Cat Peeing

My question is about my male cat who is about a year old. He was recently declawed, and is now recently peeing at the front door. He never did this before and I'm not sure if it is a medical or behavior issue. Please let me know what I should do. Thank you.


ANSWER

If your kitty wasn't neutered, that could certainly be the reason.

His recent declaw surgery was undoubtedly stressful in more ways than one. Traveling to the hospital, being away from home, going under and waking up from anesthesia, enduring the pain following the surgery, getting accustomed to not having claws, not understanding what happened or why he doesn't have claws, etc. Stress, stress, and more stress.

Did he ever go outside? Is he now being confined? That can account for the problem, particularly since he is doing this in front of the door.

Even if he never went outdoors, cats sometimes get the urge, either because the weather has changed or they see another animal outside or accidentally got out for a few minutes, got a taste of the "great outdoors" and now want more of it, etc.

In summary, there are many reasons he could be stressed and could be having a behavioral problem. HOWEVER, any time this happens, medical causes MUST be ruled out first. Stress can bring on a real urinary tract infection in cats.

You need to provide a urine sample for your vet or take him to the vet where they can collect his urine. That is the absolute first step. We must never attribute inappropriate urination to a behavioral cause until we absolutely know it is not medical in origin.

Thank you for writing,
Dr. Neely