possible incontinence?

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yngver - 08 Mar 2006 20:15 GMT

Last week we discovered that one of our three cats had peed on the
bedspread. This has never happened before--none of our cats has ever
peed outside the litterbox. We are not sure who did it but it was a
large amount and it was in the spot that our oldest cat (just turned 9)
likes to sleep. We thought perhaps one of the others, who is her arch
rival, tried to sleep there and she attacked her and scared her enough
that she peed.

Yesterday my husband noticed a small wet spot (smaller than a dime) on
the bed sheet just after the oldest cat had been sitting there. He said
it did not smell like urine and felt cold instead of warm as you would
expect of urine. I thought maybe she had just been drinking some water
and dribbled. Later on that night and this morning we watched her in
the litter box and she peed normally (normal amount, no straining).

I suppose there is no way to figure out which cat did the first deed,
but if the older cat is leaking a little when she relaxes, what would
be some likely causes? She is eating and behaving normally. We have an
appt. for a routine exam of one of the other cats this weekend but
could take her in instead if this seems serious.
Thanks-
Yngver

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treeline12345@yahoo.com - 08 Mar 2006 21:23 GMT

> I suppose there is no way to figure out which cat did the first deed,
> but if the older cat is leaking a little when she relaxes, what would
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> Thanks-
> Yngver

could become serious, sounds as though one of your cats is trying to
give
you a message, and it's most likely coming from the older cat
who might be having an infection and causing distress.

it's been my observation that well-behaved cats just don't go
around peeing outside litter boxes. it's a little difficult to tell
how serious this is at this moment without analyses of her
urine so you must take her in now before matters get much
worse and difficult to cure or take care of.

i don't think i have seen an older cat do this who did not have an
infection
or problem of some sort that was disturbing the feline.

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yngver - 08 Mar 2006 23:01 GMT

> > I suppose there is no way to figure out which cat did the first deed,
> > but if the older cat is leaking a little when she relaxes, what would
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
> infection
> or problem of some sort that was disturbing the feline.

Thanks for the information. We were not sure if we should observe a
little longer, since in the case of the spot on the sheet, we are not
even sure it was urine. We were suspecting the other cat, the one the
older one fights with, because although she hasn't peed outside the
box, I know the older one will attack her sometimes in the litter box
so she will stop urinating and run out. But of course now we wonder if
the older cat peed in her sleep since it was in the area of the bed
where she likes to sleep. I guess you are right; we can't figure out
for ourselves yet if it is a medical problem or a behavioral problem,
so we might as well bring them both to the vet.
-Yngver

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Matthew AKA NMR ( NO MORE RETAIL ) - 08 Mar 2006 23:09 GMT

Here is a question how long was the bedspread on the bed or was it a fresh
set or did it come out of the closet or storage than put on the bed. It may
have a had a smell that they did not like or enticed them. It happens I
have a an oilskin that I got when I was down under if I left it where any
of them could get on it they peed on it any of them would do it and none of
them had a medical problem. It was just the smell of it enticed them

I my Mom's rooms this year has been a little cold here we got out a old
bed spread well one of the cats peed on it that night we took all of them
into the vets for a checkup nothing wrong. It was just a smell that enticed
them

>> > I suppose there is no way to figure out which cat did the first deed,
>> > but if the older cat is leaking a little when she relaxes, what would
[quoted text clipped - 30 lines]
> so we might as well bring them both to the vet.
> -Yngver

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yngver - 09 Mar 2006 16:22 GMT

> Here is a question how long was the bedspread on the bed or was it a fresh
> set or did it come out of the closet or storage than put on the bed. It may
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> into the vets for a checkup nothing wrong. It was just a smell that enticed
> them

That's a good question, thanks. In this case, however, the comforter
had been on the bed for a couple months, since it's dry clean only
(naturally that's what they would pee on.) I am bringing both cats into
the vet this weekend but in considering the event I now believe there
is actually nothing physically wrong with the cats. I happened to
remember that about a year ago, I discovered that a cat had peed in a
basket near the bed where the newest cat liked to sleep. The basket had
my pajamas in it and one of them had peed on it. The cat in question
never slept there again (nor did the urination occur again), so I think
this is probably a marking behavior to get the rival cat to stop
sleeping where the older cat likes to be. I've been observing litter
box behavior closely and all three cats are urinating normally--normal
quantity and frequency, the urine has a normal color and smell, and
none of them are straining or displaying urgency. But you know,
sometimes you have to leave a few hundred dollars at the vet's office
to make absolutely sure nothing is wrong.
-Yngver

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Alison - 09 Mar 2006 17:17 GMT

>> it's been my observation that well-behaved cats just don't go
> around peeing outside litter boxes. it's a little difficult to tell
> how serious this is at this moment without analyses of her
> urine so you must take her in now before matters get much
> worse and difficult to cure or take care of.>>

Cats pee outside their box for all sorts of reasons; it's not to do with
them being well behaved or not. Just thought I'd mention it because
sometimes people in general think their cat is being bad or naughty for
doing this but usually there is a reason.
Alison:)

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treeline12345@yahoo.com - 09 Mar 2006 22:33 GMT

> >> it's been my observation that well-behaved cats just don't go
> > around peeing outside litter boxes. it's a little difficult to tell
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> doing this but usually there is a reason.
> Alison:)

by well-behaved i meant a feline that is not under stress and shows no
unusual behavior. peeing outside the box does not imply for me a bad
cat but that the behavior is outside the norm for that particular cat.
in other words, something is up and this is one way cats signal
problems. so far i have never seen a content cat just start peeing
outside the litter box. always there was a problem. in my very limited
experience, the problems were urinary problems that were solved with
antibiotics or diet changes.

i guess i was thinking of a distribution of behaviors, the so-called
normal curve, and not any judgment but i see from your post how that
could be misconstrued.

someone i knew had a sick kitty and refused to take her to the vet. she
told me the cat peed right on the floor in front of her and even had
blood in the urine. what to do? i suggested Clindamycin, which that
woman, a nurse, had on hand. fortunately, by pure dumb luck, well not
all dumb, this cured the cat and stopped all problems. really cured? i
don't know. but at least the immediate distress abated.

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yngver - 09 Mar 2006 23:51 GMT

> > >> it's been my observation that well-behaved cats just don't go
> > > around peeing outside litter boxes. it's a little difficult to tell
[quoted text clipped - 27 lines]
> all dumb, this cured the cat and stopped all problems. really cured? i
> don't know. but at least the immediate distress abated.

I took you to mean that if a cat has always been well behaved before in
terms of using the litter box, if she then started peeing outside the
box there is usually some kind of problem, whether medical or
behavioral. I agree with Alison that it doesn't mean they are being
"bad" as some people might think. Even if there is no medical reason,
they are doing it because something is distressing them. But I
understood your post to mean if a cat is behaving abnormally, it's a
sign of something that needs to be investigated.

I originally said that none of our cats had ever peed outside the
litter box, but later I remembered an incident last year. At the time I
was sure it was marking behavior--there is a lot of rivalry and
territorialism between these two cats, ever since we took in the third
cat, a stray, a little over two years ago. They have never gotten along
and seem to go out of their way to provoke each other. Maybe the two
Feliway refills we just bought will help for a little while.

Anyway, thanks, we are having the cats checked out by the vet on Sat.
but I don't expect that she will find a health problem. Although stress
can cause a variety of health problems in cats so who knows.
-Yngver

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