My cat keeps going to the litter box

One of the advantages of an indoor cat and a litter box is that it allows you to more closely monitor your cat’s urinary behavior. If you notice that your cat is going to the litter box every few minutes, it may be a cause for concern.

Most urinary issues with your cat will fall under the category of Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD). These urinary illnesses range from minor medical issues to much more serious health concerns that require immediate action.

Cat Keeps Going to Litter Box

As with most medical conditions, the sooner the illness is diagnosed the better. Although most infections can only be properly diagnosed by medical professional, there are signs and symptoms that you as an owner should look out for.

The average cat should urinate between 2-4 times per day. If you notice your cat keeps going to litter box, and is consistently urinating 6+ times a day, this could be a sign that your cat needs medical attention.

It is important that you observe the quantity of urine that your cat releases in a single visit to the litter boxes. If your cat is only releasing small amounts of urine and/or showing signs of physical discomfort while urinating, this could mean it is experiencing FLUTD. Also look out for traces of blood in the urine or if your cat is repeatedly licking its genitals after urinating, as these are both common signs for urinary disease.

This can eventually lead to your cat peeing on your bed.

How to treat your cat’s urinating disorder

Urinary Tract Formula

The quickest and most cost-effective way to treat UTI’s and FLUTD are with a Urinary Tract Formula. You can purchase it from Amazon for under $30.

Urinary Health Cat Food

The first step in treating your cat’s urinating disorder before it gets worse is with Urinary Tract Health Food. The best value cat food for Urinary Tract issues is Purina Pro FOCUS Urinary Tract Health Cat food. You can buy it from Amazon for $19.98.

Although some urinary irregularities are not serious and can be treated at home, if your cat’s urinary issues continues after you give him/her medication, we recommend that you seek medical support immediately. The veterinarian will most likely run a series of urine and blood tests that should be able to properly diagnose the condition and provide the proper medication to treat it.

The treatment obviously is dependent on the severity of the diagnosis. Some infections can be treated with urinary tract ointments or antibiotics, while more serious ones require a catheter or surgery. If your cat does not like swallowing pills, you can sneak the medication into pill pockets.

Cat keeps going in and out of litter box

If your cat keeps going in and out of litter litter box, it is most likely a sign of an illness. If your cat only pees for a few seconds, or not at all, there is a good chance that your cat is suffering from an illness that makes it painful to pee. A healthy cat should pee for at least 5 seconds. If they are consistently peeing for shorter periods of time, your cat probably has a UTI. A UTI can also be the reason your cat starts pooping in the house all of a sudden or is peeing on your bathroom rug.

Cat Keeps Going to Litter Box but Nothing Happens

If your cat keeps going to the litter box but nothing happens, your cat is most likely suffering from constipation. Other signs of constipation are if your cat whines when they are trying to poop. On average, a cat should poop 1 to 2 times a day. If they go 2-3 days without pooping, then it is almost certain that your cat is constipated.

We recommend giving your cat some cat safe laxatives. After they go poop, we recommend giving your cat food that is high in fiber. It is also important that you make sure they are drinking a lot of water.

Kitten keeps going to litter box

If you have a newborn kitten, you may notice that they frequently go to the litter box. This is because kittens like to imitate the behavior of their mothers. So if they see their mother use the litter box, they might copy the behavior out of habit. There is a chance your kitten isn’t even peeing every time they go to the litter box.

It is important to note that on average kittens go to the litter box way more than adult cats. This is because kittens have to eat around 2-3 times more calories than a regular adult cat. This is why it is suggested to feed a kitten every 4 hours when they are young. Since the kitten will usually go pee or poop before and after they eat, this can mean a lot of trips to the litter box.

Cat keeps going to litter box

What to do?

Even though most serious treatments of urinary diseases must be performed by a medical professional, there are certain precautionary measures you can take to help prevent your cat from developing an infection. Cats that are overweight are more at risk, so it is important that you make sure your cat is getting enough exercise. It is also important that your cat has a balanced, high protein diet.

Some infections stem from bacteria, so you should frequently change your cat’s water bowl to ensure it has fresh water. Last but not least, it is important that you frequently clean the litter box to avoid your cat’s exposure to old urine and excrement.

While it may be tempting, you should not decrease the amount of water you give your cat. If your cat has some sort of urinary disease, it is still important that they drink enough water to stay hydrate. When your cat stops drinking water, the dehydration can cause the disease to have a more severe effect on your cat’s health.

If your cat starts pooping outside the litter box, you should check out our article why is my cat pooping in the house all of a sudden?

Other strange cat behavior

Cats frequently do things that make us humans scratch our heads. We recommend checking out the article why does my cat knead me but not my husband?