Expert: Tina - 12/10/2008

Question
Hi Tina,

Our cat "smokey", who is nearly 5 years of age has been acting out lately and I'm not entirely sure why.   First of all, he's mostly an indoor cat, however he has been trained to go to the bathroom outside.  He generally lets us know when he wants out, and we let him out. He's maybe had 1 or 2 accidents since we had him.  Now the problem is, for the past 4 days, he's been going to the bathroom inside...which reaks (spray).  He's done this to both my kiddos beds (on the bed itself) and in the bathroom.  He's also been acting kind of wierd like, when he sits down, it's not quite a sit, but it almost looks like he's going to the bathroom, so we'll put him outside.  

I have heard that cats may mark their territory by spraying their phermones.  We just most recently had a family move in next door (we live in a house), whom have 2 large siberian huskys. Could this be the cause of his markings, or could it be something more in terms of a medical examination.  I'm trying to rule out all possibilities, however if needed I will have him looked at by a vet.  

I'd like to thank you in advance for your advice.

Answer
Cats generally urinate outside the box for one of a very few reasons. The most common reason is a urinary tract problem - bladder infections with bacteria are not very common in cats, but inflammation of the bladder and urinary tract is very common. Often it is caused by tiny crystals that form in the urine which make microscopic cuts in the lining of the bladder and urethra, causing burning and irritation.

The fact that your cat is "acting weird" with the squatting behavior means this is very serious - he may already have a blockage in the urethra, which is extremely painful and will be deadly if left untreated - you should consider this an emergency.

Here is some info on the medical problems that can lead to inappropriate urination and how to address it:

http://catnet.stanford.edu/articles/litterbox.html

You should take your cat to the vet and have a urine sample analysed, the vet will look for bacteria and also crystals.

If not already on a canned diet, you should immediately change your cat's food to a meat based canned diet - I recommend Innova Evo 95% meat canned, Nature's Variety Instinct canned, Wellness canned or Ziwipeak canned. If you can't find these in your local pet store you can order them online at places like www.onlynaturalpet.com - I recommend these foods specifically because 1. the companies are reputable and have not been involved in any recalls 2. they contain NO grain and minimal or no vegetables.

You must feed your cat canned food and no dry food, because dry cat food encourages the formation of crystals in the urine by making your cat chronically dehydrated. Canned food on the other hand provides more water, diluting the urine and flushing it out of the urinary tract faster before crystals have a chance to form.

To learn more about why you need to feed a meat based canned food - or even a raw meat diet, please read the following websites:

http://www.catinfo.org

http://www.felinenutrition.net



Good luck!