{"id":262,"date":"2019-08-12T08:32:22","date_gmt":"2019-08-12T13:32:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zimmvet.com\/blog\/?p=262"},"modified":"2019-08-23T17:27:37","modified_gmt":"2019-08-23T22:27:37","slug":"cat-urinary-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zimmvet.com\/blog\/cat-urinary-issues\/","title":{"rendered":"Cat Urinary Issues"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><em>By Dr. Maria Krenz, DVM\n\u2013 The Zimmerman Veterinary Clinic-763-856-4848<\/em><\/strong><strong>Cat Focus Month Five \u2013 Urinary\nIssues<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zimmvet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Carly2-1500x2000.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-263\" width=\"300\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zimmvet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Carly2-1500x2000.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.zimmvet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Carly2-1125x1500.jpg 1125w, https:\/\/www.zimmvet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Carly2-768x1024.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Previously,\nwe outlined the importance of once-per-year cat exams as well as twice-per-year\nexams for senior cats over 7 years old. These exams are vital to maintaining\ncat health year round.&nbsp; In our first\ncat-focused article in this series, we discussed the importance of yearly\nbloodwork for all cats. Month three, we talked about obesity in cats. In month\nfour, we identified how to keep your outdoor feline safe.&nbsp; This month we will talk about urinary issues\nin cats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Litter\nbox Habits<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the\nmain reasons cats are given up, surrendered to shelters or euthanized is due to\ninappropriate urination, outside of the litter box. As humans we try to conform\na cat\u2019s natural behavior to fit into our lives. Cats do not always prefer what\nwe do. There have been extensive studies to identify what a cat prefers for its\nlitter box. If we are aware of this, we can avoid accidents outside of the box.\nMany people report they have always had the litter box a certain way, and just\nrecently the cat is going outside the box. As cats get older, they get less\ntolerant of less than ideal situations. Also, medical conditions and arthritis\ncan change how a cat behaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The\nlitter box should be uncovered-a cover traps scents and a cat\u2019s nose is much\nmore sensitive than ours.<\/li><li>Go\nwithout a litter box liner.<\/li><li>The\nlitter box should be at least 1.5 times the length of the cat (not including\nthe tail), the cat should have plenty of room. It is very hard to find large\nlitter boxes. An easy tip is to use a large plastic tote, take off the lid and\ncut an entrance hole. The high sides prevent litter from getting kicked out of\nthe box.<\/li><li>Cats\nprefer a clumping unscented litter. Since their noses are very sensitive, any\nperfume is offensive. The litter needs to clearly state \u2018unscented\u2019 or else it\nusually has perfumes added.<\/li><li>Cats\nprefer deeper litter of at least a couple inches thick.<\/li><li>Quiet\nlocation: cats can easily become scared by noises from washing machines, water\nheaters, people traffic etc.&nbsp; Keep the\nlitter box in a quiet out of the way area.<\/li><li>The\ngeneral rule for number of litter boxes is 1 box for every cat + 1. For example:\n2 cats in the household you should have 3 boxes. Often, cats prefer to urinate\nin 1 box and defecate in another.<\/li><li>The\nlitter box should be scooped daily and thoroughly cleaned at least monthly.<\/li><li>Especially\nfor older cats, it is ideal to have at least one litter box for each story of\nthe house.&nbsp; Often, older pets with\narthritis have trouble climbing stairs to get to a litter box<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Male\nCats-Urinary Blockage<\/strong><br>\nThere are many medical reasons for urination outside of the litter box. It is\nalways best to have your cat examined by a veterinarian to have some basic\ntests done such as a urinalysis and bloodwork to check organ function.&nbsp; One condition that is serious and potentially\ndeadly, if not caught early, is urinary blockage in male cats. Male cats have a\nvery small urethra; this is the organ that the urine passes from the bladder to\noutside of the body. This small tube can become blocked with urinary crystals,\nproteins or secondary to infection (less common). Signs of a urinary blockage\ninclude: excessive licking of the hind end, frequent trips to the litter box,\nstraining in the litter box, small amounts of urine produced, vocalizing, and blood\nin the urine. This is an emergency situation, and the cat should be seen by a\nveterinarian immediately. The longer the problem goes on the more serious and\ncostly to treat. Male cats that have had urinary blockages are prone to this\nhappening again and should be on a prescription urinary diet the rest of their\nlife. At The Zimmerman Veterinary Clinic we carry Royal Canin foods that are\nprescription. We also have Royal Canin foods that can be purchased without a prescription\nfor male cats that have not had any problems yet, but used as prevention.&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Disclaimer:&nbsp; This written content is meant to be\neducational and is not medical advice.&nbsp;\nAlways consult a veterinarian about medical advice for your pet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Dr. Maria Krenz, DVM \u2013 The Zimmerman Veterinary Clinic-763-856-4848Cat Focus Month Five \u2013 Urinary Issues Previously, we outlined the importance of once-per-year cat exams as well as twice-per-year exams for senior cats over 7 years old. These exams are vital to maintaining cat health year round.&nbsp; In our first cat-focused article in this series, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-zimmvet-news-events"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Cat Urinary Issues | ZimmVet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It is always best to have your cat examined by a veterinarian to have some basic tests done such as a urinalysis and bloodwork to check organ function.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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