Cleaning up after an incontinent cat

Mrs_Z

I lined up the litter tray with just a sheet or two of news paper and as soon as I heard her go, when to check and removed the newspaper, and there was plenty left to pour into the sample container.

Alisha2008

Our 13-year old cat is incontinent.. apparently it's related to a mass on her bladder. She had a biopsy done last Friday and we'll get the results today, but she's very quiet, sleeping a lot and doesn't look happy in general..

In my case i have all the places she sleeps on covered with plastic, pads and towels, but washing the towels doesn't get rid of the smell, and I'm using biological powder and hot water.

Any idea of how to wash them..? Would it be ok to add some vinegar?

krlyr

I add some bicarbonate of soda to the washing powder when I was the dogs' bedding, really helps with odours. I ended up buying a big 1kg tub of it off Ebay for a fiver (delivered), cheaper than buying the tiny tubes of it for baking

Alisha2008

Thanks krlyr, very useful advice. I think I have a small tube that's past the expiry date, so I'll try using that and if it works will buy a big one.

manicfaerie

Long-time incontinent cat owner here!

Cat urine is unique in that it crystallises as it dries into non-water-soluble crystals of uric acid. This means that even if you apply vinegar, bicarb, washing powder - none of these things will destroy the urine crystals, and a smell (even a slight one) will be left behind. Cats will always pee where they can smell urine, so even if you can't smell it, they can!

The only way to dissolve uric acid crystals is with special cleaning stuff for cat pee - I use UrineOff and 8in1 (Nature's Miracle), and it seems to do to the job. You must soak the fabric past the stain, and even the floorboards underneath the carpet if you can.

My top tip for getting cats to use the litter tray otherwise is using something called CatAttract in the litter tray, just a sprinkle. Although my cat is more interested in eating the stuff than peeing on it...

manicfaerie

I will also add that any outside-the-tray peeing activity in cats (especially male cats) is an urgent vet matter - crystals forming in the bladder can block the urethra and kill a cat really quickly. I've lost a young cat in 36 hours to it, so keep an eye out. Always provide extra water, and feed wet food if you can.

Alisha2008

Thanks to all, it's a female and already on treatment, this is not a case of peeing outside the box.. she just "leaks" all the time, wherever she is. She has no control whatsoever of her bladder...

I can't soak the towels as I'm currently having to wash several bath towels a day, don't even have a place to do it.. the washing machine has to do.

Luckily we have laminate flooring and she doesn't go upstairs often (where there's carpet)

krlyr

Also just had a thought, rather than towels you may possibly want to look at Vetbed. It's a fleecey material but designed so that water goes through it. You put something absorbant underneath it, like puppypads (MSE tip - look up incontinence chair/bed pads for humans, same kind of thing but often way cheaper!) and it wicks away the moisture so the cat won't be laying in damp either like with a towel. It's machine-washable, and soft to lay on (I used it when I had a pet rat with bumblefoot - a condition that causes sores like pressuresores on the base of their feet, it did wonders for letting them heal). You can get a rolls of it to use across sofas or on the floor in places she often leaks on. I found a local "pet warehouse" type shop near me was cheapest for it - cheaper than Ebay, even (even those with free postage factor the postage costs into their prices somehow)

moggymutt

Having also had the joy of an incontinent cat, in Yozza's case his leaking was overflow from a full bladder that he couldn't empty, and so I used to empty his bladder twice a day, so no more leaks. HOWEVER, he was very cooperative and willing to let me do this, lots of cats aren't.

krlyr

Or another option, appeal on your local Freecycle for towels, blankets, duvet covets, etc. and get enough of a stash that you can just bin the smelly ones? Not particularly eco-friendly but may be more practical than finding room to soak things and source special products.