Tabitha peeing again!

[Winston]

Well I was off this week as some of you know and Tabitha has started her peeing on mats or throw rugs again. SHe started this last year by peeing on Winstons beds or blankets. My prev vet ran a whole bunch of tests with no real results. So I think it is a behavorial issue but cant be sure!

This past week she started again but on my carpet runners in the living room. Now I know Winston has lied on it so could it be because she smells him on it! She doesnt do this anywhere else or on anything else? Her urine has a terrible fishy smell and it is quite dark. I cant get her to the new vet till next week. I guess the timing is right because this will be thier first visit and they are due for a vaccine.

I just wish I knew why she is doing this? maybe its a urinary infection and thats is but why she picks the mats and nothing else drives me nuts!

Sorry just had to vent!

[breeze]

this might sound silly,

but when ever I bought a new dog bed from costco with cedar chips in it, she would pee on my carpet runners and the dog bed..
when I bought a new bed without the cedar chips in it, it stopped..

could it be the new smell of the cedar chips in the bed?? and when wiston lies on it he carries the smell to the floor or runner??

I also found if I washed anything (beds, floors, carpets)in a different smell Nakita would pee..

[14+kitties]

Nothing to offer. I'm just sorry Tabitha is peeing again. Hopefully the new vet can find something that may give you some answers.

[Winston]

Well I have an appointment for Wed for annual check up and vaccines. I mentioned the peeing problem and the assistant took all the info. I have provided them with my previous vets records too! But Tabitha and Bomber have not been to the new vet yet only Winston has been.

What I am wondering about is the girl called me back and left a message that I have to provide a stool sample when I come in. My question is this..why bring in a stool sample for a peeing problem?

Some history here : they are brother and sister both 12 yrs old..never really ever been sick except some little things when they were kittens. Always been vaccinated and otherwise healthy. Except Tabitha started to pee out of the box last yr..was treated with several antibiotics for blood in urine and an infection..x rays and cystogram ( i think thats what its called) but nothing concrete was ruled as an issue...except that her behaviour always seems directed to Winston?? on his beds, blankies and what not...now its on some of our carpets??

So does a stool sample tell them about the peeing?

Funny thing is that since I have tranisitioned to almost 100 canned their poops are actually solid and not runny anymore!

Any thoughts on whether I need to bring in the sample or are they trying to hook me for some more cash??

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by Winston

So does a stool sample tell them about the peeing?

Sounds weird to me but I'm no cat expert

[growler~GateKeeper]

Have you considered going to a homeopath vet? There may be something that can be done that western medicine is not catching.

I think they will probably want to run all the usual tests (blood/urine/fecal) again to make sure nothing was overlooked. Sometimes things can be hard to catch the first time around (ie giardia {not that this is the problem} is often false neg the first test).

for Wed

[hazelrunpack]

I suspect they're just being thorough, Winston. First visit, they like to get an overall picture of an animal's current health...and that would include doing the fecal exam...

So frustrating that Tabitha's problem returned, though! I hope they can figure out why!

[happycats]

Originally Posted by breeze

this might sound silly,

but when ever I bought a new dog bed from costco with cedar chips in it, she would pee on my carpet runners and the dog bed..
when I bought a new bed without the cedar chips in it, it stopped..

could it be the new smell of the cedar chips in the bed?? and when wiston lies on it he carries the smell to the floor or runner??

I also found if I washed anything (beds, floors, carpets)in a different smell Nakita would pee..

Yup Buddy's dog bed from Costco is ruined, Tuffy peed on it too!!
Buddy loved that bed, it was so nice...:sad:

Tuffy also has a problem peeing on Buddy's things! and mats and runners as well, I know it's behavioral!! She's a very spiteful girl!

[Winston]

Happycats has your kitty always been like that? or a recent change? this has only started to happen of the course of the past year on and off? funny thing is Winston is afraid of her and she is only 6 pounds and he is 110???

[happycats]

Originally Posted by Winston

Happycats has your kitty always been like that? or a recent change? this has only started to happen of the course of the past year on and off? funny thing is Winston is afraid of her and she is only 6 pounds and he is 110???

Tuffy started when Boowee and Jay (brothers) grew bigger then her and started to pick on her. But I made her her own quiet place with a bed litter food and water, and she was really good for a while.......then Buddy came, and he doesn't bother with any of the cats (I was all over him when he came, so he knows cats are off limits) but I guess Tuffy still hates him and lets him and us know! Yup so a ruined bed. And if she continues, she will have to return to her quiet place (it's a spare room in the basement, with a walkout to the catcage, with a great view of the yard).

She for some reason always pees on rubber backed mats other rugs she's okay with, it's just the rubber back ones.

[growler~GateKeeper]

Originally Posted by happycats

She for some reason always pees on rubber backed mats other rugs she's okay with, it's just the rubber back ones.

In that example she's probably reacting to the smell of the rubber some rubber smells really horrid where other is not so bad/fades over time, but of course being closer to the ground & with superior noses, they can still smell it

[Winston]

Well we went for the cats check ups and to see what to do with Tabitha!

This was their first visit to new vet. Bomber was awesome and didnt mind a bit but Tabitha on the other hand was not a very nice kitty. She refused to come out of the carrier..then tried to bite me when I went in for her. I finally got her out and she squirmed all over the place. She finally settled down and the vet gave her a check up. She has gained a teeny bit of weight which makes me happy! but I was hoping it would be more..She was 6.2 lbs last year and is now 6.10?? Bomber gained a teeny bit too he was 8.2 lbs last year and is now 8.11 lbs.

All in all they were given a clean bill of health.

They took Tabitha and got a urine sample and tested it...It came back completely normal!! no blood in urine no infection...which I found a bit surprising because when she pee'd on the mat last week it was a terrible smell....but that was good news. I explained all the tests we ran and meds she was given last year and he thinks that she has

interstititial cystitis...as she seems to have many of the symptoms. We discussed it being behavioural as well. He had suggested maybe a topical form of amitryptaline to be put on her ears. He also said some people use the Feliway products to try to help.

The vet was so kind he gave me his diffuser from Feliway with a refill for free! He said he bought it and it didnt work for him so I was welcome to try that first and go from there!

He stressed the importance of Tabitha getting lots of water and suggested even watering down her food. She drinks a normall amount of water but I will try to see how she reacts with the food watered down! He gave me a free can of Hills CD canned food and said to try it. He said they changed the product sometime last year..I kindly took it but will see if she likes the watered down Venison & GP...

The end of the visit went horrible though! I tried to put Bomber back in the carrier and Tabitha went really crazy! Hissing swatting meowing just a complete nut!!! The vet wanted to give me another carrier to take Bomber home in. I decided to give her a few minutes to calm down and she allowed him in the carrier with her. But the ride home was not very pleasant for Bomber....I think I am going to look into seperate carriers now..besides both of them in one is really heavy!

I went home and plugged in the diffuser and will see what happens....I think I need to do some more reading on what he thinks it is!

Cindy

[sugarcatmom]

Ah yes, interstitial or idiopathic cystitis is the kind of diagnosis that's made when all the other possibilities are ruled out. It's thought to be related to stress, which is why the vet suggested Amitriptyline (anti-depressant). Something else you might want to try is Cosequin:

Some veterinarians also recommend Cosequin to help maintain urinary bladder health. The inner lining of the bladder wall is protected by a layer, which contains some of the same compounds as are found in cartilage. This layer keeps urine and the waste products contained within it from seeping into and affecting the lining. Since the low molecular weight chondroitin sulfate found only in Cosequin is available to more than just cartilage cells, the bladder may use it to help support this protective layer.

Here are some good articles on IC:
http://www.ivis.org/proceedings/wsav...070546_abs.pdf
http://vet.osu.edu/assets/pdf/hospit...at/vcna041.pdf

The keystones of treatment are basically a wet food diet, minimizing stress, and environmental enrichment. You might also need to put more litter boxes in various spots around the house to encourage Tabitha to urinate more frequently (holding it in makes it worse). In the first article, scroll down to the part about Environmental Modification (EM), it has some great suggestions.

[Winston]

THanks SCmom! those articles look pretty good! I think from what I have read so far this is her to a tee! I am going to look at making some changes in the household and see if they work! hopefully between that and the feliway things can get better.

I still cant seem to get them to eat more than 3/4 can of the Venison & GP but at least they are eating it!

Tabitha has become a monster in the kitchen...whenever I go to the kitchen she immediately runs chasing me! I started thinking maybe she was still hungry so I would give her more..she will look at it and just walk away! or sometimes she will eat it! God she is finiky! the dry they hardly eat anymore....

Do you now if the urine tests run inside the vets office are accurate? I am just wondering cause I waited for the results and he said they were perfect! but I thought at my previous vets office they sent them to a lab? but not 100% sure!

I have some reading to do! Oh and she is still really peeved at me! wont even look at me now that she has had all day to cool off! cold shoulder tonight!

Cindy

[growler~GateKeeper]

The very strong urine smell would come if it is really concentrated, did you get a copy of the results? or did they tell you what the urine specific gravity (USG) is?