Every caring owner should know how often a healthy cat can go to the toilet. Some animals experience abnormalities when urinating. Some situations can be quite serious and indicate a threat to the pet’s life. Therefore, any deviations in this process are an alarming signal.
Healthy urinary parameters of cats and kittens
The average daily volume of urine excreted in cats can vary from 50 to 200 ml. The figure depends on many indicators:
- nutrition;
- number of years lived.
For example, if a kitten has not reached the age of 3 months, then its trips to the toilet will be very rare. Small cats and female cats pee once a day. At 3–4 months, kittens pee 2–3 times a day.
If a kitten under 4 months pees once a day, don’t worry, this is normal.
Cats and cats
The urination of adult cats and male cats differs, but only slightly. This is influenced by the specific structure of the urinary system of females and males. Males have a narrower and longer urethra than cats, so their urinary outflow is somewhat different.
It doesn’t matter whether the cat is an ordinary cat or neutered, urination occurs up to five times a day, provided it is well fed. Females, even sterilized ones, pee one to three times a day under normal nutrition conditions.
Deviations Over the course of each animal's life, some abnormalities in urination may occur.
At the same time, there are safe cases, and there are pathological ones that require treatment.
Safe Deviations
As for the last point, in order to recover, the cat will need up to three days. With cats it's a little more complicated. In females, recovery takes up to 5–7 days. This is because their operation is abdominal and affects deeply located organs and tissues.
Ideally, after surgery, the cat should pee through the catheter. But in reality, animals are often discharged home after they have recovered from anesthesia and the doctor is convinced that they are in adequate health.
Deviations associated with pathology
If a cat is unable to urinate for more than two days, suffers from difficulty passing urine, or urine comes out in tiny doses, then the animal must be carefully examined.
Perhaps the pet is suffering from an inflammatory process in the organs of the genitourinary system. Its symptoms may include the following conditions:
Frequent urination in a cat
Unnaturally frequent urination in cats (pollakiuria) occurs due to increased sensitivity of the bladder walls. Even minimal fullness of the organ leads to urge. Irritation can be caused by a number of reasons:
If a pet often visits the litter box, and the owner does not understand why this is happening, then you should definitely visit a veterinarian to find out the reasons.
Frequent urination does not always signal that your pet is sick with something, but it is best to make sure of this by conducting a diagnosis so that timely help can be provided.
Throughout my life, cats have appeared in my house several times. All were street children and were taken into the house from critical conditions (thrown in the trash, freezing in winter). Not a single animal, regardless of age, peed during the first 24 hours. After the seals recovered from the shock (warmed up, ate, washed, slept), they first walked around the territory and got acquainted with the new possessions, and only after at least a day they peed and began to lick themselves.
Video: Frequent urination in cats
Difficulty urinating in a cat
- Any problems that can lead to difficulty urinating are divided into two groups:
- pathologies of the bladder;
urinary tract diseases.
Old and neutered cats often suffer from complete blockage of the urethra. This is facilitated by uric acid salts, the excess of which is deposited in the kidneys in the form of stones. This usually happens if the animal consumes a lot of raw fish during its life (the general belief that this is an excellent food for cats is wrong).
Pathologies associated with the lower parts of the urinary system have common symptoms:
The cause must be found as quickly as possible so that it can be quickly eliminated.
It is believed that 75% of cases of poor urine flow and scanty discharge occur due to cystitis.
Acute urinary retention
Acute urinary retention is a condition in which the animal does not urinate for 24 hours. It is dangerous and life-threatening for the pet. As a result of excessive overfilling, the bladder may rupture, causing urine to leak into the abdominal cavity. Intoxication of the body occurs, and then the death of the pet occurs.
Acute urinary retention is more often detected in cats, but in cats it is classified as an infrequent pathology.
The cause of this dangerous pathology is most often stones that block the outflow of urine. However, there are a number of other factors that experts highlight:
- Obstruction (blocking) of the urethra with a blood clot or mucus, pus. Often occurs in cats that have had a trauma to the penis or a disease associated with an infectious carrier that has affected the specified organ. This can also be caused by a bladder infection.
- Kidney dysfunction. The animal's body becomes unable to excrete even a minimal amount of urine. This may be due to organ perforation or tumor.
- Spinal injury or infection that has penetrated the spinal cord. In this case, the innervation of the urinary and urinary organs may be disrupted, which is why the animal stops urinating.
Acute urinary retention requires immediate medical attention. There they can do:
My cat has had her bladder catheterized several times. But the problem could not be solved in this way. The outflow of urine was hampered by the appearance of a tumor. We agreed to the operation, but, unfortunately, the cat did not survive it; she was already an elderly lady.
Video: acute urinary retention in cats
How to avoid urinary problems
Every owner of a cat should be aware that if the animal once gets a similar illness, it will be quite difficult to get rid of it. In order for your pet to feel comfortable and lead a full life, it is necessary to take a number of preventive measures and periodically visit the veterinarian. You can prevent possible abnormalities when urinating by following some tips:
- The animal must be vaccinated on time to reduce the risk of developing infectious diseases in the body.
- The pet should not be overcooled.
- The water must be clean and fresh. In addition, the animal must have unlimited access to fluids.
- The diet must exclude prohibited foods and must be compiled according to the rules of nutrition for a cat.
- The animal should move a lot, which is facilitated by outdoor games (at least 30 minutes a day).
If problems with urination occur, the animal should be treated by a veterinarian. Prescribing medications on your own can aggravate your pet’s condition and put its life in danger.
A normal trip to the toilet is the key to the health of your furry pet. To notice the first signs of his illness, you need to pay attention to how often he pees. At the same time, the animal owner is faced with the question of how many times a day a kitten should pee.
Normal toileting behavior in kittens
The number of trips to the toilet is different for kittens of different ages. This is due to the animal’s diet and the degree of development of the gastrointestinal tract. Let's look at the average toilet visit rates for kittens according to their age.
Newborn kitten.
A newly born kitten cannot go to the toilet on its own. He relieves his natural needs with the help of his mother cat. She massages his tummy while she licks him, working on his anal sphincters and urinary canal, causing him to pee and poop. This procedure is carried out 7 to 10 times a day. If the kitten has a swollen tummy and is acting restless, it means the cat is not caring for it properly and feces or urine are not being excreted.
Three week old kitten
At three weeks, a small kitten’s gastrointestinal tract is already quite mature. From this moment on, liquid food is gradually introduced into his diet, without weaning the baby from mother's milk. During the period of introducing complementary foods, you need to pay attention to whether the animal can poop or pee on its own. The kitten should go to the toilet 3-6 times for this purpose.
Kitten four months old
How often kittens pee between 3 and 4 months old depends on their diet and time of year. It is considered normal if a kitten pees 3-6 times a day. Since in extreme heat the animal begins to drink more, these indicators change somewhat. In the summer he pees 4 to 7 times.
Adult kitten
At six months the pet becomes quite large. By this time, his digestive system is completely formed. The pet itself gets used to a certain diet. Depending on how he is fed and whether water is openly available, a kitten will pee an average of 5 times a day.
Frequency of urination in kittens
How often kittens urinate depends on how thick their food is and how much liquid they drink. Since a small animal has a smaller bladder, it pees more often than an adult. If the kitten is not sick, then until the age of two months it will visit the toilet about 10 times. The older your pet gets, the less often he pees. Infrequent urination will also occur if the kitten is switched to thicker food or is limited in water.
If the kitten pees very rarely or the color and smell of its urine have changed, this indicates the presence of abnormalities in the body. Please do not try to diagnose this yourself. Contact your veterinarian. He will conduct the necessary research and tell you how to help the animal.
VETERINARIAN CONSULTATION REQUIRED. INFORMATION FOR INFORMATION ONLY. Administration
03.05.2018
Problems with going to the toilet are one of the most common and familiar to all cat owners. Some people think that their pet goes to the toilet too often, while others think that it goes to the toilet too rarely. And this is really a serious cause for concern, because in both cases such behavior can be a consequence of illness. So, how many times should a cat go to the toilet, and when should you start to worry?
What affects going to the toilet?
Before you start getting acquainted with the “norms,” it’s worth talking a little about what affects the number and frequency of visits to the litter box.
Firstly, this is, of course, age. Kittens, adults and older cats go to the toilet with different frequencies. Secondly, the regime and diet. Everything is simple here, for example, the more often your pet drinks, the more often he will visit the litter box. In addition, each cat, like a person, has its own habits and rhythm of life, so it is not surprising that one pet has to be cleaned 2-3 times a day, while another can be found in the tray only once a day. That is, it is necessary to make allowances for the characteristics of a particular animal and its body.
How many times do kittens go to the toilet?
Very young kittens (up to 3-4 weeks) feed exclusively on mother's milk. Their digestive system is not yet very developed, so there is no need to talk about any regularity.
Starting from the age of one month, kittens learn to drink milk from a saucer and gradually become interested in other foods, including solids. In addition, at this age their digestion is improving, so, although irregularly, they need to go to the toilet. On average, up to three months, a kitten can go to the toilet from 1 to 3 times a day, both “big” and “small”
Starting from 3 months of age, the process of going to the toilet should gradually normalize and become regular. The acceptable maximum can be considered 3 “piles” and 6 “puddles”. The high activity of the kitten has a big influence here, because at this age he constantly plays and runs around a lot, which is why he drinks a lot.
Adults
A cat can be considered a relatively adult from the age of 6 months. By this point, internal processes in their bodies usually normalize, and pets also develop their own habits. However, trips to the toilet can still be quite frequent - up to 3 and 5 times, respectively.
The cycle is finally established after a year. It is then that you can clearly trace the number and frequency of visits to the tray, and also notice that they often coincide in time.
Adult cats with a moderate diet go to the toilet “largely” 1-2 times a day.
As for the functioning of the urinary system, everything is somewhat more complicated: it is structured differently in males and females. So, the urinary ducts of cats are much thinner and more tortuous, so they are unable to completely empty their bladder, which, in turn, leads to more frequent sitting in the litter box - up to 4 times a day. Neutered cats go to the toilet even more often, and even 6 trips in 24 hours is considered the norm in their case.
Cats usually go to the litter box 1-2 times a day, but during pregnancy these numbers may be slightly higher.
In rare cases, castrated cats and sterilized cats, characterized by low mobility and laziness, can go to the toilet even once a day without experiencing any problems.
As for quantitative indicators, in a healthy adult animal, on average, the amount of excrement per day can reach 100 grams, and urine - up to 500 milliliters.
Elderly cats
8 human years is already quite an old age for a cat. In old age, the body’s processes, which have been fine-tuned over the years, may already begin to “fail.” The pet eats and moves less and, as a result, visits the litter box less often. So, even if “heaps” begin to appear in the toilet once every 1-2 days, there is nothing wrong with that, but, of course, only if the animal behaves normally and does not “complain” about pain.
A good owner constantly monitors the health of his pet. He will pay attention in time to the fact that the cat does not pee or visits the litter box once a day, excreting urine literally in droplets. Of course, if the animal is free-range, it may not do its “business” at home.
This will complicate the diagnosis, because you can easily miss signs of chronic renal failure or other symptoms of dysfunction of the urinary system. However, if there is even a suspicion that the cat is not passing urine, or there are other problems with the urinary tract, only a timely visit to the veterinarian can solve the problem, and in some cases, save the animal’s life.
Normal frequency of urination in cats
Those who have just bought themselves a mustachioed and striped friend often ask how many times a day a cat should pee. These animals initially existed with a lack of moisture, so they drink little, and their urine is extremely concentrated. Actually, this is what causes the specific and well-recognized smell of cat urine.
There is no need to be alarmed if your cat does not pee several times a day; it may happen once or twice a day. In principle, this is within normal limits, especially if the animal receives wet food and drinks very rarely and little.
This primarily applies to small kittens. Their urine is separated in minute quantities due to the fact that they feed on liquid food - mother's milk, which is almost completely absorbed by the kitten.
In addition, a caring cat constantly licks her kittens, so it may seem as if they are not urinating at all. Only after children begin to feed themselves can owners notice that they go to the toilet infrequently. This is also the norm for animals up to one and a half to two months.
It’s another matter if owners notice urinary problems in older animals. Normally, they can urinate 1 to 2 times a day. Frequent urination may indicate the presence of chronic renal failure (CRF), and too infrequent urination may indicate various health problems, including urolithiasis, which is very dangerous for cats.
Causes of urinary problems
There are many reasons why a cat does not pee as it should, so diagnosing the disease is very important. Only after receiving accurate results can the doctor prescribe the correct treatment.
The most common causes of difficulty urinating are:
- Kidney diseases. There are quite a few of them, they can be congenital or acquired, appear as a result of injury or disease.
- Urolithiasis disease. This is the most common and dangerous cause of urinary obstruction.
- , or inflammation of the bladder and urethra. Occurs during infection or as a consequence of hypothermia against the background of a decrease in immunity.
- Atony of the bladder, appearing after injury, surgery, as a result of illness or old age.
- Anuria (lack of urine) is a critical condition, often leading to the death of the animal.
- Complications on the kidneys after infectious or systemic diseases.
- Spinal injuries with.
- Formation of tumors (benign or malignant).
The quantity, quality and frequency of urine excreted is the most important indicator of the health of a cat. It’s good when owners control their pet’s trips to the litter box. This will allow you to promptly detect that there is something wrong with the animal’s urinary system.
We will look at how many times a day a cat should pee, we will name the symptoms and possible causes of deviations from the norm, methods for identifying and eliminating pathologies, and we will also tell you how to prevent problems associated with impaired urination.
Features of the urinary system of cats and cats
There is nothing special in the structure of the kidneys, ureters and bladder of these animals, with one exception. The kidneys of cats are supported by very long ligaments, so they constantly change their position, like the wandering kidney in humans. This is a pathology only for humans, and mobile cat kidneys do an excellent job of producing and filtering urine.
Another thing is the urethra (urethra). In cats, this hollow tubular organ is quite short and wide. Its diameter allows you to painlessly remove sand and small stones, preventing blockage of the urinary tract.
The male urethra is long and thin, and along its length there are numerous narrowings (stenoses). In addition, it has an S-shape, which makes urination even more difficult.
Normally, the body of pets of both sexes excretes from 50 to 200 ml of urine per day, this depends on the size and weight of the animal. Now we’ll find out how many times a day a cat should pee.
Why do cats pee more often?
When a cat goes to the toilet only twice a day, this is normal. If the animal is healthy and the cat is not overfed, the bladder is completely emptied and refills within 12 hours. If a cat is “walking” or carrying offspring, it may go to relieve itself more often, but this is a temporary phenomenon.
Sterilization has no effect on how many times a day a cat pees. At the end of the recovery period, urination is normalized to 1-3 times a day.
The long, tortuous urethra does not allow cats to completely empty themselves in one go. Neutered pets and stud cats visit the litter box at least 3-4 times a day. But the latter also mark their territory, which is not regarded as a full-fledged act of urination. Also, some owners note that after castration their cats begin to pee more often. This is also considered the norm.
However, there are exceptions to every rule, and there are cats that rarely relieve themselves throughout their lives and feel great. Therefore, when wondering how many times a day a cat should pee, it is important to take into account the individual characteristics of the animal and the conditions under which it is kept.
What affects the process of urination in cats?
Animals, like people, are all very different. Some cats have been lazy and lazy since childhood, while others jump around in closets until old age. Among the cats there are little-eaters and gluttons, water-drinkers and those who drink very little. From here, a number of patterns can be traced in the process of urination:
- Cats that eat little and sleep most of the day can go to the litter box once during the day and once at night.
- Lazy cats can endure for a long time in order not to make unnecessary movements, so they accumulate urine and pee rarely and a lot.
- How many times a day a cat should pee is known to the owners of active and active animals. Their pets will not tolerate it, they go to the toilet as needed, and if they often touch a bowl of water, they can go to the litter box up to 6 times a day.
And if a cat goes to the toilet in this mode all his life, then this is normal. As animals age, the number of acts of urination may gradually decrease or, conversely, become more frequent. This is due to the natural aging of the body and inhibition of urination function.
If in a short period of time a cat begins to pee less often or more often, or the amount of urine excreted has noticeably decreased or increased, this may be one of the symptoms of a disease, not necessarily of the urinary system.
When to sound the alarm
Violation of the process of urination and its frequency after some time is accompanied by other signs of the development of pathological conditions. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to how many times a cat pees, the quality of its urine and the general condition of the animal. Owners should be alarmed by the following signs:
- cloudiness and change in urine color (instead of light yellow - orange, brown, the color of meat slop, or, conversely, colorless);
- a swollen or hard, tense abdomen, when stroking the cat reacts painfully or aggressively;
- the pet misses the tray and pees intensely;
- strong thirst appeared for no apparent reason;
- the appetite disappeared, the cat became lethargic or, conversely, restless.
The first sign of the development of many pathologies in cats is just a change in the quantity and quality of fluid secreted, which is why it is so important to monitor how many times a day a cat pees. Felines are one of the hardiest animals, and deterioration in their general condition often manifests itself only against the background of chronic processes.
Causes of urinary dysfunction
A pet’s illness is a difficult ordeal for both it and its owners, but many problems with the animal’s health can be avoided. Let's consider the most common causes of the development of pathologies and their consequences:
- Overfeeding and obesity often lead to the development of diabetes. In this case, one of the clinical manifestations is frequent, copious painless urination, and sometimes urinary incontinence.
- An unbalanced diet, cheap food, fish in the diet, poor quality water, and a sedentary lifestyle provoke urolithiasis. Urination becomes frequent, painful, mixed with blood, or there may be a complete absence of urine while the urge persists.
- Hypothermia, stress, stagnation of urine, stones, and ureteral infections cause the development of cystitis. The first sign of bladder inflammation is very frequent, almost futile trips to the toilet.
- Vitamin B6 deficiency, helminthic infestations, and disturbances in the outflow of bile can cause cirrhosis of the liver. A striking clinical manifestation will be the orange color of urine excreted in large portions, often past the tray.
If you do not constantly monitor how many times a day your cat pees, it is easy to miss the manifestations of inflammatory kidney diseases, for example, pyelonephritis or glomerulonephritis. By the age of 8, the chronic form of the pathology turns into renal failure. The cat begins to drink a lot, go to the toilet up to 10 times a day, the urine becomes colorless and odorless.
Cats are not only very hardy, but also extremely patient, and a pet screaming in pain is actually an extremely rare occurrence. This often misleads owners and gives the false impression that everything is fine with the animal. Therefore, changes in the nature of urination should be an important reason for owners to show the cat to a specialist.
Diagnostics
An experienced veterinarian can make a preliminary diagnosis simply by examining the pet and talking with the owners. He will definitely ask how often the cat pees. However, in most cases, one or more diagnostic measures are required:
- urinalysis is an important study that allows you to detect changes in the pH and density of urine, sand, salts, protein, glucose;
- biochemical blood test is a highly informative diagnostic method that determines the condition of internal organs and systems;
- Ultrasound of the abdominal organs is now practiced in most veterinary clinics for the timely detection of infectious, inflammatory and tumor diseases.
Based on the diagnostic results, the doctor prescribes treatment. It is necessary to fight for the animal, especially since modern veterinary medicine has all the necessary means for treatment.
Treatment
It is clear that in each case, therapy is prescribed individually, but we can consider the general principles of treating cats for the most common diseases:
- For urolithiasis, antibiotics and antispasmodics are prescribed, and a urinary catheter may be installed. When the urinary tract is blocked by stones, surgery is performed.
- To treat cystitis in cats, antibiotics and diuretics are used in the form of injections and droppers.
- In case of liver damage, the water balance in the body is first restored, then hepatoprotectors are prescribed.
- With diabetes, some cats remain insulin dependent for life, while the health of others is maintained by glucose-lowering medications.
Following the doctor's recommendations, many owners literally pull animals out of the dead. The veterinarian will tell you how many times a day a cat who has suffered a serious illness should pee, and will certainly prescribe a diet. And this is an important preventive measure to prevent the development of dangerous pathologies in cats.
Prevention
The incidence of urolithiasis in cats is five times higher than in cats. This disease is one of the most frequently diagnosed after helminthic infestations.
Proper metabolism prevents the formation of stones, so a balanced diet is the key to health, especially when it comes to castrated and sterilized cats. These are truisms, but owners, even when buying premium food, do not comply with the feeding standards indicated on each package, so they mix the finished product with natural food.
Lack of water is one of the reasons for the formation of urate stones, and since cats have a poorly developed sense of thirst, there is a good way to teach your pet to drink more. Place several different vessels with water in different places in the house, this invariably arouses interest in the animals and a desire to try.
Protect your cat from hypothermia. Don't let him sit on a freshly washed floor until it's dry, and don't let him sleep on the floor under an open window. And, of course, watch how often the cat pees. This is the most important marker in home diagnostics of a pet’s health condition.
