Baby Cat’s nightly setup
Hi, I’m Nicole! Read my introduction to learn more about me and my distinguished Burmese, Mr. Baby Cat.
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how to keep control of human emotions when your cat is peeing outside of the litter box, and I am honestly so glad I got those thoughts down into words because they have helped my husband and I immensely.
Unfortunately we haven’t been able to prevent the out-of-litter-box pees completely, but we’re getting there. There are a lot of external factors that could be impacting our little Bubby (one of Baby Cat’s many pet names) so it’s hard to pinpoint just one. BUT, we have had success overnight with bringing his litter box out to him beside the fire. He barely has to move to go toilet and he seems to enjoy the convenience.
But he’s still sometimes heading into the bathroom where his litter box lives and peeing outside of it, about 30% of the time.
External Factors that Could Be Impacting Baby Cat’s Behavior
1. Missing a friend
We were fostering a little dog, and while Baby Cat didn’t ever really play with Peanut or engage much, the change in dynamic in the house could be a bit unsettling. She left only a few days ago, so he could be wondering – if that dog is gone, could another dog turn up? Or could another dog leave? All the changes could be adding stress to our little man’s daily life.
2. Grandparents visiting
When my husband and I went traveling a few years back my in-laws graciously offered to take care of Baby Cat for a few months before he was then taken care of by our wonderful friends. He was used to both parties because they had each house/cat sat for us over the years, but there was of course a transition phase when we left for more than 3 weeks (was nearly 18 months by the end of it). This week, my in-laws are visiting, so maybe he is concerned we are heading off somewhere.
Two back to back bathroom breaks only an hour apart. Didn’t have time to clean it out but it paints the picture of how much he is peeing right now!
3. Strange dog and human behaviors
It was our daughter’s birthday over the weekend and that meant the dogs went to their daycare overnight for two nights, so we could have a party and not have to worry about them (we love them, but they are a bit much sometimes!). With the dogs gone for two days and two nights, Baby Cat might have been wondering what the heck was going on, and why there was so much singing that wasn’t directed at him (Happy Birthday).
4. Dehydration
With the winter brings the fire, the fire brings the heat, the heat brings the Baby Cat, and the Baby Cat goes into deep sleeps, getting heat drunk, and could be forgetting to drink enough water. So, when he does get up to go, there’s more urine than expected, and he’s not making it to the litter box in time. It seems so counterintuitive but frequent urination can be a symptom of dehydration.
Baby Cat seemingly ensuring maximum dehydration levels.
Assuming It’s All of the Above…
We’re playing it safe and acting on it all. Giving Mr. Baby extra love and cuddles so he doesn’t feel so unsettled, singing to him now that the birthday weekend is over, letting the dogs bug him a bit (he definitely enjoys having them around, no matter how many eye rolls he gives them), still keeping the litter box beside him over night and cleaning it 2x / day for the moment, and upping his Sub-Q fluids (veterinary approved, and I’ll write more about this part of our journey next week).
Whether he’s peeing outside or inside the litter box it’s clear that he’s got a lot of urine to release, but with no UTI detected, it’s got to be one or all of the above reasons. Our lives will be back to normalcy with no visitors and no extra or less dogs this weekend, so hopefully we will see the changes we’re working towards.
But all in all, reminding ourselves that he’s an old boy that’s trying his best, and that his retirement home has been a bit wild lately, we’re feeling so much better about tackling this issue alongside him until he is feeling successful too. Because that’s really what it’s all about.
