Please help.. 10 month old kitten urinating on sofa and chairs.?

Question

I hope someone can help, my 10 month old spayed kitten was diagnosed with a urine infection and has had three weeks of antibiotics and her diet has been changed to a food for urinary problems which she is eating fine, but is still urinating on the sofa and now has started on the chairs. She is licking herself alot, could she still have the infection or do you think this is a behavioural problem. I have tried the deterents and the sofa and chairs have been thoroughly cleaned and i have black bags under throws on them at the moment to try and save my furniture. She does use her litter tray and is always cleaned. (ps she is an indoor cat). Does anyone have any suggestions as i am losing patience. She is such a good cat apart from this.

Answer 1

I'm going through the same thing with my siamese. Please please please get your kitty to the vet for a follow up - they can also give you special litter for at home so you can get a sample.

It's not normal for a cat to urinate on furniture like that - it's different if they are spraying, but it sounds like what my Spike is doing - going to the bathroom right in the dead center of the bed, trying to tell me he's in pain. He had a clean sample weeks ago, but when he went on my bed on my black sheets, I could actually see the crytstals in his urine. This is extrordinarily painful and can lead to urinary tract blockage and death if not treated as soon as possible.

They can give your kitty sub-q fluids to jump start her hydration, and also a product called cranberry comfort has been very helpful for spike, in addition to antibiotics. Also, are you using the dry or canned food? The dry, even though it is specific for urinary tract health, may aid the infection because it doesn't help her absorb water. Feed the canned food, and add a little warm water to it every time. This has helped immensely with Spikes hydration.

Oh and to add what the previous post said about food brands: I fed my cats Innova which is pretty much as good as it gets for quality, you have to go to a pet food store (not even petsmart or petco carry it) and Spike still got crystals and an infection. He'll always be on perscription food, or a raw food diet (can't remember the brand, but my friend who has a cat prone to crystals and infections swears by it).

Feel free to email me if you have questions [e-mail]

Answer 2

Use something like Nature's Miracle to thoroughly soak the areas she's peed on. Let them dry naturally, the smell will be gone if you do it right.

In addition to that, bring her back to the vet to retest. No matter how clean you get the sofa, if the infection is still there she'll dirty it again. And if the infection is gone, but she can smell it, she'll keep going there.

My male cat that problem, for the last 5 years he was with a UTI more often than not. Even antibiotics with the low ash food didn't help. I was buying him Purina Low Ash which my vet told me was on the high end of quality for foods available at the grocery store. It wasn't good enough to deal with my cat.

I finally switched both of my cats to Nutrience Holistic and the infection cleared up. It's been 3 months and hasn't returned. I don't know what you're feeding you cat, or if Nutrience is available where you live (it is top of the line food where I am, in Quebec) but if you have a very stubborn case of UTI on your hands, I do suggest going with the best food you can find, not just what's available at the grocery store.

Nothing against grocery store brands but for cats who are prone to health problems, they're just not good enough.

Answer 3

Did you clean the areas where she went with an *enzyme* cleaner (pet store)? That's the only thing that'll get out the smell to the point where the cat can't smell it anymore - and as long as she can still smell it, she might go there again.

However, from your description, it sounds like she still has the infection - it sometimes takes several rounds of antibiotics to clear up, especially if it's bad enough that she had to be switched to different food. And sometimes, a cat gets over one bout of UTI and almost immediately catches it again because her urinary tract is still weakened.

Has she been checked for urinary crystals? Those can be hard to get rid of.

I'd take her to the vet again, explain the problem, and let them do another test. She's probably still sick, poor thing. :(

Good luck to both of you!

Answer 4

I think I would call the vet. Maybe your cat needs a "follow-up" visit to determine if the infection is still present.

This is a tough one - you are doing all the right things, with the deterents and the plastic to protect your furniture. It seems once the smell gets into upholstery, cats continue to go back to the same area.

Maybe your vet has some ideas to help, or a product that would work. Good luck.

Answer 5

Sometimes it can take many doses of antibiotics to find one the infection isn't resistant to. You will need to take her back to the vet. If possible, get a urine specimen to take with you. If you have trouble collecting the urine, there are special pearl litters you can get from the vet to put in the litter tray then you just take them out and tip the urine into a clean container. The urine needs to be cultured to determine which antibiotic will kill that bacteria, otherwise you will be back and forth to the vet for more until you find the right one.

She has probably learnt to associate the litter box with pain from urinating so she refuses to use it, but you really need to get the all clear from the vet before you try to deal with that.

Answer 6

vinegar in a spray bottle on the area that has been soiled deters the cat from revisiting this place and if she is licking her self alot it could be a rash of some sort or even a desire to be more nurtured as mother cats do it for reassurance
visit a vet and find out

Answer 7

Usually when cats do this they are trying to tell you something is wrong.I would suspect that the UTI is not gone and another round of antibiotics is called for...Make sure you are not feeding her the poisend food that has been recalled.to find this info out go to CBS6ALBANY.COM CLICK ON WEBLINKS There is a 4 page list of bad foods..

Answer 8

Try spraying vinegar mixed with a bit of water where she is spraying that should take the smell of her urine away and she may stop it after her smell has gone