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I have a three year old orange mail (neutered) tabby cat. Last fall he got a UTI, and was quite sick. He recovered and since then, has eaten mostly canned food.
Well, he started urinating in appropriately again. First on the dog bed, the twice on the bean bag chair. So, I took him to the vet. $120 and a missed baseball game later, I had some antibiotics. He took them for a week. At the vet, his urine came back high in white blood cells, hence the medicine, but when they sent his pee out over the weekend, it came back negative for a UTI.
Well, we just found he peed on a t-shirt my son left on the floor.
I am not sure what is going on with him. We haven't really had any changes in the house. The kids are out of school, but have been out for 8 weeks. Occasionally, they have friends over and he hides from the younger ones. Again, none of this is weird. We also have a golden retriever, but they get along.
Any suggestions? We are going on vacation in a couple weeks and i am worried to pieces to leave him home (with a cat sitter once a day.)
Our late Tucker developed this after a canned food change. There were no crystals and no infection, but somehow the diet change affected his bladder. You can try giving corn silk (a supplement thought to calm the bladder wall). It worked pretty well for us.
You can try a different brand of grain-free canned food, or try a raw diet.
If it's not physical, there could be any number of causes. For example, it could be he's seeing a stray cat though the window and that's stressing him out.
Do you have more than one litter box? If not, I'd get another one and make sure neither of them is hooded.
I hope you find a solution. IMO Male orange tabby cats are the best! Every one that I have known have had great personalities (almost like a dog). I was able to train mine to sit up for a cookie. If I ever get another cat, it will be an orange tabby male for sure.
I know that you probably don't want to go to the vet yet again but I would seek a second (and maybe even a third) opinion, as it does sound like it is health, rather than behavior, related.
Thank you for all the suggestions! Yes, my cat had Cystitus last fall (along with a bladder infection and a blockage). He didn't have an infection, but maybe it is painful for him??
I will call the vet tomorrow. He hasn't done it lately (as in the last 4 days) and when he did he found one of my son's shirts on the floor and used it (maybe that will help him learn to pick up after himself...ha, ha!)
I can easily put out another box too.
I did a super thorough cleaning on his box yesterday (I do it every month or so anyway...beyond just scooping and changing the liner) but I want him to be happy.
Maybe he is stressed with it being summer and the kids around all the time. My kids (9&14) don't bug him, but my younger one had a friend over every afternoon for a week and they did like to play "chase the kitty" and he didn't appreciate it. (Thankfully, the golden retriever LOVES to play "Chase the Dog" and happily obliged for hours on end!)
It should be quieter the rest of the summer so maybe that will help him feel better.
IMO Male orange tabby cats are the best! Every one that I have known have had great personalities (almost like a dog). I was able to train mine to sit up for a cookie. If I ever get another cat, it will be an orange tabby male for sure.
Orange mall tabby cats are a favorite of mine too! I've had several and so have my parents. When our last one passed away at 18, my 6 year old fell in love with the one we have now.
He is very dog like in some ways too! We thought maybe he just copied the dog!
My parents also recently lost their 17 year old cat and adopted two orange tabbies....they are more cream actually, and one is a female!
I just hope I can get my kitty cured of this problem he is having.
The kids need to leave the cat alone. My daughters tabby male cat was never a problem and out of the blue he changed. Would run and hide,spray etc. Problem was with the kid in family who was chasing and being overall a terror to the chat. Would be easier fix if that was the case in your home. Hopefully the cat isnt found to have serious health issues as you already have had some serious costs involved.
The kids need to leave the cat alone. My daughters tabby male cat was never a problem and out of the blue he changed. Would run and hide,spray etc. Problem was with the kid in family who was chasing and being overall a terror to the chat. Would be easier fix if that was the case in your home. Hopefully the cat isnt found to have serious health issues as you already have had some serious costs involved.
Yes, my kids don't chase him or bug him at all (except picking him up and putting him on their lap, or playing with toys with him. When little friends come over they always want to chase him and he hides. (Obviously, I don't LET them chase him....when they do I redirect them to the dog..ha!)
Maybe having neighbor / friend kids around this summer has been too stressful for him. I'm not planning to have any more playdates at our house for awhile, and see how he is acting.
We had a cat that died last year at the age of 17. He was very fun kitten...never really a lap kitty, but hung out and liked to play. As soon as our oldest son was born (the cat was 4), he hid in the bedroom. The minute the baby went to bed he came out and was friendly and normal. Of course, being a baby, he never did anything to the cat. The cat was just freaked out by anyone except my husband and myself. He did tolerate other adults on occasion. It was just his personality. Cats are interesting.....
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