Expert: Jessica - 9/22/2011

Question
Hi! I have 2 cats. They are 19 and 20 years old. My immediate problems are with the oldest of the two, Fluffy. He has a vet, and aside from undergoing surgery to have a benign tumor removed from his neck last year and some mild arthritis, he is in pretty good health :) For the past year or so he has made my dining room table his home. He has a bed there, his food and water, etc. I also built a perch on the living room window sill with padded blankets so he can sleep there during the day. His litter box is easily accessible and requires no effort on his part to get in or out of it. He has no problems getting on and off the table or the sill or anywhere else he wants to go - so I'm confused as to why he will no longer use the litter. I'm assuming that age has everything to do with it, since there don't appear to be any health concerns? He eats and drinks normally. He urinates on his bed, the couch, the floor, pillows, clothes, towels, anywhere he wants! I'm very frustrated and am certain now that the 19 year old cat is urinating in the same spots. I've done all I can to clean and disinfect the areas but he picks new ones anyway. He urinated directly on the table today - I am increasingly at a loss on what to do. Any advice? Thanks in advance!

Answer
Hi Angi,

The first thing I would recommend is having a urinalysis done on him. Most times, cats who urinate outside the box are suffering from a medical problem. Usually, this is a urinary tract infection, but it can be caused by problems like urinary tract stones or crystals or even diabetes or kidney disease. A urinalysis will help detect these problems. The vet might also suggest a blood chemistry panel because of his age.

If all comes back normal, you can assume it's behavioral. It seems like he's choosing mostly soft places to urinate. I wonder if choosing a softer litter might encourage him to use the box. You may want to try a cedar litter or something like Feline Pine Scoop. There is also a litter on the market called Cat Attract, which was formulated for exactly this kind of problem. It uses an herbal attractant to get cats who aren’t using the litter box to use the box consistently. Last I was aware, it wasn’t available in Canada, but you can order the herbal additive and put it in your own clumping litter. It’s available through many websites, including here: http://www.entirelypets.com/catattract.html

I’m not sure whether your kitty displays other symptoms, but some cats develop a condition similar to human Alzheimer’s. It’s called Feline Cognitive Dysfunction in cats. One of the main symptoms is failure to use the litter box. Other symptoms include confusion/disorientation, wandering aimlessly, disruption of the sleep/wake cycle (up all night crying), failure to recognize familiar people, unprovoked aggression and depression. If multiple symptoms are present, you may want to ask your vet about this. Treatments to slow the progression of the condition are available and include Anipryl and Novi-SAMe.

Best of luck!

Jessica