elderly cat peeing in one ot two spots, and howling

[kellyshannon]

Hi, I'm new and found this site while researching cat diapers. My cat Lacey is nearly 21 yeard old and is quite a spitfire. She growls and swats at our new 2-year-old cat Youke whenever they get too close. But Lacey for over a year now howls when I'm not in the room. Sounds like she's communicating with The Spirit World...The vet says she's got dementia and is confused about where she is. Makes sense. But now she's been peeing in one particular spot on our wooden floor in the corner of the living room and she won't stop. We tried moving the litterbox and she used it there the first day, but then would just pee outside it right at the entrance - very frustrating! Tests from the vet came back she's got a pretty bad bladder infection and we're going to start her on antibiotics tomorrow, and she may stop going outside the litterbox if she's feeling better and the infection clears up. We're worried also about Youke picking up bad habits from Lacey. She's still very much interested in eating and she must be on my lap if I'm anywhere sitting down, so I don't think this is a sign for me to let go, but I just don't know what I'm going to do if the antibiotics don't work.

It feels good just to get this out there to people who understand. Thanks for reading.

[critters]

Do you think she'd pee on a peepad in that spot? I guess her kidneys were OK?

[SandyNY]

give her a few weeks on the antibiotic to see if that doesn;t solve everything. in the meanwhile, i think critters has the best idea with the pee pad. place in front of the box and pick it up after soiled. the younger one shouldn't pick up this habit unless he is exactly at the maturity age and is not yet neutered. they can pick it up at any time, but he should be ok. if you do see him scratching or posing outside the box, i would pick him up and put him in the box -he may try to bury her pee spots.
if you do not see her hgoing back inside the box in 2-3 weeks, i would try a different litter. i wouldn;t go to the extreme of pine or paper litters if she is used to clay - i would try a different brand or different scented one. hope she is feeling better soon. remember to clean carpeted areas thoroughly with cat urine cleaner.

[Diana R.]

I have an 18 year old cat who is blind and has hypertension (she is on norvasc) who also appears to have kitty cognitive dysfunction. She circles and over a year ago stopped using her litter box. Her main room is the bathroom downstairs although she has complete access to the entire downstairs. I put pee pads down in her area and she goes on these and I simply clean them up. My other cats do not go on the pads and continue to use the litter boxes. She does not have a UTI; she is simply old and I think gets disoriented. I agree with what others have said---you need to give her more time on the antibiotics and try putting the pee pads down. I'm wondering too if the new cat is a problem for her and is around when she is trying to use the litter box. You should have at least one litter box per cat on each floor. Is she having any difficulty getting into the box. Also if you haven't already I would consider getting a complete blood panel and have her thyroid checked. Diana

[kellyshannon]

Thanks everyone for your replies. We do have pee pads that we put down and she seems to use those pretty consistently. We can't wait to start the antibiotics cos the vet said she's start to feel better, and hopefully will start using the box again, which she still does to poo. I will update with more information as we know it later on in her treatment.

I don't think it's the new cat because they both use both litterboxes, and both eat out of each other's bowls. But once we tried taking away one box and we paid the price as Lacey got back at our couch. And we've had Youke for six months now and this has started only in the last three weeks or so.

[critters]

Many, many monsters will pee in weird places with a UTI; a favorite around here is the bed.