litter box issues

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shore1709

Member Since 2013
What prompted us to take Cosmo to the vet was him peeing on the floor, not the box. We thought he had a UTI. After blood
work and Urine analysis ..he is diabetic. And of course over the weekend we noticed he hd a hard time walking, Started
his shorts yesterday morning .... question is: is there a way to deal with him not using the litter box. We assume its hard for
him to stand in it. Also, will his legs get stronger again as time goes by. He is 6 yr old. Thank for any help! :? i
 
Hello! I am new on here as well. I had a cat that quit peeing in her box but would poop in it. I put puppy pads where she was peeing and she used those until her last days. It's better than using the floor and for the most part they are very absorbent. They aren't cheap and you may go thru many of them so I would start off with a small package and see if your kitty will use them first. Good Luck!
 
I cut a lower opening in my litter box. I am actually using a storage box. Just mark the opening you want and use a soldering gun to melt away the opening ig a box knife doesnt work. Storage boxes are more brittle so the soldering gun works best. Then i put a puppy pad underneath it and in front of it.
 
I don't know how much trouble your cat is having walking, but we had a similar situation with our cat. We too noticed puddles outside the litter box and thought she had a UI, but she was diabetic.

Since treating her, changing her diet, and monitoring her, her puddling has stopped, she is walking normally, and has returned to using the litter.
 
Thank you for the information... he justed started his insulin on Tuesday am... 2x day- 5units each.
and is still eating normally. The vet said he needs to get his strength back, and having him on
insulin we should see a big improvement. Monday his legs were really bad, but believe it or not by this morning they seemed to be a little straighter! He is very alert, eyes bright, fur in excellent condition no infections and no ketones in his urine. According to the vet he is a "healty diabetic" I feel so bad for him, he is only 6 yrs old... but I think the vet has us in the right direction.... :shock:
 
Your Cosmo sounds just like my Sheba. She'll poop in the litter box but pees outside. What helps me is to make sure it's really clean. She also has issues with her legs and I think the litter hurts heterosexual paws, so she won't step far in the box, she sort of squats on the edge. So if the edge isn't cleaned, she goes outside the box.
I also recently switched her to a natural litter, I think by arm and hammer. It looks like sawdust. She seems to like that much better, and she is extremely picky with her litter. I think it just feels better on her paws. She hasn't gone outside the box since I switched.

Hope this helps, I know how frustrating it can be when they go outside the box!
 
shore1709 said:
Thank you for the information... he justed started his insulin on Tuesday am... 2x day- 5units each.
and is still eating normally. The vet said he needs to get his strength back, and having him on
insulin we should see a big improvement. Monday his legs were really bad, but believe it or not by this morning they seemed to be a little straighter! He is very alert, eyes bright, fur in excellent condition no infections and no ketones in his urine. According to the vet he is a "healty diabetic" I feel so bad for him, he is only 6 yrs old... but I think the vet has us in the right direction.... :shock:
Click to expand...

It sounds like he has diabetic neuropathy, which might also be contributing to the litter box problems. Getting his blood sugar down will help quite a bit in resolving this issue, but it can take a while. Another thing you can use is methyl-B12 (zobaline is the cat version). This is like a miracle cure for diabetic neuropathy and should help you with this situation.

One other thing that worked with Michelangelo is that I switched litter for the first month or so. He hated the smell of his own urine and would only use a litter box once before finding another spot to go. I found out from my neighborhood pet store that a couple of their customers had this same issue and discovered there were two litters that worked really well for this: Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract and Green Tea Leaves litter. Once I switched him to the Green Tea Leaves, he was able to go more than once in his litter box without me having to follow behind him with the scooper. After about a month, I was able to switch back to his regular litter (Feline Pine), which I was quite happy about because even though Mikey seemed to like the smell of his urine in the Green Tea, I hated it. :lol:
 
shore1709 said:
Thank you for the information... he justed started his insulin on Tuesday am... 2x day- 5units each.
and is still eating normally.
Click to expand...

This seems like a fairly high starting dose. What insulin are you guys using and what food is Cosmo currently eating?

One other thing I just thought of is that due to Cosmo's relatively young age, there might be something else that prompted the diabetes. Has he had any steroid shots in the past or any other infections besides the UTI like dental infections or pancreatitis? If so, there's a higher chance of Cosmo going into remission once the underlying issue(s) have cleared up.
 
Except for his weight problem,he has NEVER had any health problems. His blood panel came out great except for
his high sugar count. Never had a UTI. At 1 time Cosmo weighed 38 lbs, but has lost 8. He is part Maine Coon and
is very big. He has NEVER had a treat or table food. He gets 3/4 c food @ 4:30 am and 3/4cup @ 5:30 pm and that is for 2 cats. (of course the other cat gets extra food where he cant reach it, she is only 7 lbs) Currently he is on Royal Canin Satiety for 2 yrs (has lost 8 lbs) but the new vet said we will change his food once we get his sugar under control. He is on 5 units for now as his sugar was 390, the vet wants to get it down. He started his insulin on Tuesday, and I see a little improvement of his legs, but he still has accidents on the floor. Hope this will get better with time!
 
Here is a list I compiled previously. Some of the items may not apply (like gender!)

***********************************************************************

You might try an integrated approach using multiple options from the list below on a consistent basis:

* start with crating, using a medium large crate (30" long is big enough for cat and a litterbox) until progress. She probably won't go where she'd have to lie in it ... but if she does, something is wrong and it may be medical.

* tarps and newspapers may be easier on clean up if you don't crate her

* feeding on a schedule and then placing her in the litterbox (maybe in a crate) within 15-20 minutes after eating, until she goes, then praising and letting her out.

* Feliway/Comfort Zone - friendly facial pheromones which reduce stress and may reduce marking behavior. Cheapest prices are usually on the net (ex http://www.LambertVetSupply.com ) I've used it and it helps.

* Cat Attract litter - supposed to help attract cat to litter box

* rule out arthritis or constipation - pain causes box avoidance

* watch if the other cats ever attack her in the box and if so, you may need to keep her separated from them. I've got one the others attack, completely unprovoked.

* littebox should be 1.5 times length of cat, litter cleaned frequently, but avoid really strong smelling cleaners as cats may avoid them due to the scent.

* you've got to get residual odors out from areas which were 'nailed' - Nature's Miracle is one option and has good reviews. It _can_ require repeated applications.

* regular play sessions of about 15 minutes to reduce stress and promote bond with you

* reward desirable behaviors - if you see her use the box, praise and treat her

* put unpleasant textures in places she has peed to encourage avoidance

* read some of this author's books: http://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/ she's pretty good - ex "Starting from Scratch"

Good luck.
 
It may be a combination of lost muscle mass from the weight loss and diabetic neuropathy, where the nerves don't work as well due to the high glucose. Methyl-B12 may be helpful. See Jasper's Story for background information on diabetic neuropathy as well as some products.

Getting the glucose under control may happen faster if you can improve the diet now, rather than waiting. Check out Cat Info for feline nutrition info and a printable food chart giving the protein, fat, and carbohydrate as percentage of calories in the food (not weight, which is printed on the packaging). Your current foods may be listed, so you could check them out.
 
As long as you are on the Royal Canin Satiety (which I believe is dry food) then your numbers will be high and unregulated. The ingredients do not lend themselves to being low-carb:

Chicken Meal, Powdered Cellulose, Tapioca, Wheat, Wheat Gluten, Corn Gluten Meal, Natural Flavour, Chicken Fat, Chicory Pulp, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Sulphate, Monosodium Phosphate, Fish Oil, Ground Psyllium Husk, Monocalcium Phosphate, Choline Chloride, Taurine etc.

The good thing is that your vet wants to change foods (hopefully off dry - I did not see any canned Satiety Royal Canin) and Cosmo has lost weight. The bad thing is those numbers probably won't come down and the neuropathy probably won't improve unless he is on a low-carb diet. While this food is not listed on Dr. Pierson's list, the Tapioca, Wheat and Corn products = carbs. Please correct me if I am wrong and Cosmo is on a wet rendition of this food.

IMO his food should be examined and considered. With a proper low-carb diet, Cosmos bg could fall dramatically and his dosage could decrease. Of course, no diet change should be done without home testing so you can monitor how low his bg goes and prevent or treat a hypo event. The elements that give you a chance to get to regulation or even remission are a low carb wet diet; home testing; and insulin. I would love for you to let us help you with this. I think you would see a change in his LB behavior as well.

seagullcanfly said:
Since treating her, changing her diet, and monitoring her, her puddling has stopped, she is walking normally, and has returned to using the litter.
Click to expand...

This is good testimony to my message.
 
I do appreciate all the advise, but I have total confidence in my vet... he will be changing his food but right now
we have to make sure he continues to eat in order to stay on the insulin. He would never eat wet food and this is not the
time to stress him out!
 
Oh of course.... I totally understand.

I just wanted to provide another solution to the problem you brought to us about the litter box - that's all. You know and love your kitty best. Please know that I want him to feel better and continue to get strong.
 
shore1709 said:
I do appreciate all the advise, but I have total confidence in my vet... he will be changing his food but right now
we have to make sure he continues to eat in order to stay on the insulin. He would never eat wet food and this is not the
time to stress him out!
Click to expand...

There are a few dry foods that are over the counter which have better nutrient profiles that you may discuss with your vet:
Wellness Core Original - 11 % calories from carbohydrates
Evo Cat and Kitten - 8 % calories from carbohydrates
Young Again 0 Carb - 5 % calories from carbohydrates; internet sales only

Its your budget - the prescription food is more expensive and not necessarily any better quality.
 
I just checked out the "young again" and WOW, no carb! Thats too good to be true!
I really dont care how much it costs.. if it is good for my lil Cosmo, thats fine. Will check
with my vet ans if he approves will order and start him on it slowly. Thanka so much!!!!
 
Even though it's touted as zero carb, it does have a smidgen of carbs (5%), but it's the best dry food out there. :thumbup
 
I spent 3 years getting Izzy back to using a litter box the majority of the time. The only litter she likes is Dr. Elseys Cat Attract Crystals for long haired cats or senior cats. Those 2 and that's it. Otherwise she will deliberately pee on the carpet. If I have the crystals out she will at least make an effort to use the puppy pads in front of her box. Cats... Gotta love em.
 
Personally, from what I have learned over the past year about feline nutrition, I will never listen to a vets advice about food ever again. From the vets I have met to all the stories I have read, there seem to be very few that have any clue about what kind of cat food is actually good for your cat.

You don't have to do everything your vet tells you to do. And you can still respect and trust them. If you use the food your vet tells you to use, the chances your cat will go into remission is slim to none. The people here know what they are talking about when it comes to food. My cat went into remission in 2 months after I took the advice here and went against my vet and switched Milo's food. If you read through some posts on the board you will see there are tons of similar stories. And almost every single one of them said their cat wouldn't touch canned food.
 
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