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My F2's inexplicable urine/litter behavior
- Thread starter Myles
- Start date
Carykd7kau
Reincarnated cat Moderator
He obviously wants the harness on. If the cut is not a big deal, then maybe you should keep the harness on him. For some reason it makes him feel secure.
Myles
Savannah Super Cat
Not sure offhand, unless he caught himself on some furniture (IE: edge of aquarium stand, mini filing cabinet, etc.), there's not many potential ways he could have done it. I just found one of his claws, and realized he had ripped one of the claw out entirely, he's gotten up and walked out of the door way into his cat-bed, and is grooming the injury.
He's done this before, took him to the [old] vet in a panic, they over-sedated him, and didn't actually end up treating the claw at all. Dante had fought the first sedative apparently and after ~30 minutes, the vet decided "we're going to give him a little more", and ... yeah, that turned out to be way too much. It was a pretty nasty experience (one of the reasons I no longer attend that vet).
The hole in the other back leg is about the size of a extended claw for that matter, though that seems unlikely, it might be self inflicted (IE: bitten).
I'm not entirely certain he does. Given the behavior has reversed from before, he's urinated inappropriately, missed the pan several times now, and clearly injured himself in an attempt to remove the harness... I'm taking that as a sign that it's not a good idea at this point in time.
Carykd7kau
Reincarnated cat Moderator
I am sure you are in a better position to determine that than me. And I think I misunderstood your first post about this. I thought he was trying to PUT IT ON. NOT get it off. ( I believe a savannah can do anything he sets his mind to. ) So, since he was trying to remove it, then what I said...DISREGARD! And I hope his little toes ges better soon. And his leg. HUGS to Dante.
That sounds like quite the ordeal for poor Dante :-( yes, I'd leave the harness off now, it's not reducing the peeing incidents and definitely sounds dangerous...
Just keep an eye on the wounds... watch for him overgrooming the wounds as that will lead to an abcess on that back leg I'd think.
Just keep an eye on the wounds... watch for him overgrooming the wounds as that will lead to an abcess on that back leg I'd think.
Myles
Savannah Super Cat
Yeah he was definitely not trying to put it back on. See the pics a few posts up, it's not something that would spin around easily, I imagine he twisted his legs pretty badly in doing this, because I can't picture any reasonable way he could contort in this manner.
He's walking around and "ok" now. The foot is swollen and he has a defined limp, but he's mobile, nursing it as you'd expect, and flopping around from one resting area to another.
I may drop in some polysporin if I get a chance, but he likes to lick/eat that stuff, so it could certainly backfire. I don't think "newskin" or superglue would be a good idea (as he'll likely chew them off, and I know first hand the later tends to kill the skin around the application site, despite being very effective for deep cuts/slashes/etc.).
He's walking around and "ok" now. The foot is swollen and he has a defined limp, but he's mobile, nursing it as you'd expect, and flopping around from one resting area to another.
I may drop in some polysporin if I get a chance, but he likes to lick/eat that stuff, so it could certainly backfire. I don't think "newskin" or superglue would be a good idea (as he'll likely chew them off, and I know first hand the later tends to kill the skin around the application site, despite being very effective for deep cuts/slashes/etc.).
Myles
Savannah Super Cat
I wanted to write an update into this thread. About a month ago, after a visit to the cottage, I thought we had everything figured out (finally). Dante was in a foreign environment, but the urine problem stopped a few days in, with his litter box in the bathtub.
This is when I noticed that he was urinating in the box 100% of the time, but then would stop, start walking, then start urinating suddenly (with obvious surprise in his body language). Realizing that he wasn't urinating out of the box (at least not initially), wasn't peeing over the sides, wasn't peeing vertically, etc. I changed my approach, and built a litterbox fence to simulate having to jump something to enter/exit, like the bathtub.
Unfortunately this hasn't worked out, he now pees on the other side of the fence. I managed to nab a video of it today, any insights?:
Notice he practically falls off on the other side, because he's already started to pee before he can land on all fours, I don't think it's marking (since he goes back and pauses as though to scratch/cover, and there's minimal quiver/a full bladder load).
I briefly talked to a vet about whether or not this was a problem with a narrow urethra, and potential castration (apparently the typical resolution for narrow urethra's/constant blockages), but was told it might just make him incontinent.
Has anybody ever seen behavior like in that video before? It's entirely reproducible, urinates perfectly in the box, takes a few steps (flat ground or otherwise), then suddenly continues mid-step. If something hinders him enough (so he has to turn around a few times in the pan, etc.), he's more apt to start urinating again in the pan.
It's almost like he needs a treadmill in the pan heh.
This is when I noticed that he was urinating in the box 100% of the time, but then would stop, start walking, then start urinating suddenly (with obvious surprise in his body language). Realizing that he wasn't urinating out of the box (at least not initially), wasn't peeing over the sides, wasn't peeing vertically, etc. I changed my approach, and built a litterbox fence to simulate having to jump something to enter/exit, like the bathtub.
Unfortunately this hasn't worked out, he now pees on the other side of the fence. I managed to nab a video of it today, any insights?:
Notice he practically falls off on the other side, because he's already started to pee before he can land on all fours, I don't think it's marking (since he goes back and pauses as though to scratch/cover, and there's minimal quiver/a full bladder load).
I briefly talked to a vet about whether or not this was a problem with a narrow urethra, and potential castration (apparently the typical resolution for narrow urethra's/constant blockages), but was told it might just make him incontinent.
Has anybody ever seen behavior like in that video before? It's entirely reproducible, urinates perfectly in the box, takes a few steps (flat ground or otherwise), then suddenly continues mid-step. If something hinders him enough (so he has to turn around a few times in the pan, etc.), he's more apt to start urinating again in the pan.
It's almost like he needs a treadmill in the pan heh.
Looks like territorial marking behavior in that vid. You mentioned "potential castration" above but I couldn't tell if you were speaking of it as a possible solution to the problem or whether you meant you thought his castration caused the problem.
If he's not neutered, you're dealing with typical territorial marking.
If he's not neutered, you're dealing with typical territorial marking.
Myles
Savannah Super Cat
Sorry, I didn't mean castration, I meant the full removal of the penis (the word is currently escaping me). One of the articles I read indicated that when male cats had issues with UTI's/etc., the solution was to simply remove the penis entirely.
He is neutered. And note he falls off the fence he's so "stuck" from sudden urination, I've never witnessed territorial urination that results in a cat loosing control of their body in this manner.
I think what Deborah is seeing that appears to be territorial marking is that he is standing up when he is urinating outside of the box (where it looks like he's crouching normally while in the box). I can see though that it looks like he is not crouching because he is not purposely urinating, it is just dribbling out of him. It seems to me there must be something physically wrong for this to be occurring. I'm afraid I can't remember but I assume that your vet has examined him thoroughly. Incontinence can sometimes be treated with medication, depending on the underlying cause, here is one article discussing the possible options (if you haven't seen it already): http://www.threenotch.com/FAQRetrieve.aspx?ID=55576