The cat is a furry that is characterized by being very clean, so much so that from a young age if it does not find a place to relieve itself, it will most likely meow so you can take it to the sandbox. However, sometimes it happens that his bathroom is not as good as it should be, or that the feline itself has a health problem that makes it difficult for him to urinate and / or defecate in a normal way.
When that happens is when we wonder why does my cat not relieve itself and what we have to do so that it improves as soon as possible. Let's find out.
Why doesn't my cat relieve itself?
Sandbox
- It's dirty: The litter box is the cat's bathroom. We, as your caregivers, have to take care of removing the stools every day, and cleaning the tray thoroughly once a week, otherwise, you will prefer to relieve yourself elsewhere.
- Is in a bad place: if we put it near food and / or in a room where the family has lived for a long time, they will not want to use it either since they will not feel comfortable or calm.
- it's too small: We often buy a kitten tray thinking that, even if it grows, it will continue to use it the same, but the truth is that the adult cat needs an adult litter box, that is, one that is large enough so that it can move without difficulty.
- Bullying: there may be other members of the family (cats, dogs or people) who do not leave the animal alone. Each of us needs our personal space, including our cat. You have to let him live relaxed and happy, otherwise he will relieve himself where he can.
- He is afraid: If you have had a bad experience with or near the sandbox, you will not use it. What we can do in these cases is to change the tray, that is, buy a new one, and spray with Feliway or, if we cannot get it, with Catnip spray. In this way, you will be attracted to your new private bathroom. In addition, it is important that we help him by giving him treats for cats near the litter box so that he associates it with something positive (the treats).
"Salud"
- Urine infections: if you have a urinary infection you will have a lot of trouble urinating. Your urine may even contain blood. If this happens, the cat can remain seated or lying on the tray, it can relieve itself - especially urinate - in other parts of the house, and it can also lick the lower abdomen and its ano-genital area a lot. In the event that we suspect that he has one, we must change his diet, give him a meal that does not have cereals and take him to the vet.
- Hair balls: especially if you have semi-long or long hair, from so much grooming you can swallow a lot of hair, too much for it to be expelled naturally. If we see that in addition to not relieving himself, he has retching and / or vomiting, we can put a little malt on his leg once a day so he can have a normal bowel movement, or a tablespoon of vinegar.
- Constipation: This problem is usually caused by a poor diet. If we give him, for example, a feed that has cereals, the risk of constipation or any other health problem is very high. To improve it, we can give you the same treatment as for hairballs.
- Intestinal obstruction by foreign body: Although it is rare, a cat can ingest an object that has become blocked in its intestine. The most common symptoms are vomiting, constipation, and anorexia. He needs urgent veterinary help to be able to get back to his daily routine.
What to do?
As we can see, there are several reasons why a cat may stop relieving itself. Therefore, in addition to the advice we have given so far, we recommend always pay close attention to the feline to be able to detect any new and small details that may appear in your routine.
So we can help you recover quickly.