How Often Do Cats Pee? Knowing Your Pet’s Health

Written by

Amy Sawy

Veterinarian. DVM

FACT-CHECKED BY

Joseph M. Plummer

Veterinarian, DVM, MVZ

how often do cats pee

Taking care of your cat entails a lot of responsibility beyond feeding and bathing it. You must also know its health status.

“How often do cats pee?” may be a question you ask when you notice your cat frequently doing so or worse, not doing it at all. On average, normal healthy cats pee two to four times a day.

If your cat goes outside this range, you may have to check if something is wrong. There are possible reasons for a different routine.

These include kidney stones and infection of the urethra. However, these diseases are all treatable, so you only need to visit the veterinarian for a complete diagnosis.

How Many Times Do Cats Pee Every Day?

cat-urine-chart

Normally, a cat pees twice to four times every day. The number depends on several factors. These include their water intake, age, weight, health issues, and the temperature of their surroundings.

  • Some cats prefer to drink a lot, especially hot at home or outside. Naturally, the cats urinate frequently. This is normal, so you don’t need to panic.
  • It also holds for cats that went on a walk or came from strenuous activity. As they had just burned calories and exerted effort, it is natural that the cat drinks a lot. A cat often urinates as a result of hydration.
  • Female cats sometimes pee less than male cats. This is because a male cat has a longer and narrower urethra. This is why they tend to develop blockages more than females.

To know if your feline friend is healthy, observe its peeing habits. Some cats pee at night. They tend to do so as the house is already quiet. They can relieve themselves without disturbances.

Some cats go to the bathroom just because they want to follow you around, not because they want to relieve themselves. So, make sure you do not misread this behavior.

Read more: How long can cats hold their pee?

Cat Urine Color, Smell, Size

normal-cat-pee-clump-size

You can measure how much pee a cat produces from the litter box. A normal cat pee clump size is only a handful for adult cats. Kittens pee significantly less.

It is easier to check cat pee by clumping litter. Most of the time, these have bentonite material. It allows liquids and solids to form and get scooped out of the litter box.

The urine odor of spayed and neutered cats is not strong. There is still a pungent smell. But the cat urine is not as overwhelming as the pee of non-spayed and non-neutered cats.

Normal cat pees are also clear. It shouldn’t be cloudy. If your cats urinate with a “hazy” liquid, then there must be pus from an infection.

The urine of a healthy cat is a pale yellow. A cat urine has this color and shouldn’t be a dark shade of yellow nor should it have traces of pink or red. The latter already indicates the presence of blood.

There is a cat urine chart that you can use for reference.

cat-urine-chart

  • Pale yellow – a normal cat urine
  • Dark yellow – still normal urine but there may be broken-down substances that weren’t properly diluted from ingesting cat food
  • Brown to Dark brown – may have blood presence caused by a parasite, kidney disease, a urethral blockage, and similar
  • Red – a cause for a life-threatening emergency. This can be a result of crystals, a blockage in the urinary tract, and similar bladder and kidney disease.

Read more: Ways to get cat pee smell out of carpet.

Abnormal Habits

Once you are familiar with your feline’s peeing habits, you will easily notice if something is wrong. In some cases, an owner has asked, “My cat only pees once a day. Is this normal?”

Normally, it should be at least twice a day. However, if you are experiencing this with your cat, check for other unusual behavior. This includes:

  • Spending time at the litter box, but nothing comes out
  • Peeing outside the litter box
  • Peeing so little
  • Worse is when the cats’ pee already includes blood traces or even black.

The latter happens when there are blood clots, swelling, and bladder infections. It is best to have your pet undergo medical tests to identify the cause. Often, the cat’s urine is a great indicator of the problem.

Possible Causes of Peeing Problems

my-cat-only-pees-once-a-day

Most of the time, trouble urinating is a result of medical issues. Below are the common ones like feline urethral obstruction:

  • Feline Interstitial Cystitis

A disorder that makes it difficult for a cat to pee. It may keep scratching on the cat’s litter box and staying in it. However, nothing is coming out.

  • Kidney Stone or Crystals

This kidney disease happens when there is a blockage in the kidney or bladder. It happens when minerals become concentrated. Minerals can come even from wet food. In turn, they become crystals that can grow into solid stones.

When the cat doesn’t drink enough water, then it becomes difficult to dilute the crystals. When they solidify, it becomes painful for the cat to pee. This can also lead to bladder infections.

When the cat pees, you can see it straining to do so. In some cases, even touching the feline’s belly is already uncomfortable.

  • Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)

The most common cause is UTI which is similar to kidney disease. UTI is developed when there are crystals that built up in the cat’s urethra. This is the tube connecting the urinary bladder outside the body.

This becomes a urinary blockage. The symptoms are the following: urinating in small amounts or none at all, cloudy or bloody pee, loss of control (frequently peeing), constant licking of genitals, and more.

You may notice that water consumption is also either too little or too much. Yet, the cat’s urination remains abnormal.

  • Tumor or Hormonal Disorder

You will notice this, especially in hormonal disorders, when the cat pee is more pungent than usual. Keep in mind that some owners may have gotten used to the acidic smell. However, if you notice anything different, even if it is subtle, it is best to check.

A specific condition is Pituitary Macroadenoma. It is a non-cancerous tumor in the cat’s pituitary gland. When your cat has this, it increases its urination along with increased hydration.

Treatments

Generally, if your cat exhibits drastic behavioral changes and its urine is bloody. It is automatic for you to call the vet clinic.

Today’s veterinary practice involves having your cat undergo medical examinations such as blood and urine tests.

It is always better to bring your cat to the small animal internal medicine clinic right away. After all, your cat’s health comes first.

Typically, surgeries are not required for kidney stones unless they are life-threatening. What demands medical procedures are bladder stones. After all, the blockage makes it painful for cats to pee and can cause long-term problems.

The bad news is that stones can eventually form again after removal. This is a normal recurrence, yet it can be prevented in different ways.

When there is a diagnosis, follow the vet’s advice for administering medicines. But once you bring your cat home, you can do simple treatments.

  • This includes modifying your cat’s diet. An example is avoiding feeding your cat anything sodium-filled. This applies to both wet food and dry food.
  • Additionally, increasing water intake is also helpful.
  • You can also make changes to the litter box. It can be changing the type of litter, placing the box in a more quiet place, separating it from other boxes, and similar.

Once you have the treatment, observe how often your cat urinates.

Check if the cat’s urine has any abnormalities in color. Again, a cat’s urine color should be a healthy pale yellow.

  • A tip: if you have two or more cats in the house, or even other animals, place litter boxes in different places.

Some cats don’t feel comfortable sharing their litter. This can even apply to senior cats that tend to be cowed by younger felines.

But make sure the locations are still somewhere secluded. This is to make them feel safe while they relieve themselves. After all, it is something that puts them in a vulnerable position.

Adjust the arrangements if a cat urinates outside the box or feline house soiling still occurs.

Conclusion

As a cat owner, being familiar with a cat pee’s characteristics is crucial as knowing how often do cats pee. Knowledge of this helps in gauging the health status of your feline companion.

Keep in mind that any changes, no matter how subtle these are, should be immediately checked. What you thought to be a healthy cat feels pain or illness. It is best to pay close attention to your furry friend from time to time.

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