Odd litter tray behaviour

[Supertrooper]

Well TC is a bit odd anyway but wondered if anyone elses cat does this.

He generally uses his litter tray twice a day, one poo and one wee. We always clean it out completely after each time as we live in a flat and also don't like him having to use a dirty tray. I've not changed litter.

Occasionally in the past he's gone in it scrabbled around and then come out but recently this has been happening more frequently and he's been yowling also. For example he had a poo earlier and all fine, we cleaned tray out and ten mins later he went to use it to have a wee but just dug in litter, yowled alot and came out again. He's not been back since to use it.

He always passes a normal amount of urine when he does decide to go and no blood and he is completely normal otherwise but he'll do this behaviour up to three times before he actually wee's

Any ideas!! I'm a vet nurse and he's got me stumped! I will speak to vets tomorrow at work xx

 

[pines of rome]

One of my boy,s has done this , but only when he has a weeing problem, he has had crystals in the past!

 

[Misog2000]

Our boy cat did this when he had crystals too - yowling and straining in the tray but not going, then finally managing a pee and being ok, then starting again a few hours later. Definitely get it checked out if I was you, hope he is ok

 

[Sussexbythesea]

My female 15 yr old does this when she has a touch of cystitis. I give her Cystaid capsules prescribed by the vet when she has a bout.

 

[Wellsmum]

Sounds like cystitis or crystals - crystals are less common especially if he is on wet food, it would be highly unlikely.

Even cystitis would be strange as is usually linked to stress.

Assuming he is done too?

 

[Supertrooper]

Thanks guys, I got up really early this morning and increased the depth of his litter and he went for a wee straight away with no yowling.

Also spoke to one of our vets and we've put him on cystaid just in case and I'm going to get a urine sample off him to check.

I've plugged another feliway in by tray and am adding water to every meal of dry food xx

 

[Supertrooper]

Yes he's castrated. I can't give him wet food as he vomits when he has it and he's also on a special diet for his skin. Hence why I'm adding extra water to his dry and he also has one water bowl well away from his litter and his own mug of water on the kitchen counter, both are replaced twice daily with fresh xx

 

[Wellsmum]

You should think about implementing part wet food into his diet - something like Butchers Classic which contains no cereals. The make up of dry food is convenient for us and is often recommended to reduce tartar etc, but as far as cat health is concerned it isn't ideal and certainly not 'natural'.

They changed the components of dry some years ago to help reduce the occurrence of crystals, but instead, a different type of crystal can form.

Hopefully it is neither cystitis or crystals, as having had cats with both, neither are pleasant and both are very difficult to control - at least you work in the right place!!

 

[Wellsmum]

lol sorry we crossed in the post!

 

[Fransurrey]

Might be worth having a kidney test done, too. My old cat was a yowler when using the litter and he had renal disease.