SnowyShiloh
Well-Known Member
I suppose this thread may belong in the Nutrition and Behavior section, but I don't get the feeling he's doing it on purpose.
Lately Rory's been peeing outside his litter box in his cage a little bit. He has NEVER done this before, but is now doing it about once or twice a week. Sometimes it's just a spot the size of a quarter, sometimes it's a puddle about 2-3 inches wide, and once it was a great big puddle. It isn't in a corner of the cage, it's usually around the middle of the cage. The surface on his 2nd and 3rd cage levels are wood so liquid on it is pretty obvious.
He's 2 1/2 years old and has been a pretty healthy guy and is not shedding. He isn't overweight or anything and his food has not changed. He's acting normally except that he occasionally poops on his 2nd and 3rd levels which he doesn't normally do. The pooping up there was actually my first indication that something was wrong with him when he went through that month long bout of stasis earlier this year.
Could this perhaps be a sign of a UTI? His litter box hasn't been stinkier than usual and he seems to be peeing the same amount. I was thinking maybe a UTI because he's only released his bladder completely the one time, usually the spots are just a little bit of pee. Oh and the pee spots don't seem to be weirdly colored or strongly scented or anything. He's drinking the same amount of water as before and out of the same bowl (which I wash of course).
It also occurred to me that he could be smelling where he'd peed before (since I don't throw the piece of wood away because of a tiny spot of pee) and going there again. I've been changing out the wood frequently. As a side note, I used to have thin carpet over the wood, but he started chewing it when he was having his gut issues earlier this year so I removed it, and he's TERRIFIED of linoleum so putting that on his upper levels is not an option. Tiles are too heavy.
Thanks for any advice!
Lately Rory's been peeing outside his litter box in his cage a little bit. He has NEVER done this before, but is now doing it about once or twice a week. Sometimes it's just a spot the size of a quarter, sometimes it's a puddle about 2-3 inches wide, and once it was a great big puddle. It isn't in a corner of the cage, it's usually around the middle of the cage. The surface on his 2nd and 3rd cage levels are wood so liquid on it is pretty obvious.
He's 2 1/2 years old and has been a pretty healthy guy and is not shedding. He isn't overweight or anything and his food has not changed. He's acting normally except that he occasionally poops on his 2nd and 3rd levels which he doesn't normally do. The pooping up there was actually my first indication that something was wrong with him when he went through that month long bout of stasis earlier this year.
Could this perhaps be a sign of a UTI? His litter box hasn't been stinkier than usual and he seems to be peeing the same amount. I was thinking maybe a UTI because he's only released his bladder completely the one time, usually the spots are just a little bit of pee. Oh and the pee spots don't seem to be weirdly colored or strongly scented or anything. He's drinking the same amount of water as before and out of the same bowl (which I wash of course).
It also occurred to me that he could be smelling where he'd peed before (since I don't throw the piece of wood away because of a tiny spot of pee) and going there again. I've been changing out the wood frequently. As a side note, I used to have thin carpet over the wood, but he started chewing it when he was having his gut issues earlier this year so I removed it, and he's TERRIFIED of linoleum so putting that on his upper levels is not an option. Tiles are too heavy.
Thanks for any advice!
