Cat won’t stop weeing

[clazbear]

Hi everyone,

Just really looking for anybody who has dealt with something similar to this situation as we are really at our wits end and don’t know what else to do.

We’ve had a cat for 4 years, she is 9 and was a rescue cat. We don’t know much of her history. When we first got her, she was extremely anxious and scared, and started to wee in areas of the house. We locked her in a room at night because of this and would frequently find she had weed in the morning. This lasted about 3 months but over time she gradually settled in and became less anxious and stopped weeing outside the litter tray.

She was then absolutely fine for about 3 years but in June this year, she was suddenly really unwell, stopped eating and drinking and was very lethargic. We took her to the vets who said they thought she had kidney disease, gave her antibiotics and fluids, and she immediately picked up and was back to her normal self within a week. They retested her for kidney disease once she was back to normal and the results were normal again with no sign of disease. Despite this, the vet seems adamant that she has kidney disease although has prescribed no medication or changed her diet. Since then she has on and off been weeing everywhere, on beds, sofa, carpets, her bed. She still regularly goes in the litter tray and it’s as if she cannot control it sometimes as frequently she stands up and there is just a wet patch under her. We have been back to the vets numerous times and to be honest, they just don’t seem to have a clue. I’ve spent hundreds of pounds on this and while the money is not particularly a problem, I feel like I’m just throwing it away and no one has a clue what’s wrong with her. We have been prescribed antibiotics which work for the duration of the course but then she starts weeing again as soon as they stop. She’s also had bladder control medication which doesn’t seem to have helped at all. She hates going to the vets and gets incredibly stressed with it so I’m reluctant to keep taking her back but I don’t know what else to do.

Really just looking for some advice or anyone else who has dealt with something similar.

Thanks in advance!

Is it possible she’s had an injury at sometime to her spine which is affecting the nerves to her bladder? Might be getting worse as she gets older?

Old cat had an air gun pellet at the top of her tail, a centimetre higher would’ve paralysed her

@70isaLimitNotaTarget thank you so much for replying! The last time we visited the vets a couple of weeks ago, she had a really good feel around and when the vet pushed hard on the bottom of her spine she reacted as if it was hurting her. However the vet didn’t seem overly concerned by this as she walks fine, plays, can jump up on to windowsills fine. We haven’t noticed a change in her as if she had an injury, however she clearly reacted when the vet pressed on her back. Definitely sounds like it might be worth exploring. Was there anything that could be done for your cat?

Your vet sounds pretty useless so honestly I would be changing vets and taking her elsewhere. Give the new vet a full list of symptoms and go from there.

Sounds like urinary stress. My rescue female cat cannot cope with change or any kind of upset. She then wees on beds, she did it yesterday and has ruined yet another duvet. I've lost count of the amount I've bought!

She's on Hills Vet urinary stress food which usually works, but I'd run out as the delivery was late. She had to eat something else and her symptoms returned.

I buy it from Zooplus, it definitely works so might be worth a try.

I also have a Feliway plug in all the time. This calms both cats down or they fight all the time.

@margotrose thank you, I think I agree. I have been putting this off because I like the people at the current vet and they are generally very good with her but they just don’t seem to have a clue with this so maybe it’s time to reconsider.

@DumpedByText thank you. I will look into the Hills food. Just to add to her list of woes, she also only has 4 teeth so we currently have her on Royal Canin Senior (even though she is not yet classed as a senior cat) because it is much softer for her to eat. Are the Hills biscuits really hard or do you think she would manage ok with no teeth?

I'd agree and look to change vets. Do you have a mobile one? It might be helpful to start there so the vet can see her in her own environment and your cat will be less stressed by it all.

I'd also get some feliway plug ins as they will help calm your cat down. If she's unsettled it won't be helping whatever is causing the issue.

Can I also say I know this isn't easy. I had a previous cat who urinated in inappropriate places and one now who does occasionally if she's stressed. Well done for caring for her and being prepared to put in the time, effort and money to get it sorted. She's lucky to have you.

I've had two cats with urinary issues over the years and you do need a vet who's clued up on it.

Sometimes the causes are physical (kidney issues, crystals or an infection) but often urinary issues in cats are down to stress and you need to tackle them from several different angles.

Has she had her urine tested for crystals and/or an infection?

@Logoplanter thank you so much. It is so hard because she is such a good cat, affectionate and just wants to be loved, we just need to crack this weeing thing. I could cope if it was just once every so often but sometimes it can be several times a day and it’s so disheartening, not to mention the time, effort and cost of constantly washing and cleaning everything. Incidentally, she has been on antibiotics again for the last 2 weeks and been absolutely fine until last night when she did it again but there were fireworks going off outside so perhaps that was what set her off again. I have always been put off a mobile vet as she hates them so much, I didn’t want to invite them into what is ‘her space’ but actually maybe it would be much more helpful all round as she doesn’t have the stress of leaving the house, going in the car etc.

@margotrose she hasn’t had her urine tested yet but it is something the vet mentioned and I think we will try that next. I have been adamant it is a left over infection from her kidney issues back in June as every time she has antibiotics, it seems to go away. But then when she finishes the course, it starts again. But at least the urine testing should rule that in or out once and for all.

she does suffer with stress a lot and is generally a very anxious cat so that definitely isn’t helping but if it’s the root cause, no one seems to know!

You may want to try Zylkene on her food to see if it is stress related - I've found it very good for stress (though not all cats respond well to it.

Comes in little capsules which I open & sprinkle the powder inside over their food. Which reminds me - Firework season is upon us and no idea how Tobias will react, so time to start him on it!