runs to the litter every 5-10 min to pee

ARTAQ · **Posted:** Mon Oct 03, 2011 2:04 pm

hi all. our 14 month old golden persian girl for the past day has been running to the litter every 5-10 min. is this a UTI ?? we recently started making the change to clumping...but we have left 1 pan filled with the same old clay we have always used, in case they prefer it...so idk if the clumping litter is the reason ???

our vet doesn't open until 1 p.m. (3 hours from now ) idk what to do :cry:

twokatz · **Posted:** Mon Oct 03, 2011 2:16 pm

Sounds like she has a UTI. Call your vet and get her in as quick as possible to get the meds to clear it up. My Sparky gets UTI fairly often, one thing that helps her is to get SubQ fluids for a couple of days to wash the infection, and crystals out. Hers gets so bad she bleeds. It is very painful for them, if you have ever had a UTI you know how it feels

I don't think the clumping litter is the cause, but I don't use clumping, don't like it, they swallow it when they groom. In the meantime there is not really anything you can do, even with meds it is gonna be a bit before it starts to clear up.

Does she drink much water ? We had to get fountains to encourage drinking more, it has helped a lot.

Good luck

Joan · **Posted:** Mon Oct 03, 2011 2:33 pm

Sounds like UTI to me.
Get her to the vets, she will probably be put in Amoxi or
something similar plus a special diet.
I went through the same with Bumper, constant going into the litter box,
and even squating and peeing whereever he was....just tiny pees, spots of pee.
You should notice a difference really fast, maybe the next day or two, once on the
medication.
If I remember right, the food Bumper was on, was c/d....for a month, then on a maintenance
diet for the problem after that (I've forgotten the letters of the maintenance food)

Good luck, hope it clears up quickly for your sweetie.

Joan

Joan · **Posted:** Mon Oct 03, 2011 2:37 pm

Just a thought....if you are using a clay clumping litter, I would
stop using it....
I'm not sure if it was a coincidence or not...but Bumper's first
episode happened shortly after I started to use clay clumping.
It does get stuck on their paws, and they lick it off, and I don't
imagine that stuff does anything good to thier intestinal tract..

MarLo · **Posted:** Mon Oct 03, 2011 7:04 pm

This does sound like a UTI. I hope you've already taken your kitty to the Vet by now and have an answer or have a scheduled appt for ASAP.

ARTAQ · **Posted:** Mon Oct 03, 2011 7:14 pm

yes, leaving in 3 minutes :cat:

LindaH · **Posted:** Mon Oct 03, 2011 7:27 pm

I hope things go well at the vets!

While it's tempting to conclude it's the clumping litter, I really don't see how it would be involved. The litter wouldn't cause an infection. The only way it might be a factor is if the cat refused to use it and held the urine which led to crystals. Since you left one old box, I doubt this is what happened.

As for swallowing litter and causing problems, if a young kitten ate a bunch of it, yes, it could be a problem. For an adult who is healthy, I don't see it. The guts have enough water to help the litter turn into a slimy mess which is then passed out with the feces.

twokatz · **Posted:** Mon Oct 03, 2011 7:34 pm

LindaH wrote:

I hope things go well at the vets!

While it's tempting to conclude it's the clumping litter, I really don't see how it would be involved. The litter wouldn't cause an infection. The only way it might be a factor is if the cat refused to use it and held the urine which led to crystals. Since you left one old box, I doubt this is what happened.

Quote:

As for swallowing litter and causing problems, if a young kitten ate a bunch of it, yes, it could be a problem. For an adult who is healthy, I don't see it. The guts have enough water to help the litter turn into a slimy mess which is then passed out with the feces

.

Not always, with the clumping stuff it has been found in clumps in the gut just like in the litterbox. I had that discussion with my Vet, she agreed this is true and was in the process of changing hers off it after going to a conference.

ARTAQ · **Posted:** Mon Oct 03, 2011 11:15 pm

she got an antibiotic shot and a pain killing shot

hopefully she is on the mend.

the vet doesn't feel it was the clumping litter either. i personally don't think it is and here is why:

if our cats were to go into the litter with wet feet then yes it could happen that they come out of the box with clumps stuck to them...which they would prolly work at licking off. but our 2 Persians don't play in their water dishes anymore. and we leave toilet seats down in the rooms they can get into. so we are safe from that happening. we pick them up several times a day to hold them in our laps, we would see the litter on their paws.

if a cat can get wet feet and then jumps in clumping litter, i could see perhaps that might be a problem. that is something that a kitten might get into more than a 1+ year old. i agree Linda :apple:

tx for the advice yall! i was super stressed about this today...glad it is over.

LindaH · **Posted:** Tue Oct 04, 2011 1:45 am

twokatz wrote:

Not always, with the clumping stuff it has been found in clumps in the gut just like in the litterbox. I had that discussion with my Vet, she agreed this is true and was in the process of changing hers off it after going to a conference.

If you have a source or your vet does, I'd love to see it. The only times I've heard of clumping litter being a problem is with kittens and cats with pica (the tendency to eat non-food things, like wool or litter). In normal, healthy cats, I've never heard of problems. Feel free to educate me!

runs to the litter every 5-10 min to pee

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