Cat Litter Warning Signs
What the litterbox says about your cat’s health.
Dusty Rainbolt
There are a couple of natural laws that must be obeyed: What
goes up must come down; and what goes in will eventually come out,
at least in a healthy cat. What your cat deposits in his litterbox provides
a virtual peek into the condition of his insides and a summary of his
overall health. Litterbox contents provide warning signs that your cat
has a problem and needs to see a veterinarian.
Watch for Changes
Start today by noting your cat’s litterbox habits. Frequently, the first sign that
your cat might be struggling with a life-threatening disease is when his litterbox routine
or contents suddenly change. Your little couch panther is hardwired for medical secrecy.
While domestic cats are fierce predators for their size, they appear on the dinner menu to
coyotes, foxes, and even dogs. In nature, drawing attention to illness is the equivalent of
wearing a sign that reads, “Eat me.” Kitties put on a poker face and suffer in silence as a
survival mechanism.
So, what is normal? It varies from cat to cat. Going to the bathroom should be
effortless and pain free. “Under normal circumstances a cat will pee once or twice a day,”
says Drew D. Weigner, DVM, a board-certified feline specialist in the greater Atlanta
area. “Some cats will go more, some less, but usually it will be the same amount. So, if
they usually pee twice a day, and they suddenly go four times, that’s a change.”
In addition to frequency, you should “watch for changes in the amount of urine or
character of the stool,” says Michael Stone, DVM, American College of Veterinary
Internal Medicine diplomat at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts
University.
Also, keep an eye out for blood in urine or stool. (Using a white silica gel litter
makes it easier to spot.)
Sometimes, you don’t even need your eyes to detect changes; some
will hit you right in the nose. “Nothing the cat puts in the litterbox smells
good,” admits Beth Adelman, a certified cat behavior consultant with a
practice in Brooklyn, N.Y. “You know what it smells like, and it’s not a
good smell. But when it suddenly smells 10 times worse, that’s something
to be concerned about.”
Peeing Too Little
One of the most critical changes to watch out for is your cat repeatedly attempting
to use the box. “There are many reasons for frequently urinating small amount,” Weigner
says. “It could indicate a urinary tract disorder, such as feline lower urinary tract disease,
which includes bladder stones and crystals, idiopathic cystitis and infections.”
FLUTD is a complex of disorders affecting the feline lower urinary tract. One
common cause of FLUTD in cats under 10 years of age is feline interstitial cystitis
(sometimes called feline idiopathic cystitis). FIC is one component of FLUTD, and can
be difficult to diagnose and treat. Cystitis is any inflammation of the lining of the bladder.
This painful condition might be caused by crystals, stones, bacterial infection or tumors.
Idiopathic means we don’t know the cause.
A cat with FIC or other urinary tract disorders who experiences pain while using
the litterbox will often avoid it. He might be thinking, “That box hurt me. If I don’t go
into it, I’ll be OK.” It’s a logical approach, at least from the cat’s perspective.
“Even stress can cause cystitis,” says Cynthia Rigoni, DVM, owner of All Cats
Veterinary Clinic in Houston. “Stressors like moving the furniture, tearing up the street in
front of your house, a neighborhood stray teasing your cat through the window or the kids
going off to school can manifest on your floor, walls, and pillows.”
Rigoni treated a kitty named Torts whose human mom was studying to be a
lawyer. “When the owner was preparing for her finals, she got wired up, so Torts got
wired up,” Rigoni says. “He developed cystitis. There was microscopic blood in his
urine. The bladder wall thickens.”
After bringing home a litter of foster kittens, cat rescuer Susan Greene of Spencer,
N.Y., noticed a difference in her cat Ivan’s litterbox behavior. The 10-year-old cat
suddenly began urinating on objects, such as luggage and sweatshirts on the floor. Greene
discounted the behavior as stress marking because of the kittens. Greene’s husband,
however, noticed that Ivan was only passing droplets, and they rushed Ivan to the
emergency clinic. X-rays showed that several very tiny bladder stones had completely
blocked him. Ivan came home with an Elizabethan collar and a catheter. After his third
but with blockages, Ivan underwent a perineal urethrostomy, a widening of the urethra.
today, Ivan, is a thriving 15-year-old. Since his surgery, Ivan has experienced no further
blockages.
“So many times people thing it’s behavioral and they ignore it,” Rigoni says. But
that can be a heartbreaking mistake. Had it not been for Ivan’s observant family, the story
might have had a very different tragic ending. “Whenever a cat isn’t urinating, it’s a
medical emergency,” Rigoni says. “If a cat can’t urinate, it can die of uremia within a 24to-36-hour period.”
Weigner says if you notice your cat “going back and forth to the litterbox, crying
while using the box, throwing up after using it or acting lethargic, take him to the
veterinarian. If he’s peeing small amounts, go to the veterinarian first thing in the
morning. However, not peeing at all is a real emergency that requires immediate action.”
Peeing Too Much
The opposite end of the urinary spectrum could indicate different but deadly
health problems, as well. People assume what the cat eats and drinks dictates the quality
of output, but according to Weigner, “What goes out actually dictates what comes in.
Cats get dehydrated from peeing too much or from diarrhea.”
Maybe your cat has started to pass copious amounts of urine. Weigner call this
condition polydipsia polyuria. Polydipsia means drinking a lot; polyuria means peeing a
lot.
“Diabetes, hyperthyroidism, and kidney disease cause not only increased water
intake, but also increased urine output,” Weigner says. “If you see increases in the
amount of urine but also going more frequently, it’s time to go see the veterinarian. It’s
usually pretty obvious.” According to stone, “Monitoring for changes in urine volume
might allow the earlier detection of problems and be associated with a better treatment
outcome.”
Changing Postures
Any change in habits is worth noting. Maybe your cat has started going to the
bathroom standing up. Urine sprays the wall, or sometimes his feces lands on the floor.
Maybe he’s going right next to the box.
When Caralee Woods’ Siamese mix, Cassie, turned 16, she suddenly stopped
using the litterbox. “I watched her approach the box, look at it as if wanting to use it, then
use the area in front of it,” Woods says. Woods realized Cassie’s back legs weren’t
cooperating. “It wasn’t comfortable for her to jump in the box and try to balance on
shifting sand.”
After a veterinary visit confirmed her suspicions, Woods provided pee pads at the
location of Cassie’s mishaps. Problem solved.
Frequently cats have arthritis in their hind ends, or they might have hip dysplasia,
Rigoni says. “Ninety percent of cats over 5 have arthritis in their spinal column. They’re
no flexible, so they can’t jump into the box like they used to even though they can still
jump on the bed. They can’t hunch over any longer, either.”
When buying a box for senior kitties, keep in mind that cats with achy joints need
a low entry so they can climb in easily and high sides to keep the cat from peeing over
the edge. An 18-or-31-gallon storage container with a low entrance cut out might be just
what the veterinarian ordered.
The poop on poop
On the solid side of the litterbox, most cats will pass a stool for every meal they
eat. Having bowel movements should be an easy process.
“When it comes to stools, the consistency is the most important thing,” Weigner
says. “If it doesn’t come out as a cylinder, it’s diarrhea,” he says. “Textures of pudding,
cow flop or unformed stool are not normal. Three days of diarrhea means something’s up.
They need to be seen by a veterinarian. It can be very minor. Parasites, stress or a change
in diet could cause a temporary upset, but it could also be a symptom of a much more
serious condition, such as diabetes, kidney failure, thyroid disease or inflammatory bowel
disease.” Blood or mucus that looks like clear jelly in the stool indicates that something is
up even if they don’t have diarrhea, he says.
Seek immediate care if diarrhea and vomiting are present at the same time. Your
cat might have ingested something toxic or might have an intestinal obstruction. Fresh
blood or mucus in the stool might indicate colitis or parasites.
“Change of color might occur when a new diet is fed, and this is generally or little
concern,” Stone says. “A darkly-colored stool might suggest intestinal bleeding. If gastric
or intestinal bleeding occurs, the intestinal tract will digest the blood and change the stool
to a dark color, often with a tar-like consistency.”
Cats also can suffer from constipation. “Constipation isn’t a disease,” Weigner
says. “It’s a symptom of an underlying condition like obstruction, dehydration, painful
defecation, impacted anal glands or a side effect of medication.”
“It can be subtle,” Weigner says. “They’re dropping little pieces of stool around
the house. Sometimes they throw up after they go to the bathroom (or after they attempt
to go). Straining to go sometimes makes them nauseous.”
If you notice your cat struggling to pass a stool, he needs to see his veterinarian.
Never use a human enema on your cat because they contain sodium phosphate, which is
toxic to cats. Don’t ignore kitty constipation, as chronic constipation can lead to
megacolon, a chronically enlarged colon resulting from inability of the colonic muscles
to contract.
Reasons for litterbox changes abound, some minor, some major, so don’t selfdiagnose. Monitor your cat’s health by keeping an eye on his elimination activity. This
knowledge will help you and your veterinarian spot serious disease, hopefully in the
early, treatable stage.