Cat Suddenly Peeing Outside Litter Box

[The Snark]

Just to mention, depending upon the anesthetic and duration of it's effects he may undergo a personality alteration other than the loss of that organ's function. Close observation time.

Post-Op Mood and Cognitive Changes: Undisclosed Effects

Few are aware that cognitive decline is a post-operative symptom.

www.psychologytoday.com

https://www.bjaed.org/article/S2058-5349(23)00063-X/fulltext

 

[darkness975]

Just to mention, depending upon the anesthetic and duration of it's effects he may undergo a personality alteration other than the loss of that organ's function. Close observation time.

Post-Op Mood and Cognitive Changes: Undisclosed Effects

Few are aware that cognitive decline is a post-operative symptom.

www.psychologytoday.com

https://www.bjaed.org/article/S2058-5349(23)00063-X/fulltext

He still remembers me and I can see key components of his personality are still there.

 

[Charliemum]

It's just like ppl getting knocked out, will be groggy and sleepy and a little away with it but he will be ok he is a big strong healthy lad, he will be good just needs lots of loves sleep n boiled chicken till he is better
Sleep sound n feel better little one

 

[The Snark]

He still remembers me and I can see key components of his personality are still there.

They've come a long way from when I worked in a vat's office. And the really nasty stuff, ethrane, halothane and fluothane I suspect are only used on people. Through I see they still use iso and sevofluranes for animals.

 

[darkness975]

Had to give some pain medication and now he's acting fearful of me and won't let me pet him. Great.

 

[The Snark]

Had to give some pain medication and now he's acting fearful of me and won't let me pet him. Great.

Typical animal reflex. Just wants a private place to be left alone. Let mom nature to do the healing undisturbed. May not want to eat. Provide a nearby water bowl and monitor what vitals you can from a distance. Respirations. If he starts panting for a prolonged period intervention may be required. (O2 enriched enclosed space.) If refusing to drink water for a long period, over 10-12 hours, IV fluids should be administered. Positive signs are peeing and pooping, even if making a mess of itself. Indicates bodily functions are working.

 

[darkness975]

Typical animal reflex. Just wants a private place to be left alone. Let mom nature to do the healing undisturbed. May not want to eat. Provide a nearby water bowl and monitor what vitals you can from a distance. Respirations. If he starts panting for a prolonged period intervention may be required. (O2 enriched enclosed space.) If refusing to drink water for a long period, over 10-12 hours, IV fluids should be administered. Positive signs are peeing and pooping, even if making a mess of itself. Indicates bodily functions are working.

Within minutes of this post he ate his wet food and started grooming near me on the floor. Might take a couple hours to let me pet him again. At least he didn't run and hide under the bed.

 

[The Snark]

That's doing good. Just cut him lots of slack. What ever he want's to do. Be supportive but not up in his face worrying and bothering him.
The technical: the anesthesia arrests ALL bodily functions inclusive of slowing the heart rate. It can take days, or even weeks for everything to kick back in. Until then he's in la la land trying to get a grip on reality. It all depends on how long he was under the anesthetic.
When my ex had 14 hours of surgery she didn't entirely feel on top of things for about a year.

 

[Charliemum]

Awww don't worry he will be your friend again . If he has tablets instead of liquid you can always try wrapping his tablet in a tiny bit if cheese or chicken or even butter so he eats the treat and the meds in one, it is way less stressful for you both, but even if you have to pin him n force it down an hour some treats n a little cuddle should go a long way to him coming out of his huff
He's on alot of meds he probably won't remember in an hour.
Yous will get there your past the worst now, the rest is just healing for you both I feel .

 

[TheraMygale]

There is pain also. When i am in pain, i dont like people getting close. I get feral.

take nothing to heart/personal.

its a one day at a time. Animals dont process time like we do.

channel good vibes. That way he will sense that, and not your worries.

 

[darkness975]

There is pain also. When i am in pain, i dont like people getting close. I get feral.

take nothing to heart/personal.

its a one day at a time. Animals dont process time like we do.

channel good vibes. That way he will sense that, and not your worries.

I hope so. He doesn't want to be touched still. Its hard.

 

[TheraMygale]

I hope so. He doesn't want to be touched still. Its hard.

its very hard.

it will get better tomorrow. And after tomorrow. And then some.

 

[darkness975]

He had another incident last night. He was neutered Tuesday so there is still testosterone in his system. I'm going to chalk it up to that and things should be improving soon ...

 

[Spifdar]

OP I didn't see anybody mention this (apologies if I missed it) but it can also be pain. Male cats, esp. unneutered, very commonly end up with urethral blockages via kidney stone--even if only in part. This can be painful and cause them to try and "escape" the pain by urinating around the house, esp. if it's squatting and not spraying.

It's often the first symptom.

Keep an eye on him when he does use the box, praise him and look at the color. If it's darker (near orange) or red that can also be a sign. There's crystals you can buy even off Amazon, or contact your vet, that'll check urine PH when spread over the litter. It's good practice to keep an eye on male cat pee throughout their life, and if he's at all swollen/in pain from a neutering it could exacerbate it further.

It may just be behavioral--but I advise always looking for, and ruling out, the medical cause first. Luckily if it is impaction it's easy enough to treat; usually a gel fed daily that alters urine pH. But you need to watch closely for a full blockage just in case. If the cat begins to strain and fail to urinate, and especially if he begins to act further as if he's in pain (odd meows/pained vocalisations, hunching up in a lying position on his side after failing to pee, etc.) it's an immediate veterinary emergency that requires clearing at a vet ASAP or it will be fatal in a very unpleasant way.

I'm not saying it IS a blockage, but I've seen that exact behavior in partially blocked cats and it can very quickly progress to emergency. I'd recommend getting the crystals and contacting the vet for advice if you haven't already mentioned the squat-peeing around the house, just to keep on top of things JUST in case.

 

[The Snark]

I'm going to chalk it up to that and things should be improving soon ...

I just chased off a tom that regularly marks territory around our house although our cats have been gone for over a year. The term 'creatures of habit' applies well to cats.

 

[darkness975]

OP I didn't see anybody mention this (apologies if I missed it) but it can also be pain. Male cats, esp. unneutered, very commonly end up with urethral blockages via kidney stone--even if only in part. This can be painful and cause them to try and "escape" the pain by urinating around the house, esp. if it's squatting and not spraying.

It's often the first symptom.

Keep an eye on him when he does use the box, praise him and look at the color. If it's darker (near orange) or red that can also be a sign. There's crystals you can buy even off Amazon, or contact your vet, that'll check urine PH when spread over the litter. It's good practice to keep an eye on male cat pee throughout their life, and if he's at all swollen/in pain from a neutering it could exacerbate it further.

It may just be behavioral--but I advise always looking for, and ruling out, the medical cause first. Luckily if it is impaction it's easy enough to treat; usually a gel fed daily that alters urine pH. But you need to watch closely for a full blockage just in case. If the cat begins to strain and fail to urinate, and especially if he begins to act further as if he's in pain (odd meows/pained vocalisations, hunching up in a lying position on his side after failing to pee, etc.) it's an immediate veterinary emergency that requires clearing at a vet ASAP or it will be fatal in a very unpleasant way.

I'm not saying it IS a blockage, but I've seen that exact behavior in partially blocked cats and it can very quickly progress to emergency. I'd recommend getting the crystals and contacting the vet for advice if you haven't already mentioned the squat-peeing around the house, just to keep on top of things JUST in case.

Yes I want to get a urine analysis to rule that out. Plus its good to do to verify health anyway. He's had bloodwork and what not already done. All good there.

He has only had an incident the one time post neutering. The trend should continue. No reason for it not to. It takes a month or so for all the testosterone to drain out. Positive thoughts.

I just chased off a tom that regularly marks territory around our house although our cats have been gone for over a year. The term 'creatures of habit' applies well to cats.

Hopefully the presence of that feral tom doesn't affect him the way it did before being neutered. I think that is the most likely culprit.

 

[The Snark]

@darkness975 So far I've sang the blues and misery potential problems. The flip side is during that college year I did vet assistance we spayed or neutered dozens upon dozens of cats. We even did community assist efforts offering the service for free and supervising vet school grads as they did the jobs. I can't recall any pet owner coming back to our office with post op complaints or problems. I was very impressed with the students expertise. Give cat a shot, a small incision in her side, go digging, and handing the zonked cat back to the owner in about 10-15 minutes. Made things look very trivial.

Your anecdote. A couple owned a dollar store and had three cats that lived in it. They tagged big time. So bad customers got to avoiding the store for the smell. They sold the business and one of the first things the new owner did was have both toms and the lady modified. He then tripled the store inventory. and business was so good he had to move to a much bigger shop.
I go into their store regularly now. One tom vanished, no idea why. The other spends his days in among the shelves, sound asleep. The lady cat is more personable, sleeping on the counter at the cashier and has to be shoved aside at times to make room for sales. The tom periodically has to be moved from the pillows and bedding shelves. Place cat on floor select your goods, and nice customers put the cat back to continue his naps. Both cats take their business out behind the store and get very indignant if someone closed the door, Open This Dang Door strident meows. The female cat is a little smarter. If the back door is closed she may go out the front and around the back of the store. She also sometimes hangs around out front and greets customers

 

[darkness975]

Even after all that time it worked with those store cats @The Snark

Good sign.

 

[The Snark]

Even after all that time it worked with those store cats @The Snark

Good sign.

I'm under the impression that, while cats are creatures of habit, they are also fastidious and are often offended by the scent of their own pee and poo. That's why they often go to some serious effort to bury their business.

 

[darkness975]

I'm under the impression that, while cats are creatures of habit, they are also fastidious and are often offended by the scent of their own pee and poo. That's why they often go to some serious effort to bury their business.

Good thing I scoop the litterbox a minium of 2 times a day and do a full change weekly.