15 Yr. Old Cat Peeing- How Do I Know If It's Serious?

Go to your vet...it could be one of many health related issues.

If this is out of the ordinary for your cat, I would get her checked out for a UTI (which they will put her on antibiotics) or anything else that may need to be corrected. Have you noticed any changes to her moving/walking? If you haven't, that is a good sign.

Found a web-site that may be helpful to you. It answers different questions about your subject.

http://www.justanswer.com/questions/19534-15-year-old-cat...

I think if this were her time, this wouldn't be the only symptom that you would notice. Good luck to you and kitty!

I have a 20 year old cat that is also peeing around the house. In his case it is his age and senility. 15 is not too young to start to wonder about age related issues. Definitely take her to the vet to rule out illness that can be treated with meds.

I also have a young cat around 3 that used to do this as a way to tell us he was really mad or felt displaced. It took us a long time to find a vet who would listen and care. We have now had our cat on Prozak for about 5 months and he is so different. Before, the only one in the house that could pick him up was my son. My husband couldn't even go in the same room. The meds have helped him live a much less stressful life. I am not saying drug your cat but at least get the opinion of a vet. Our cat was just over the top stressed so it helps.

On a last note, I don't like Nature's Miracle to get out the smell but Walmart sells another brand. I think it is called Out or something like that. It is near the carpet cleaners. I think it works better.

Hi M.,
My cat is 13 years old and has had issues with peeing around the house. Cats can live 20+ years, so I would not say it is her "time". Take her to your vet and let them know what is going on. I recommend ours- Pet Vets Animal Hospital in Oak Park. We love Dr. Shack for cat issues. She was FINALLY able to get our cat's peeing under control. Turns out she had bladder stones and needed surgery. Now, we give her a special food, lots of water, and at the first sign of peeing, we will need to get her some fluids to flush the new stone out. You might find out there's another issue for your cat's peeing. Either way, be sure to use Nature's Miracle and nothing else on the stain to remove it. Household cleaners set the stain and keep the smell there for your cat.
A vet visit should be able to tell you what is going on, and how serious it is.

Good luck,
T.
www.ReadandGrow.com

I had this problem and it turned out my cat had a kidney infection. She associated the pain with the litter box, so she would not go in the box, then everywhere she peed, she associated the pain, so it was always some place new, we ended up having to put him down b/c he would have needed surgery to correct it and he was just in so much pain. I would take him to the vet b/c if he is doing it b/c of pain, it is almost cruel to continue to make him in pain. I know it is hard, we become attached to our pets, they are our family!

M.-
We had a very similar situation with our cat. She was not quite 15 but she was about 7-10 years old and had never once peed outside her litter box. Then one day she started going frequently outside her box, just like your situation. Unfortunately for us, it turned out she had feline diabetes. Its very common for older cats to get this and it causes them to urinate frequently (b/c they also drink excessively)and sometimes, especially in older cats, they can't make it to the litter box in time. We gave her insulin injections for several months and we were unable to get her diabetes controlled. We did wind up having to put her to sleep. I hope that is not the situation for you but I would bring your cat to the vet and have them check her for diabetes.

Hi M.,

Like other said it could be a UTI or it could be arthritis. I would definitely have the vet check it out. In the mean time you may want to use something like a baking pan or something (sorry for the visual) without a high step and see if that improves.

Good luck.

I've had this problem for a while now and in some cases you need to make the litter box more available, put a litter box around where she hangs out. I used to have a litter box upstairs only and I had to put one downstairs as well.

Definitely take your cat to the doctor to rule out health issues. That would be the first thing to do.

You could try Cat Attract litter and Feliway, a combination of that and Rescue Remedy works for us. Rescue Remedy is an all-natural bach flower essence that helps calm the cat if she is peeing because she is spooked or is sad. Cat Attract litter emits a scent that attracts the cat and encourages her to go there. And Feliway is a pheremone that relaxes the cat and keeps them from peeing where they smell it.

I've been dealing with this for years and my cat hasn't peed in the house for a while. YAY! I use Odo-ban from Sam's Club to get rid of the smell. It's the only thing I've found that works for sure, it works on blankets, carpets, etc.