Floyd is urinating outside of his box

[Jen]

Hi Everybody: I meant to post this in the main forum, which I have now done providing a little more info. If I knew how to delete this post I would have. Sorry for my confusion.

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Hello: I’m not sure what to do now - Floyd (almost 16 years old) has been diabetic for about five years now, which has never been well controlled (he’s on lantus). A little more than a year ago he was diagnosed with hyperthyroid, for which he takes pills twice daily. Lately, he has been urinating outside of his box… Once on my husband’s robe (he left it on the floor for the first time ever and paid the price), and three times now in my office when I was in the room. He can’t make a car trip to our cottage (2 hours in his box) without urinating. We have two litters, although both are in the basement. Minutes ago, he urinated in my office, a very long, steady pee, and then proceeded to go downstairs and use his litter for a poop, which was somewhat unproductive (one small turd) and strained.
I’ve thought about adding a litter to my office (oh joy), but as I mentioned, he had no trouble going downstairs to defecate. Plus, my husband is allergic to cats; he can tolerate one cat in the house, but having a litter close to where we sleep may be problematic.
There have been no changes in the household; I can't imagine that it is behavioral. His appetite is good, although he no longer completely finishes his meals, where as he used to devour them.
I am taking him to the vet tomorrow, but lately, we’ve spent well over a thousand dollars on blood panels, etc. I am wondering if we might be having kidney issues now.
I suppose I’m venting as much as looking for advice, but does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks,
Jen

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

If Floyd is not well controlled, he's likely to be spilling glucose into his urine which makes him a primary candidate for bladder infections which diabetic cats are prone to. I recommend having the vet check him for a urinary tract infection. It could be that he is experiencing urgency so he just goes where it's convenient and comfortable. It's possible he can't hold it long enough to get to the litter box in the basement. I would definitely try putting another litter box on the main level of the house. Perhaps you could try some different type of litter to keep hubby's issues to a minimum.
If he's constipated, that too could give him a sense of urgency and the vet may be able to feel stool in his bowels. I think it's worth a trip to the vet.

 

[Dyana]

Jen, I think it would be a good idea to copy and paste your post into the Main Health forum for more eyes and support.
I used to keep the boxes down in the basement until J.D. got arthritis and then I moved 1 of them upstairs.
Wishing you and Floyd a good vet visit today, and sending feel better vines to your boy.

 

[Jen]

Thanks MrWorfMen's Mom. He was checked for a bladder infection several weeks ago - the vet was convinced that was the trouble but it came up negative.
And thanks Dyana - I took you suggestion and did post over in the main section. Hope that doesn't create a lot of confusion.

 

[JanetNJ]

could be behavioral, but could be a uti or kidney issues. I would definitely add another box upstairs (we have one on every floor) at least for the time being until you find out what the cause is. about two years ago my boy with kidney disease started only going in the box for poop... we were constantly finding pee spots and it was driving us nuts. for quite a while it was a battle. Our compromise was to put a peepee training pad outside of each box and he happily uses these... almost no accidents since (unless someone leaves the basement bathroom door open... he can't resist the bathmat down there.)

 

[Dyana]

I also put puppy training pee pads all around the box. It helped to get most of the accidents.