looking
for your ideas.

Please note that at NO TIME will we ever consider "getting rid" of her. If
we can not correct this behaviour, we will simply have to keep cleaning it
up. But destroying her is not an option. Fortunately, we have a log
home, so no carpets to ruin.

Lighthope

Pearls of Wisdom - Friendly fire isn't.

This reminds me of a situation I had with my older tricolor cat Foxy. She
and my other cats are strictly indoor cats. My cats have always had
excellent vet care. Foxy lived to be 18. For some unknown reason, she
liked to pee on my bed...even after I would just put on clean sheets. It
was not always like that, just the last 3 or 4 years of her life. It has
been a mystery as to why she was acting like that. I never caught her in
the act. Her personality never changed...always loving and used to sit on
my chest while I would type at the pc. I never considered getting rid of
her-it was out of the question...just washed the sheets. I don't have any
solutions to offer. I just wanted you to know there are others with the
same problem. I hope you get to the bottom of it.
Foxy's Mom

Hi Lighthope!
I am having similar issues with my 17 year old Maine Coon.
He would always use his litter box without exception. Even
when I would get forgetful and it got a bit full he always used it.
He was diagnoised with renal failure over a year ago and started
peeing
in the bathroom on the floor but would still use his pan for "poos".
It wasnt too terribly bad,
i lined the side of the bathroom he used with plastic and newspaper
and just made sure to change the papers daily.
Then about 3 months ago he started peeing everywhere and anywhere. He
even used the kitchen counter and our
dinning room table to pee on. I was at my wits end and it seemed like
I spent all day every day cloroxing and sanatizing places he went.
Bad part is I wasnt able to see where he went at night. I have never
considered putting him down. I just couldn't do it. I would rather
scrub my life
away than have to take my baby to be put to sleep.


I finally got the idea from the internet to diaper him. First let me
say he is NOT thrilled about this. I used regular baby diapers
(they have cat ones but are way too expensive for my budget
especially since he pee's alot. I mean ALOT!!) size small. I cut
a tail hole in the back and duck tape the edges of the hole to aid
against leakage then use a small piece of tape to secure one side
shut.
Then when I change him I slide his tail in then one leg and then
secure around his other leg. He doesn't like the process of being
diapered but
once he is in them he doesn't seem to mind at all. He still runs
through the house (being chased by the kitten) and sleeps
comfortably. I check him every 4 hours
to see if he needs changed and go from there. Every other day I wash
his bottom and let him "air dry" for a few hours then rediaper. It has
saved me a TON of cleaning work.

The only problem I am having now is he has a slight odor from the
urine I assume being on his fur. I wash him throughly with soap and
water but it doesnt seem to help much but
I continue to wash him so he doesn't develop irritation or
infections.

I'm not sure if you are having a hard time with odor control but I
found a product I would never do without. It's called "Anti Icky Poo"
it has enzymes in it that kill the
bacteria in the urine that causes the odor. You just pour the icky poo
on the smelly spots and allow to air dry. For tougher smells the
company reccomends you cover the spot with the icky poo then a plastic
bag to keep it wet for longer amounts of time. As long as it is wet
its continuing to break down the odor causing bacteria. It really does
work. It might take a bit to get it broke down but eventually the
smell disappears.



Hope this helps some!

I'm not sure if you are having a hard time with odor control but I
found a product I would never do without. It's called "Anti Icky Poo"
it has enzymes in it that kill the
bacteria in the urine that causes the odor.

Resolve actually does an amazing job at getting rid of the smell. And
you just pick it up at the local store.

Lighthope

Pearls of Wisdom - "Anyone who wants power should immediately relinquish
it." - The Doctor (Doctor Who: Profit of Doom)

Have you tried giving your cat 'Tripsy'? Its supposed to be a herbal supplement of sorts that contains herbal extracts that promote healthy kidney function and fights infection & reduces discomfort. It also helps your cat release urine & acts as an anti-inflammatory. It is also ok for aging cats too.

My cats have not had any kidney problems so I do not have any personal experience with this supplement. But a friend of mine did and she swears by Tripsy. She bought it online at Petwellbeing.com.

Good Luck with your kitty.

Originally Posted by Lighthope

We have a 20 year old cat, Midnight, who has stopped using the litter
box to urinate. She still uses it to go number two, but not number one.

We know that Midnight knows she is doing wrong. If we happen to be
looking at her at the time, she will look at us defiantly, hiss, then
squat and urinate.

We have taken her to the vet. She is in early stages of kidney
failure, but otherwise is in good health. She is expected to live for
quite some time still, and shows no sign of distress, discomfort, or
pain. She refuses to eat dry food. She is fed wet food three times a
day. She is underweight, but is starting to gain it back.

This is a multi-cat household with multiple litter boxes. All cats
have been indoors their entire lives.

Personality-wise, she's a little demon. High-strung, she tolerates our
19 1/2 year old cat, Kimba, as she grew up with him. She doesn't like
our "kittens" (eight year old brothers Midnight's Shadow and Skitter)
whom we raised from feral kittens.

We have exhausted our attempts to correct this behaviour. We are
looking for your ideas.

Please note that at NO TIME will we ever consider "getting rid" of her.
If we can not correct this behaviour, we will simply have to keep
cleaning it up. But destroying her is not an option. Fortunately, we
have a log home, so no carpets to ruin.

Lighthope

Pearls of Wisdom - Friendly fire isn't.