So I am pretty stressed at the moment. Last night I noticed a spot on our carpet that smelled like cat urine, I looked around and found another spot that smells too. We live in an apartment with Timmy, he is 7 years old and he has only pee'ed in the past when he was left alone for a long time, that was when he lived in Texas with my fiance's dad. We thought he only did it because he was stressed and that all of our love an affection would cure that problem. Well, we aren't even supposed to have a cat in our apartment and we don't know what to do. We can't figure out why he might be peeing, and we want to do whatever it takes to make sure he doesn't do it again. Does anybody have any idea as to why he might be peeing outside of his litter box? He is well trained and knows better. I am confused an frustrated.. :confused:

Cats urinate out of their litter box for a number of reasons. It could be due to changes made in the house such as moving a plant or couch, dirty litter box, or urinary tract infection. Many cats who suffer from a feline UTI associate the litter box with the pain that comes from this infection. Their kitty logic says if they stop using the cat litter box, maybe the pain won't come around again. This is when you start discovering cat urine puddles all around your home. Make sure to clean the places where he urinated in the carpet with an animal waste carpet cleaner so that the smell is removed. Clean his litter box thoroughly. Last, you need to take Timmy to the vet in order to rule out UTI.

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Originally Posted by rankrank55

Cats urinate out of their litter box for a number of reasons. It could be due to changes made in the house such as moving a plant or couch, dirty litter box, or urinary tract infection. Many cats who suffer from a feline UTI associate the litter box with the pain that comes from this infection. Their kitty logic says if they stop using the cat litter box, maybe the pain won't come around again. This is when you start discovering cat urine puddles all around your home. Make sure to clean the places where he urinated in the carpet with an animal waste carpet cleaner so that the smell is removed. Clean his litter box throughly. Last, you need to take Timmy to the vet in order to rule out UTI.

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Great answer, thanks a million!

If you are feeding your cat dry food switch to wet. My vet told us that dry food causes crystals to form in a cats bladder, a females urethea is wide it doesn't affect them however a males is very narrow and those crystals get trapped and cause UTIs. I'd take him to the vet and have him checked over.

Your welcome!

Glinda is right; feline UTIs are preventable with a permanent change in your cat's diet. Consult with your vet on how to safely proceed with this. Good luck with Timmy(love the name!)

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Originally Posted by GlindaofOz

If you are feeding your cat dry food switch to wet. My vet told us that dry food causes crystals to form in a cats bladder, a females urethea is wide it doesn't affect them however a males is very narrow and those crystals get trapped and cause UTIs. I'd take him to the vet and have him checked over.

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Interesting. My fiancé and I surprise Timmy with 1 can of wet food a week, on Sunday mornings. He goes wild for it... it's funny too because Sunday morning early he knows that's the day and he will meow SO much to wake us up! I thought it was a good idea just to start feeding him wet food all the time, but Adam thought that wouldn't be a good idea. I will definitely let him know that it was suggested, I think Timmy would love it too. Thanks very much for your answer!

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Originally Posted by rankrank55

Glinda is right; feline UTIs are preventable with a permanent change in your cat's diet. Consult with your vet on how to safely proceed with this. Good luck with Timmy(love the name!)

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Thanks, we'll get him checked out for sure! I love his name, I'm not sure if you're familiar with Southpark cartoons... well, my fiancé used to love that show so he named Timmy after one of the characters. :) "Timmy Timmy!!"

I really makes a difference. Our boy cat also barely drank water so the dry food was just a disaster. So at least with the wet food he was also getting some liquid.

Cats love wet food, both of our cats did (one boy one girl). Whenever they ate it they would make piggy sounds it was really funny :)

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Originally Posted by GlindaofOz

I really makes a difference. Our boy cat also barely drank water so the dry food was just a disaster. So at least with the wet food he was also getting some liquid.

Cats love wet food, both of our cats did (one boy one girl). Whenever they ate it they would make piggy sounds it was really funny :)

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Haha, that is so funny! Timmy loves on us SO much when he gets canned food. Also, he barely drinks water from his water bowl. He likes it when we run water from the sink and he drinks it fresh. Do you think he ONLY drinks it when it's from the faucet and that he may be dehyrdrated? I think I will talk adam into wet food only..

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Originally Posted by Balloons33

Haha, that is so funny! Timmy loves on us SO much when he gets canned food. Also, he barely drinks water from his water bowl. He likes it when we run water from the sink and he drinks it fresh. do you think he ONLY drinks it when it's from the faucet and that he may be dehyrdrated? i think i will talk adam into wet food only..

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I've got WAY too much info on cats UTIs I used to make my vet explain everything to me in detail, he LOVED my visits ;)

What happens is that when you feed the cats dry food and they aren't really drinking water that's really how the crystals form. Then at that point the contents of the bladder are not "water down" so the urine is really strong and something's has blood it in so it hurts even more when they try to go potty. So what the wet food does is sort of cancel out the fact that they are not drinking.

But I think its really a boy cat thing because our cat would play in the water dish (which was fun to walk into a room flooded with the contents of a water bowl) but he loved to drink out of the faucet in the bathtub. Meanwhile our girl cat would only drink out of her bowl you couldn't force to drink from another source.

Balloons I have a male 13 years old he eats a wet/dry combo. I like to cover everything. The last time he had a UTI was years ago. I give him dry food that is supposed to help prevent them. I Like to use vinegar and water to clean up pet odors or a product called Urine Gone. Hope this helps.

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Originally Posted by GlindaofOz

I've got WAY too much info on cats UTIs I used to make my vet explain everything to me in detail, he LOVED my visits ;)

What happens is that when you feed the cats dry food and they aren't really drinking water thats really how the crystals form. Then at that point the contents of the bladder are not "water down" so the urine is really strong and somethings has blood it in so it hurts even more when they try to go potty. so what the wet food does is sort of cancel out the fact that they are not drinking.

But I think its really a boy cat thing because our cat would play in the water dish (which was fun to walk into a room flooded with the contents of a water bowl) but he loved to drink out of the faucet in the bathtub. Meanwhile our girl cat would only drink out of her bowl you couldn't force to drink from another source.

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This makes a lot of sense. Now that I think of his history things are really adding up. Thanks again :) Aren't cats the best? :)

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Originally Posted by bushg

Balloons I have a male 13 years old he eats a wet/dry combo. I like to cover everything. The last time he had a UTI was years ago. I give him dry food that is supposed to help prevent them. I Like to use vinegar and water to clean up pet odors or a product called Urine Gone. Hope this helps.

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Awesome, thank you! The wet/dry combo is what we'll do... Adam wants to keep him on dry and I think wet's the way to go, so we'll compromise :) Thanks!

Lol glinda my kids had a blast with the black light:eek: But if you get it without the light it is only ten dollars a bottle.

While many people have mentioned the possibility of UTIs, I note that no one mentioned that they are considered a serious problem, especially in male cats. If the urethra gets entirely blocked, your cat may die. So take them seriously.

Also, if your cat is preferring to drink out faucets, I recommend a cat water fountain. Much more convenient for you, and lets them have running water to drink.

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Originally Posted by froggy7

While many people have mentioned the possibility of UTIs, I note that no one mentioned that they are considered a serious problem, especially in male cats. If the urethra gets entirely blocked, your cat may die. So take them seriously.

Also, if your cat is prefering to drink out faucets, I recommend a cat water fountain. Much more convenient for you, and lets them have running water to drink.

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Oh my gosh! My fiancé and I hadn't thought to check online for a fountain.. we said we should invent one, haha. I am ordering one right now! Great idea! Thanks :)

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Originally Posted by bushg

lol glinda my kids had a blast with the black light:eek: But if you get it without the light it is only ten dollars a bottle.

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My roommate and I bought it and our carpets in our apartment were kind of old. We would turn that light on and just be yelling "GROSS" the whole time. I said it looked like someone had been brutally murdered with all those glowing spots! But then you remember it picks up sweat and all that stuff.


And yes, UTIs are very serious. Definitely call your vet right away.