What happened to my cat?

June 17, 2009 7:40 PM

Catfilter: my overweight, formerly feral cat has been on a diet and using a litter robot successfully for more than a year. He recently has started whining non-stop for food and intermittently pooping and peeing all over the house.

We have a great, around 3 y/o formerly feral cat. He is the only pet in our household, and we are two adults with no kids. He knew how to use a litter box from the first day he came home with us and has had just a few accidents, usually around high stress events (such as moving). We transitioned to a litter robot more than a year ago and the transition period took some time (and there were some accidents) but he has used his LR happily since then. We've moved three times in the two years we've had him and each time he's been upset while there are boxes and debris around (and therefore needy and/or pooping/peeing problems) but as soon as we got rid of the boxes the problems ended.

Our third move was 1.5 months ago. As with the previous ones, he was initially upset by the boxes, but as soon as we got rid of them (within days of the move, 1.4 months ago) he settled down and there were no further accidents.

He is overweight, and on a strict diet from the vet, and this is also something that he's been doing for a year, so he is used to being fed a certain amount twice a day at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

10 days ago, we went out of town for a day. Our catsitter was unable to stop in, so we left extra food in his bowl and extra water. Since we've come back, he has been having accidents all over the house and cries nonstop for food. Last night he started whining for more food at 1 a.m. and kept howling in this plaintive, pleading yelp, until 8 a.m. He begs for food constantly, which is new- before he just looked hopeful, now he follows us around meowing.

We've never seen him like this. We thought there had to be something wrong, but the vet says he doesn't have a bladder infection or anything else to explain the yowling. There have been no other environmental changes other than that short visit out of town- no guests, no new furniture, no boxes, no changes whatsoever. He's been on the same litter since we first got him years ago and the litter robot is changed regularly. It isn't gross or smelly in the slightest.

He has pooped all over the house, in different spots each time, and peed all over as well- mostly on furniture (different pieces each time, though it is all the nicest furniture) but also on a paper bag once and several times straight on the floor.

We squirt him with a water bottle whenever we catch him and he always has this furtive look like he knows he's up to something that isn't allowed, but it doesn't stop him from doing it again.

He has also been back in the litter robot- on average he uses the LR once a day and the floor 1-2 times a day.

I've looked at the previous threads about this but am still kind of at a loss as to what to do. We adore this cat, but are tired and frustrated by coming home and wondering what he has peed on while we were gone.

posted by arnicae to pets & animals (10 comments total)

Sorry for the long post...I know people always ask for details so I wanted to make sure I didn't leave any out!
posted by arnicae at 7:40 PM on June 17

My cat used to follow me around and meowling plaintively thing. Turned out he was bored, not hungry. I got him a girlfriend and the meowling has almost completely stopped (although he still occasionally begs to be let out, ie, away from her). More toys and a video of birds and squirrels helped a little, too.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 7:54 PM on June 17

Our cat was ill. He had to stay at the vet for 5 days. When he came home, he did exactly what you describe for the next six months of his life, including one horrendous delivery on my 2007 tax forms and receipts neatly organized for filing. The two times I caught him, he had that furtive look you describe. I have no explanation for you, other than we assumed it was related to the cancer and medication he was on for it. The end.
posted by Señor Pantalones at 10:01 PM on June 17

He sounds sick. Have you had bloodwork done? Does he actually eat after begging for food? I'd make sure you get him tested for everything because this could be kidney failure or something else serious.

Having said that, I had a feral cat that developed pretty much the same behavior with absolutely no medical cause. So who knows.

It's possible he just doesn't like (anymore) your litter robot. The first thing you should do is get a couple of regular non-robotic uncovered litter boxes. Put them in a couple of the places where he uses the floor most often. Don't obsessively clean them, let them stink a bit so he knows where they are. If there are other places he uses the floor, cover them with tin foil to discourage him.

That might work, and after it does, you can move the boxes and maybe eliminate them if he starts using the robot one more consistently. But I'd see another vet first just in case.
posted by mmoncur at 12:24 AM on June 18

I could be totally off here but maybe it's a cat tantrum. If this started happening right after he got extra food when you went out of town, maybe he's showing his frustration with being hungry/ on a the diet in a way he's knows will bug the hell out of you. Could you try feeding him a little extra for a few days and having more play time that's active to make up for it.

If he still doesn't use the litter box consistently, I'd take him back to the vet. My only guess is urinary tract crystals which is sort of the kitty version of kidney stones. There isn't always a UTI to go along with it. If your cat associates the litter box with pain, he might be trying out different places that he doesn't associate with that pain. Good luck. I'm hoping for the cat tantrum theory to pan out since it's easier to solve.
posted by stray thoughts at 1:29 AM on June 18

When one of our cats had this problem, it turned out he had Clostridium overgrowth, meaning his gut fauna were out of whack and it was making him feel bad. It was a recurrent problem, but a stool sample (from one of the messes on the floor) was all it took to diagnose and then his treatment was a couple of weeks of antibiotics.
posted by hydropsyche at 3:15 AM on June 18

Yes, definitely get a full blood panel on him and have a stool analysis done. That seems like an unusual amount of pooing and peeing.

Also consider that some vet-prescribed diet plans aren't nutritionally adequate for most cats (see: recent ask post where the poster was giving her cat 1/2 cup of dry crunchies a day). A lot of diet pet foods are largely fillers. I'd try switching to a high quality cat food like Merrick, Natural Balance, or Wellness and increasing the type of food he gets slightly. Make sure he's getting canned food in addition to dry--my vet actually suggested that male cats shouldn't eat dry food at all, due to the risk of urinary crystals.

But of course, it could just be a temper tantrum.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 4:45 AM on June 18

First off, lose that squirt bottle, your cat sees this as punishment and all the squirts are doing is teaching him fear of more punishment, thus adding to the innapropriate elimination problem.

Nthing another trip to the vet. Get a proper urine analysis done, a fasting blood glucose test and a full blood panel. Stress can cause some grim physical problems in cats, not least diabetes, which can be brought on by single or chronic stressful events in his environment. A thryoid panel might be a good idea too, though he is very young for this sort of problem. You only moved 1.5 months ago and this is no time at all for a cat to settle down in a new place. Really.

Get some more litter trays. Make sure they are in suitable places - not in high human traffic areas, he'll need privacy. Having more trays will make him more likely to use the tray if he can get to them easily. He may have had an issue or accident with the Litter Robot that you haven't witnessed or seen evidence of. Similarly, ensure that he has several large bowls of fresh water around the home. Give him plenty of good beds in high up or private places where he can retreat to and not be gawped at by humans.

He could well have been spooked by your recent absence without the pet sitter. Have you had any work done in the house, have you had any rowdy visitors, parties? All these things can result in serious stress related issues.

Get kitted up with several Feliway diffusers around the home to reassure him that this is his home and he is safe here. Does he have a view outside where he may have seen other cats come close by and intimidate him? If so, maybe half draw the curtains or blinds when you are out, this will also help him feel more secure.

Lastly, look at your own stress levels and your responses when he pees and poops in the wrong place. I know how utterly horrible it is waiting for yet another load of stink to clear up, but shouting and generally being tense whilst anticipating his behaviour is only giving him more reason to respond the way he does. Elimination is a big part of the fear response in all mammals - including humans.

Try and have some quality time with him everyday, free of your fear of him peeing/pooping. He needs some reassurance that you and he are cool friends, he needs play, he needs love. These things are easy to forget when you yourself are at your wits end.

Have a look at the ingredient list in his diet food. Cats only need 5% carbohydrate to metabolise protein and as observed above many contain lots of grain based fillers. A high carb diet is one way of pushing a cat into diabetes.

Lastly if no physical cause is found for his problems, ask your vet for a referral to a qualified pet behaviourist (good ones don't work without veterinary referral) - if the behaviourist just prescribes SSRIs or forms of tranquilliser without seeing you and the cat in your home, then ask for a referral to a different one.

Best of luck!
posted by Arqa at 7:43 AM on June 18

Oh, and the cat was on Evo, the vet had us switch to Nature Balance because Evo has too much fat in it for our lardball. We know how important good cat food is and always suggest Evo to our friends.
posted by arnicae at 9:49 AM on June 18

I have nothing else to add other than that I agree he sounds sick and that you should take him to the vet again for more tests.

Also, this article about pets' guilty expressions is vaguely relevant.
posted by Lobster Garden at 1:37 PM on June 18