My Poor Kitty!

[MyouMegami]

I'm officially fed up. My cat recently got out of the habit of using her litter box, and just goes where ever she pleases. I'm not mad at her though, just concerned. My mother is the one frustrating me. She keeps complaining about how much she hates her and continues to threaten throwing her out of the house for good. I just don't understand why my cat suddenly started doing this. I've had her for about 6 years now and this has never been an issue. Anyone know why this might be happening?  

[Moth Feathers]

First thing's first, take her to the vet.
Often times not using the litterbox can be a serious medical problem such as a UTI. These things can be life-threatening if not taken care of promptly and properly.
You can try to modify the environment all you want (give more litterboxes, change litter, etc) but none of it will work unless you address if there's any medical issues.  

[Luneth Moon]

I don't know why that might be happening, but I hope everything turns out alright.  

[Cowgirl-with-heart]

Moth Feathers

First thing's first, take her to the vet.
Often times not using the litterbox can be a serious medical problem such as a UTI. These things can be life-threatening if not taken care of promptly and properly.
You can try to modify the environment all you want (give more litterboxes, change litter, etc) but none of it will work unless you address if there's any medical issues.

^ this,sudden bathroom and behavior changes usually are something medical,and its usually not that she CHOOSES not to use the box,they just arent there when they suddenly need to go,often they will actually TRY to use the litter box,but nothing comes out.  

[MyouMegami]

I did immediately think it was something medical, but I was just taking a shot in the dark there. I'm only 14, so obviously I'm not going to know much about these things yet (though I am trying now more so than ever to attempt preventing my mom from getting rid of her).
Simply stating that she might be sick and needs to see a vet isn't enough for my mother to take her. I'll keep trying to look up the exact cause though. Thanks guys.  

[Moth Feathers]

MyouMegami

I did immediately think it was something medical, but I was just taking a shot in the dark there. I'm only 14, so obviously I'm not going to know much about these things yet (though I am trying now more so than ever to attempt preventing my mom from getting rid of her).
Simply stating that she might be sick and needs to see a vet isn't enough for my mother to take her. I'll keep trying to look up the exact cause though. Thanks guys.

Good luck with that- I know there isn't much you can do yourself outside of taking the cat to a vet. But just remember that if this is medical-related, the issue is not going to get better until she gets treated. I'm thinking it is, considering that you've had her this long of time, never had any issues before, and haven't changed anything (getting a new cat, for example). Curious, do you feed wet food or dry food? Dry food is, well, very /dry/ for cats, which already have concentrated urine as it is considering they've evolved to be desert-dwelling animals. Dry food can cause cats to be sub clinically dehydrated and consequently increase the chance for a UTI or similar problems. If you don't already, it would be a good idea to supplement your cat's diet with some wet food and/or add water to the dry.  

[MyouMegami]

Moth Feathers

MyouMegami

I did immediately think it was something medical, but I was just taking a shot in the dark there. I'm only 14, so obviously I'm not going to know much about these things yet (though I am trying now more so than ever to attempt preventing my mom from getting rid of her).
Simply stating that she might be sick and needs to see a vet isn't enough for my mother to take her. I'll keep trying to look up the exact cause though. Thanks guys.

Good luck with that- I know there isn't much you can do yourself outside of taking the cat to a vet. But just remember that if this is medical-related, the issue is not going to get better until she gets treated. I'm thinking it is, considering that you've had her this long of time, never had any issues before, and haven't changed anything (getting a new cat, for example). Curious, do you feed wet food or dry food? Dry food is, well, very /dry/ for cats, which already have concentrated urine as it is considering they've evolved to be desert-dwelling animals. Dry food can cause cats to be sub clinically dehydrated and consequently increase the chance for a UTI or similar problems. If you don't already, it would be a good idea to supplement your cat's diet with some wet food and/or add water to the dry.

We've always fed our cats dry food. I guess whether that was the cause or not, we could change that anyway to be safe.
If she does have a UTI, how else might I be able to tell? I know one of my last pets had received something like that shortly after receiving her from a friend, and had the same issue, but with blood. Now, her feces look completely normal though, which is why my mother refuses to believe she's sick.  

[Cowgirl-with-heart]

MyouMegami

Moth Feathers

MyouMegami

I did immediately think it was something medical, but I was just taking a shot in the dark there. I'm only 14, so obviously I'm not going to know much about these things yet (though I am trying now more so than ever to attempt preventing my mom from getting rid of her).
Simply stating that she might be sick and needs to see a vet isn't enough for my mother to take her. I'll keep trying to look up the exact cause though. Thanks guys.

Good luck with that- I know there isn't much you can do yourself outside of taking the cat to a vet. But just remember that if this is medical-related, the issue is not going to get better until she gets treated. I'm thinking it is, considering that you've had her this long of time, never had any issues before, and haven't changed anything (getting a new cat, for example). Curious, do you feed wet food or dry food? Dry food is, well, very /dry/ for cats, which already have concentrated urine as it is considering they've evolved to be desert-dwelling animals. Dry food can cause cats to be sub clinically dehydrated and consequently increase the chance for a UTI or similar problems. If you don't already, it would be a good idea to supplement your cat's diet with some wet food and/or add water to the dry.

We've always fed our cats dry food. I guess whether that was the cause or not, we could change that anyway to be safe.
If she does have a UTI, how else might I be able to tell? I know one of my last pets had received something like that shortly after receiving her from a friend, and had the same issue, but with blood. Now, her feces look completely normal though, which is why my mother refuses to believe she's sick.

I found out mine had it cause I saw her pee somewhere and there was blood,you could always talk to a shelter,and see if they do low cost check ups or vet visits,some will  

[Moth Feathers]

MyouMegami

Moth Feathers

MyouMegami

I did immediately think it was something medical, but I was just taking a shot in the dark there. I'm only 14, so obviously I'm not going to know much about these things yet (though I am trying now more so than ever to attempt preventing my mom from getting rid of her).
Simply stating that she might be sick and needs to see a vet isn't enough for my mother to take her. I'll keep trying to look up the exact cause though. Thanks guys.

Good luck with that- I know there isn't much you can do yourself outside of taking the cat to a vet. But just remember that if this is medical-related, the issue is not going to get better until she gets treated. I'm thinking it is, considering that you've had her this long of time, never had any issues before, and haven't changed anything (getting a new cat, for example). Curious, do you feed wet food or dry food? Dry food is, well, very /dry/ for cats, which already have concentrated urine as it is considering they've evolved to be desert-dwelling animals. Dry food can cause cats to be sub clinically dehydrated and consequently increase the chance for a UTI or similar problems. If you don't already, it would be a good idea to supplement your cat's diet with some wet food and/or add water to the dry.

We've always fed our cats dry food. I guess whether that was the cause or not, we could change that anyway to be safe.
If she does have a UTI, how else might I be able to tell? I know one of my last pets had received something like that shortly after receiving her from a friend, and had the same issue, but with blood. Now, her feces look completely normal though, which is why my mother refuses to believe she's sick.

Generally wet food, even the cheap kind, is often better than many similarly-costing dry foods due to having less vegetable matter, especially grains. Grains are horrible for cats- cats themselves are obligate carnivores and aren't meant to have much vegetable matter, period, but grains are just added to cat food because they're cheap.

Usually cats with UTIs also have noticeable straining when trying to urinate, you find blood in the urine, when they try to urinate little to no urine is produced, crying while urinating, as well as urinating outside of litterbox.
There's other issues besides UTIs that have similar symptoms, however, like bladder crystals. So really, self-diagnosing is quite difficult.  

[MyouMegami]

Moth Feathers

MyouMegami

Moth Feathers

MyouMegami

I did immediately think it was something medical, but I was just taking a shot in the dark there. I'm only 14, so obviously I'm not going to know much about these things yet (though I am trying now more so than ever to attempt preventing my mom from getting rid of her).
Simply stating that she might be sick and needs to see a vet isn't enough for my mother to take her. I'll keep trying to look up the exact cause though. Thanks guys.

Good luck with that- I know there isn't much you can do yourself outside of taking the cat to a vet. But just remember that if this is medical-related, the issue is not going to get better until she gets treated. I'm thinking it is, considering that you've had her this long of time, never had any issues before, and haven't changed anything (getting a new cat, for example). Curious, do you feed wet food or dry food? Dry food is, well, very /dry/ for cats, which already have concentrated urine as it is considering they've evolved to be desert-dwelling animals. Dry food can cause cats to be sub clinically dehydrated and consequently increase the chance for a UTI or similar problems. If you don't already, it would be a good idea to supplement your cat's diet with some wet food and/or add water to the dry.

We've always fed our cats dry food. I guess whether that was the cause or not, we could change that anyway to be safe.
If she does have a UTI, how else might I be able to tell? I know one of my last pets had received something like that shortly after receiving her from a friend, and had the same issue, but with blood. Now, her feces look completely normal though, which is why my mother refuses to believe she's sick.

Generally wet food, even the cheap kind, is often better than many similarly-costing dry foods due to having less vegetable matter, especially grains. Grains are horrible for cats- cats themselves are obligate carnivores and aren't meant to have much vegetable matter, period, but grains are just added to cat food because they're cheap.

Usually cats with UTIs also have noticeable straining when trying to urinate, you find blood in the urine, when they try to urinate little to no urine is produced, crying while urinating, as well as urinating outside of litterbox.
There's other issues besides UTIs that have similar symptoms, however, like bladder crystals. So really, self-diagnosing is quite difficult.

I see. Well, I guess in the mean time I'll just keep nagging my mom...

Thanks though, you've been really helpful. :]  

[Moth Feathers]

MyouMegami

Moth Feathers

MyouMegami

Moth Feathers

MyouMegami

I did immediately think it was something medical, but I was just taking a shot in the dark there. I'm only 14, so obviously I'm not going to know much about these things yet (though I am trying now more so than ever to attempt preventing my mom from getting rid of her).
Simply stating that she might be sick and needs to see a vet isn't enough for my mother to take her. I'll keep trying to look up the exact cause though. Thanks guys.

Good luck with that- I know there isn't much you can do yourself outside of taking the cat to a vet. But just remember that if this is medical-related, the issue is not going to get better until she gets treated. I'm thinking it is, considering that you've had her this long of time, never had any issues before, and haven't changed anything (getting a new cat, for example). Curious, do you feed wet food or dry food? Dry food is, well, very /dry/ for cats, which already have concentrated urine as it is considering they've evolved to be desert-dwelling animals. Dry food can cause cats to be sub clinically dehydrated and consequently increase the chance for a UTI or similar problems. If you don't already, it would be a good idea to supplement your cat's diet with some wet food and/or add water to the dry.

We've always fed our cats dry food. I guess whether that was the cause or not, we could change that anyway to be safe.
If she does have a UTI, how else might I be able to tell? I know one of my last pets had received something like that shortly after receiving her from a friend, and had the same issue, but with blood. Now, her feces look completely normal though, which is why my mother refuses to believe she's sick.

Generally wet food, even the cheap kind, is often better than many similarly-costing dry foods due to having less vegetable matter, especially grains. Grains are horrible for cats- cats themselves are obligate carnivores and aren't meant to have much vegetable matter, period, but grains are just added to cat food because they're cheap.

Usually cats with UTIs also have noticeable straining when trying to urinate, you find blood in the urine, when they try to urinate little to no urine is produced, crying while urinating, as well as urinating outside of litterbox.
There's other issues besides UTIs that have similar symptoms, however, like bladder crystals. So really, self-diagnosing is quite difficult.

I see. Well, I guess in the mean time I'll just keep nagging my mom...

Thanks though, you've been really helpful. :]

No problem, I hope for the best for you and your kitty. Perhaps having your mom call a vet and asking for a little bit more info on UTIs and a cost estimate, as well as asking what might happen if you don't get veterinary treatment, could convince your mom to take her in. UTIs can often require antibiotics, especially if not caught very early.