Help please, Friends cat urinating in house!

[Ela]

While decorating a home etc can cause a change of bowel habits, I agree with others that a visit to the vets ASAP is the best course of action.  I too do not consider 14 old for a cat. It is surprising what can be done nowadays to enable cats to have a quality prolonged life. I think we should always give them that chance. In fact all cats really should have at the very least an annual MOT to ensure the best possible quality of life.

she always asks when she needs to go out and doesnt let up until you open the door for her.

A litter tray irrespective of a cats age should always be provided even if they are allowed out, if you keep an eye on what your cat is passing, you can spot many problems, e.g, cystitis is very common in cats and needs urgent Veterinary treatment. It is shown up if the cat uses the tray frequently and or, passes blood, something you would never know if you had no tray. (unless the pee indoors of course). I had a cat with bowel cancer and had I not had a litter tray in the house I would not have known as Trudie looked so well.

[Desley (booktigger)]

I would recommend a vet visit and full bloods, especially with teh drinking, it could be a sign of something, but even if it is, it could be manageable. My old man Ginger never used to like using a litter tray and would rather hold it in for hours, but when he hit 14, he couldnt do that any longer, and I had to put a tray back down for him (the one the foster used wasn't good enough for him!!), so would definitely put a tray down, it is better to have a tray in the house anyway, you can keep an eye on what they are doing that way. Good luck with her, and tell her that 14.5 really isn't that old for a cat.

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

I have to confess that around six months before my Tigger was PTS, I noticed him gradually drinking more and more. Like your friend, I didn't want to take him to the vet because I couldn't face the worst and I assumed it was his age catching up with him. Then I came home from a short break, Tigs ran to greet me, I fed him and sat down with a cuppa. 20 mins later, I heard him howling with pain halfway up the stairs - somehow he had smashed his leg to pieces just by slipping down three stairs.

Of course, I rushed him to the nearest vet and it was discovered his kidneys had failed so badly that they had weakened his bones. I could have had his leg amputated, but he would have spent his final weeks with me learning to walk again, or he could have smashed another leg the next day. At no time in the months before Tigs died was he sick, or seemed off colour... but he could drink for England.

The point I'm making is that I will never know if I could have prolonged his life with treatment. If I had known how ill he was, I wouldn't have left him to be fed and cared for by neighbours for his final two days on this planet. It's something I find very hard to live with, and there are still times i have to block it out.... 

It's natural that we say goodbye to our pets. But it should be on our terms.

Please get your pal to take Jasper to the vet. 

[candice]

Jasper has been getting a little more stiff in more recent months so probably a touch of arthritis kicking in. Need to give my friend a bit of a push and plenty of support with getting Jasper to the vets for an MOT as she has admitted a couple of times that TBH she is scared of bad news from the vets 
Another thing Jasper has been doing for the last couple of months is periodically drinking more water than usual.Not all the time but i saw her do it this evening, slurping loads on 3 occasions out of a pint glass.Just putting things together now and wondering if its just old age starting to set in or possibly something more?
Drinking lots of water from time to time, staying in the house and sleeping more and in the last 2 weeks the soiling indoors?
Please correct me if im getting a little over the top here 

[lilycat]

Could perhaps be a touch of arthritis making her less inclined to go out - still seems odd though that she's doing it in the places you mentioned. As she is a more mature kitty, she may be becomming a bit more prone to 'senior moments' bless her, as Tan suggested.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Sounds to me that she needs an indoor tray and she is starting to feel her age.

Also I reckon she is stressed and seriously objecting to all the change and upheavals

[Tiggy's Mum]

Has she been checked out at the vets for a Urinary tract infection / cystitis?  I believe that's the most common cause of unexpected inappropriate soiling.

My cat Tiggy had used a tray perfectly with no accidents all her life but a few years ago when she was about 16 she weed on the rug and then did a poo outside the tray too.  Took her to the vets (the emergency out of hours vets of course  ) and a short course of antibiotics did the trick. Not sure what caused the infection but it only ever happened the once.

[Tan]

I would say 1st port of call is vets hun cause they are signs of illness behaviour as well as mental esp as she is 14.
There is a link here which has the follwing and other great info re older cats http://www.fabcats.org/behaviour_oldcats.html
 
Toilet habits  in older cat
Litter trays are provided for the elderly cat by over half of owners — the rest still chose to go outside. Twenty nine per cent of cats had toilet accidents since they had become elderly. A number of owners related these accidents to illness, eg, cystitis, a bout of diarrhoea or even the development of incontinence in the very elderly. Many older cats start to have 'accidents' indoors and this is often found to be a result of an increasing reluctance to urinate and defecate outdoors, either due to the presence of aggressive cats in the territory or an increased sensitivity to inclement weather conditions. The provision of an indoor litter tray invariably solves the problem.


 If she is fit and healthy after the vets, it's trying to understand why she's doing it that will help solve it. Cats tend to mark indoors cause they are insecure and the marking is a natural way to help make them feel secure. It's automatic for us to think they are being naughty and think to punish them but they don't understand why they are being punished and it makes alot things worse. Changes in the home can cause this. Whatever is happening, she is feeling very insecure esp if she is pooing as leaving this is a very strong scent marking behaviour.     Understanding why and love is the answer.

Try to suss out why she is insecure and soling indoors. Have a look at these links. LOng but very worth read of them all.

http://www.chaptanservices.com/purrs/index.php?topic=4916.0

http://wizz-catz.co.uk/soiling.html

http://wizz-catz.co.uk/multicat.html

http://wizz-catz.co.uk/catlitter.html

Let us know how she gets on  

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

Candice

Thing is, until she's given the option of using a tray - and understands how to use it! - you won't know why she's soiling the house. If she continues, she could be ill, or upset... but she is at an age where it's nicer indoors than out sometimes. 

[candice]

 
 Suppose not  Was already deciding on the litter tray option, if she is going in the house then better in the litter tray than the paint tray 
Just seems so out of character though

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

Strange. I think this is the third problem of this nature in the last 24 hours.... 

On this occasion I'd say give the poor old stick a tray!  At nearly 15 she's entitled to a bit of comfort - perhaps she doesn't fancy a cold botty anymore? Take a look outside. Would you fancy it in this weather? 

You may have to get her used to the thought of using one again....   

Next opinion, please!   

[candice]

My friends cat Jasper is 14 and 1/2 and she has had her for 13 years.She was neutered as a kitten.  Jasper has always been very well house trained and never needed a litter tray But in the last 2 weeks she has started to urinate and poo around the house 
This is very out of charactor for Jasper, as i said there have never been any problems from day one, she always asks when she needs to go out and doesnt let up until you open the door for her.
My friend has been decorating and all new flooring but cannot see how this is a problem as its been a slow process over the last 3 months, not as if all her usual homely scents have dissapeared or anything. She has been through moving house and decorating in the past (a long while ago) and has never had this problem before. She doesnt seem distressed or unsettled by it at all.
She has been urinating on towels, bath mats, corners of rooms, the paint tray and this evening almost did it on the computer modem right in front of us
Have been through possible reasons for this behaviour but really cannot think of an explaination for her behaviour.
Would be grateful of any help or suggestions