Do you have any suggestions for a young cat with soiling issues?

RE: Do you have any suggestions for a young cat with soiling issues?

Cinzia Gandini — Sun, 03 Sep 2023 09:18:23 GMT

[quote userid="16504" url="~/f/clinical-questions/30752/do-you-have-any-suggestions-for-a-young-cat-with-soiling-issues/242277#242277"]confinement for a limited length of time[/quote]

l think that first should be ruled out any medical conditions particularly the ones where stress and stressors play an important role like in FIC, rule out marking which is a normal behaviour, and make sure the house/owners are suitable for a cat, after that I'm still against conditioning that can be seen as a punishment or a restriction of freedom or a trap with no way out and escape routes, to 'train an adult cat' to a litter that can be soiled, smelly and stinging. Considering that the normal behaviour of cats in my opinion is very important to understand what to do next...hopefully

RE: Do you have any suggestions for a young cat with soiling issues?

Anne Duncan — Sat, 02 Sep 2023 13:10:41 GMT

I was suggesting confinement for a limited length of time until conditioned to using litter tray. Then gradually increasing the freedom to the rest of the house.

RE: Do you have any suggestions for a young cat with soiling issues?

Cinzia Gandini — Sat, 02 Sep 2023 11:01:55 GMT

Why would you want to get a cat if you intend to confine it a crate in the first place? or train it in a crate to be a home cat? Anyway I was thinking about a possible FIC

[quote userid="16504" url="~/f/clinical-questions/30752/do-you-have-any-suggestions-for-a-young-cat-with-soiling-issues/242273#242273"]confine in crate[/quote]

RE: Do you have any suggestions for a young cat with soiling issues?

Anne Duncan — Sat, 02 Sep 2023 07:46:34 GMT

Possibly never really ‘house trained’. I would confine in crate with litter tray, bed, food and water until becomes conditioned to using the litter tray. Once behaviour established gradually increase the space available around cat. eg open cage but keep in one room etc etc. unusual for cats to urinate 15 times daily unless stressed but o may be contributing to this by getting stressed over the mess/smell!

RE: Do you have any suggestions for a young cat with soiling issues?

Cinzia Gandini — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 23:05:59 GMT

[quote userid="14305" url="~/f/clinical-questions/30752/do-you-have-any-suggestions-for-a-young-cat-with-soiling-issues"]difficult case[/quote]

After saying that it's difficult to give suggestion for a cat without knowing if there are any stressors triggering the behaviour like kids, noises, busy house, no hides, a house that's not cat friendly in the slightest,..., you can try with multiple litter boxes around the house, avoid typical cat litter that some cats do not like because it hurts their paws, avoid noises and encourage a quiet house...a urinary care diet could help...

RE: Do you have any suggestions for a young cat with soiling issues?

Cinzia Gandini — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 19:36:06 GMT

[quote userid="14305" url="~/f/clinical-questions/30752/do-you-have-any-suggestions-for-a-young-cat-with-soiling-issues"]a similar case or have any suggestions?[/quote]

Many similar cases, this is one of those cats...I have a realistic but harsh view as well...cats are predators and preys at the same time, they are solitary little furry things and extremely territorial, and who has said that a cat can be a home cat? A cat is a cat like it or not, and this is one of those cats, a cat meant to live outdoors a cat meant to be free probably? Usually they do not like to go where we want them to go, they decide where and how, and they might as well love to mark their territory...and I wonder, should a cat live indoor?

RE: Young cat with soiling issues

Richard Carter — Thu, 24 Aug 2023 07:58:25 GMT

Sounds like neurological if you say the control isn’t there and she doesn’t appear to be aware but before you suggest pts, I think need to rule out IBD and in juvenile I would be looking trichs, giardia, other gi bugs because the cramping can cause pressure on bladder/ pelvic nerve stimulation.

my trial plan would be faecal smear wet prep for trichs, blanket fenbendazole at the lower kitten dose but for 7 days regardless of results and check not getting dairy, treats or other things that might cause very low grade problems.

If minimal response then preds in case is genuine ibd with inflammation. If you get a response, need to start your food trials. Good luck

RE: Young cat with soiling issues

Alasdair Hotston Moore — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 21:24:58 GMT

Does she have access to the outside world?

RE: Young cat with soiling issues

Michael Woodhouse — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 20:25:57 GMT

[quote userid="14305" url="~/f/clinical-questions/30752/young-cat-with-soiling-issues"]have any suggestions?[/quote]

Serious question - but how fond are they of the cat?

My realistic but harsh view is you are not going to be able to fix this so we have 3 options: become an outdoor cat, live with it, PTS. Personally, I couldn't live with a cat peeing on my floor 15 times per day.......