Why won't my cat with kidney disease and pancreatitis use her litter box?

Question

My cat has chronic pancreatitis (mild) and kidney disease. The past few days after an enema she has had diarrhea. I took her to the vet. No obstruction on x-rays and soft stool. The main problem is she is only using the litterbox if I pick her up and put her in it. She is not peeing outside of the box. She’s holding it in and not using it on her own. Should I wait to see if she does this or keep picking her up and putting her in there? She is on meds and fluids to help pancreatitis. Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Mediumhair | Female | spayed | 13 years and 1 month old | 12 lbs

Catherine Stecyk · Accepted Answer

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear about Franny's pancreatitis. The diarrhea makes sense considering she was administered an enema. This may take several days to firm up again. She may not be entering the litter box because she doesn't have a strong urge to urinate at that time, but once you place her in it, she feels like she should urinate. It is also possible that she doesn't want to climb into the box, perhaps for orthopedic reasons (ie stiff joints), so she is reluctant to. If she is drinking water and/or you are giving her fluids, she should be urinating at least once a day. (And if she has chronic kidney disease, she should likely be urinating at least 2-3x/day). I recommend waiting to see if she will go in on her own before just picking her up and putting her in it. That way you will be able to see if she just doesn't feel an urge to urinate yet, and she eventually goes in to urinate, or if she feels unable to enter the litter box and eventually urinates outside of it somewhere. I hope this is helpful!

Why won't my cat with kidney disease and pancreatitis use her litter box?

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