Cat Peeing Outside of Litter Box for the First Time

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dartfrog15

dartfrog15

Member Since 2023
Hi you all,

My name is Jackson and my spouse and I have a 4 year old Balinese named Prissy that we adopted just over a year ago. Just this week Prissy was diagnosed with diabetes and our vet prescribed her 2 units of Prozinc twice a day. We gave her her first dose last night and second this morning and so far she appears to be acting normally. Prior to her diagnosis she would urinate very frequently but has always used her litter box. I can't think of a time since we've had her that she has peed outside of her box until today. We were gone for several hours this afternoon and when we got home there was a puddle of what appeared to be pee in the middle of our foyer. I say appeared to be because it didn't smell like urine but the puddle wasn't near any other sources of water so I don't know what else it could have been. Since I've been home Prissy has urinated in the litter box and appears to be behaving normally.

My question is has anyone else experienced something similar and should I be concerned? Like I said this is the only time I ever recall her using the restroom outside of her litter box. We have started feeding her exclusively wet food and now feed her at set 12 hour intervals coinciding with her insulin shots where before we were feeding her dry food and she more or less free fed. Since starting her on the 12 hour schedule she gets really vocal about wanting to be fed in the hours right before meal times. Could her peeing on the floor be retaliation to her new feeding schedule or an anxiety response to us both leaving her alone this afternoon? Mostly just confused and unsure of whether to be concerned or not. Any insight or feedback is deeply appreciated!
 
Wet low carb food is great, but please don’t feed her only twice a day. That’s something that works for dogs have a much slower metabolism than cats. Diabetic cats do much better eating multiple times a day, it’s easier on their compromised pancreas and it helps avoid big sugar spikes. You should feed her the 2 largest meals at shot times and an additional 3-4 snacks or smaller meals throughout the day.
 
A few questions for you:

  1. could she have a UTI?
  2. Any changes in the household recently? Cats will sometimes go outside the litter box to show us they’re not happy with something. The day I brought a foster in, Bobo peed in the middle of the living room. He had never done that before and hadn’t since.
  3. Is she showing any other behavior changes, like lethargy?
  4. Finally, did you do the diet change after the diagnosis and once you started her on insulin? ProZinc is a great insulin for cats but changing from a high carb diet to a low carb one can bring the bg down by as much as 100 points making the initial dose suddenly too high. We don’t recommend you do any diet changes unless you’re home testing to make sure the dose is safe for your cat and to keep her from having a hypo incident. The reason I’m asking this is because some cats will pee where they are when they go too low because they become too lethargic to move. Hopefully that’s not the case if you haven’t noticed any other behavior changes, but I think it would be a very good idea to consider home testing her.
 
Hi! Thanks for the responses!

In answer to your questions:

1. I suppose her having a UTI is possible, but seems unlikely. She doesn't have any other UTI symptoms other than peeing outside her box that one time. No straining or meowing in pain when she pees. Amount of urine is normal and there is no blood in it. She's also never had once since we adopted her.

2. No changes other than her starting on a new diet and starting the insulin. She's our only pet as well. My spouse and I were both gone this afternoon, so I don't know if her being alone alongside starting her treatment could have caused it. She's been left alone regularly since we got her as we both work outside the home and has never seemingly had an issue with being left alone before.

3. So far she has been behaving as she normally does. Nothing that stands out as abnormal.

4. Her diet did coincide with her diagnosis, but she started on the wet food a few days before the insulin as the vet wanted to show us how to administer it properly before starting her on it. Starting the new diet and insulin were at the recommendation of our vet. She has a follow up this coming week to check her glucose level and I believe the plan is for us to start home testing from that point forward.
 
That’s all fine, the problem is that a diet change will drop the bg levels. The spot checks at the vet don’t really give you the full picture as their bgs fluctuate daily. They also tend to be stressed at the vet which elevates the bg readings there as compared to the ones you get at home when your cat is more relaxed. Glad to hear you’ll be home testing. You don’t need a pet meter, most of us use human meters with Walmart’s ReliOn being the most used for its accuracy and inexpensive test strips.

forgot to ask, the vet did a fructosamine test to diagnose the diabetes correct?

did you see my comment about feeding her more? We get countless folks here whose vets told them to do that because they treat their cat patients like they treat their dog patients and feeding twice a day only is very old fashioned advice. It’s in fact not good for cats at all given their high metabolism. Did that also change post diagnosis? It could be her way of telling you she’s not happy about it ;)
 
Thanks for the info on the testing equipment! My MIL has a kit that she used for one of her cats who was diabetic and she is sending it to us so we should be set there.

I'm not sure what kind of test was done but she has many of the typical symptoms of diabetes and also had glucose in her urine as well as elevated bg levels.

The only issue with us feeding her more often is that neither of our job schedules really accommodate it. We're both generally away from home during business hours during the week and commuting home during the day to feed her isn't feasible for either of us. We could definitely leave her food to snack on during the day, I'm just not sure what we could/should leave.
 
You can get an automated feeder and set it to go off at certain times. There are a few you can put ice packs in to keep the food fresh @Diane Tyler's Mom I think knows which it is. You could also leave freeze dried treats out as they’re low carb. What about at night when you’re home? Can you give her a snack before bed time? When I’m home, I divide up the food into smaller meals so Minnie would get 1/2 a can of FF when I woke up and another 1/2 before I left for work. Even doing that helps. A snack before bed time is also a good idea because cats tend to go lower overnight.

pet meter strips are about $1 each while ReliOn’s test strips are 100 for $18. Just be aware of the difference depending on what you’re getting.

we’re happy to help so keep asking questions!
 
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Oh awesome! I just looked it up and it looks like there are several brands of auto feeders that come with cool packs to accommodate wet food so I will definitely look into that for Prissy. And yes, giving her snacks or a smaller amount of food before bedtime will be no problem at all.
 
 
Here is the link for the meter and test strips so you don't have to search for them
Relion Premier Classic Meter at Walmart for 9 dollars
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-CLASSIC-Blood-Glucose-Monitoring-System/552134103

The tests strips are 17.88 for 100
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-Blood-Glucose-Test-Strips-100-Count/575088197
You can order them on line also, stock up on test strips

Or any other human meter is just fine, just stock up on test strips

Also have your hypo kit set up
Hypo kit
Med and High Carb food and some honey



Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Beef Feast in Gravy 20% High Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Chicken Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Turkey Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Chicken and Beef in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Good idea to mark the cans with magic marker how many carbs

Or any on the food chart. Doesn't have to be Fancy Feast just an example about the med and high carb foods

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-

Between 11% and 17% is medium carbs.

18% and over is high carb.

Most all of us use human meters since that's what our numbers are based on
 
When you have a chance you can set up your signature
It's information about our cats in gray at the end of everyone's post's.
Do you see mine?

Tap on this blue link HELP US HELP YOU it will tell you what we need ,information about Opie.
Tap in your name above ,then tap the word signature and add the information it asks for in the Help Us Help you link .:cat:

Tao on this blue link and read post #3 , numbers are to the right of each post it will explain how to use our spreadsheet that we use to track our kitties BG numbers
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/need-emotional-support-please.269869/#post-3009996

Also do your syringes have half unit markings since we adjust the doses by 0.25 units
Testing
Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up
c2b8079a-b471-4fa6-ac36-9ac1c8d6dcca-jpeg.57072
fec17d29-5ab4-44a8-912b-3a91944c3954-jpeg.57073

6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 10 or 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand not the lancing device
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
Look at the lancet under a light and you will see one side is curved upward, that's the side you want to poke with
Here is a video one of our members made testing her kitty
She's using a pet meter ,with a human meter you won't have to code it like you have to do with a pet meter
VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar
 
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Diane already have you great info on food and
testing. And the meter info too in case you don’t like the one you’re getting. I just wanted to add that in addition to freeze dried treats, those lickable sticks by Inaba Churu and similar brands are low carb as well. So are the protein only baby foods like Gerber chicken, turkey, ham and beef and they work well as a treat. There are also 2 low carb dry foods, Dr. Elsey's and Young Again Zero Carb, it’s not actually zero carb but it’s low carb.

At the risk of inundating you with more info than you ever wanted :D, here’s the link to the Lantus forum, the yellow sticky notes have great info about how the insulin works, what to do to make sure your cat is safe, and the dosing methods we follow here. Reading through them is very helpful especially for beginners:
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-levemir-biosimilars.9/
 
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Wow thank y'all so much for all the additional info! This is super helpful. I ended up ordering one of the Cate Mate auto feeders and it should arrive tomorrow, so we can get her on a more frequent feeding schedule. I think we're also going to go with the ReliOn glucose meter bc the one my MIL has the strips are like 70 dollars for 50 which is way too much when I can get 100 for 18 dollars.

We've gotten freeze dried chicken treats for her which she is loving but I will get some high carb food to have on hand just in case we end up needing it.
 
Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA) said:
This all sounds great. Post here for testing tips before you attempt it so we can help make it easier for all of ya!
Click to expand...

Okay, so we got the recommended ReliOn premier classic meter recommended by @Diane Tyler's Mom. I've read through several of the threads posted but just want to make sure I'm clear on a few specific things since it's all a lot of info to take in!

So when using a human calibrated meter if the bg is less than 50 mg/dL you reduce the dose amount by 0.25? Do you increase the dose if it's above a certain point? I may have missed that somewhere in the threads so sorry if I did.

I didn't quite understand about the dose not being adjusted based on the AM Pre Shot reading. If not that then what is it based on?

If you adjust a shot by 0.25 units do you continue at that new dose ad nauseum or is it a one time thing?

Lastly I know that there are differences between human and animal bg monitors, so is there anything else I need to know when it comes to using a human one? Like a conversion or something to translate the "human" number to a more accurate one for cats?

Thank ya'll SO MUCH for the help thus far! There's definitely a steep learning curve to all this and the forum has been so invaluable already. :cat:
 
Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA) said:
At the risk of inundating you with more info than you ever wanted :D, here’s the link to the Lantus forum, the yellow sticky notes have great info about how the insulin works, what to do to make sure your cat is safe, and the dosing methods we follow here. Reading through them is very helpful especially for beginners:
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-levemir-biosimilars.9
Click to expand...
Hi Ale Prissy is on Prozinc see the intro post,I gave him the link :cat::bighug:
I think we are all used to using Lantus lol
@Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA)
 
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Jackson
When you have a chance you can set up your signature
It's information about our cats in gray at the end of everyone's post's.
Do you see mine?

Tap on this blue link HELP US HELP YOU it will tell you what we need ,information about Prissy
And will also give you the link to create our spreadsheet
If you need help setting it up just ask
Tap in your name above ,then tap the word signature and add the information it asks for in the Help Us Help you link .:cat:
Tap on this blue link and read post #3 , numbers are to the right of each post it will explain how to use our spreadsheet that we use to track our kitties BG numbers
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/need-emotional-support-please.269869/#post-3009996
 
dartfrog15 said:
I didn't quite understand about the dose not being adjusted based on the AM Pre Shot reading. If not that then what is it based on?
Click to expand...
It's based upon n how low Prissy drops (Nadir)
The link I gave you about Prozinc will explain it
Part of that process is getting a feel for basic concepts:
  • Onset - the length of time before insulin reaches the bloodstream & begins lowering blood glucose
  • Peak/Nadir - the lowest point in the cycle
  • Duration - the length of time insulin continues to lower blood glucose
 
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dartfrog15 said:
Lastly I know that there are differences between human and animal bg monitors, so is there anything else I need to know when it comes to using a human one? Like a conversion or something to translate the "human" number to a more accurate one for cats?
Click to expand...
There is no conversion needed with a human meter
The normal range for a cat on a human meter is 50-100
On a human meter, 50 is your “take action” number meaning it's time to intervene with food to bring the BG up

Just keep asking questions :cat:
 
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dartfrog15 said:
Hi you all,

My name is Jackson and my spouse and I have a 4 year old Balinese named Prissy that we adopted just over a year ago. Just this week Prissy was diagnosed with diabetes and our vet prescribed her 2 units of Prozinc twice a day. We gave her her first dose last night and second this morning and so far she appears to be acting normally. Prior to her diagnosis she would urinate very frequently but has always used her litter box. I can't think of a time since we've had her that she has peed outside of her box until today. We were gone for several hours this afternoon and when we got home there was a puddle of what appeared to be pee in the middle of our foyer. I say appeared to be because it didn't smell like urine but the puddle wasn't near any other sources of water so I don't know what else it could have been. Since I've been home Prissy has urinated in the litter box and appears to be behaving normally.

My question is has anyone else experienced something similar and should I be concerned? Like I said this is the only time I ever recall her using the restroom outside of her litter box. We have started feeding her exclusively wet food and now feed her at set 12 hour intervals coinciding with her insulin shots where before we were feeding her dry food and she more or less free fed. Since starting her on the 12 hour schedule she gets really vocal about wanting to be fed in the hours right before meal times. Could her peeing on the floor be retaliation to her new feeding schedule or an anxiety response to us both leaving her alone this afternoon? Mostly just confused and unsure of whether to be concerned or not. Any insight or feedback is deeply appreciated!
Click to expand...

Try diet. My Buddy was on insulin and since I switched him to (low carb) Fancy Feast pate chicken or salmon ONLY, twice daily, he is off insulin and doing great!
 
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