How Long Can a Cat Hold Its Urine?

Like most animals, cats do have a degree of bladder control. The ability to do so for how long depends on several factors including the cat’s age, health, diet, and general lifestyle. The general abstinence of a healthy adult cat is about 24-48 hours, which is not best for the cat’s urinary system. Most people suffer from health complications if they hold urine for long. We will discuss how long can a cat hold its urine. We will also discuss the urinary tract infection, the formation of bladder stones, and other severe conditions.

What Can Increase the Risk of Accident in Bladder Control?

Age: 

Sometimes older cats may lose control over their bladder due to muscle weakness or any disease. It includes kidney failure and diabetes, which make them urinate frequently. Adult cats simply sleep and move around the house. Kittens are still in the process of mastering their bladder control. Therefore, have to urinate more frequently.

Diet and Hydration: 

Cats fed on wet food and those that take a lot of water to drink will be observed to urinate more often. Nevertheless, in too-dry conditions, an extended period might be taken to hold urine. Thus, UTI and bladder stones will be experienced. This means that it is important to ensure that they take water in equal proportion so as to enhance good urinary health.

Stress and Environment: 

Cats are very responsive to some changes in the environment. This is especially so in events that are likely to alter the normal routines of a home. Such as when one is moving, traveling or even getting new pets your normally toilet-trained kitten may hold in its urine longer.

Health Issues: 

A change in urination may be caused by some diseases, including Urinary Tract Infection, Bladder Stone formation, or Kidney diseases. Such problems may result in pain and burning sensations during urination; acute inflammation of the urethra is a potential life threat.

Indications That Your Cat Has to Relieve Itself 

One of the most critical things to consider is the behavior of your cat about when your cat would want or feel the need to urinate. Some of these are:

Pacing and Restlessness: 

FFor a cat, there are some instances of the need to evacuate the bladder. Which in this case would involve pacing around the house or fidgeting around in discomfort.

Meowing or Vocalizations: 

A more common behavior is when your feline can do loud meowing, pawing, scratching, rock climbing hissing cursing breaking doors to find the litter box that it desperately wants to use.

Litter Box Behavior: 

Constant use of the litter box, prolonged attempts to urinate, lack of successful urination, or deliberate urinating out of the litter box may also indicate some level of discomfort or some issues with the urine tract-related construction.

Health Risks of Holding Urine for Too Long

The danger of trying not to urinate for a while and getting flat on the ground, as they shift their bladder in such a way as to not pee for a very long time. It is unhealthy, and there are negative effects to it such as:

Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs): 

Most creatures whether coated skin or thick trees including cats’ do not like urination or in other terms words E custom; they avoid it as much as possible. If they fail to suck the liquid every so often or more frequently than normal lapping thick viscous bacteria will develop in their bladder which infections will develop through. In which there is a high frequency of passing urine, straining may have been not so rare with or even without blood in the urine. If a hemoptysis diuretic is not treated that bladder infection may even extend to the kidney which would certainly be more horrible.

Bladder Stones: 

One big consequence of this ‘suffering’ is causing depression-inducing prolonged incontinence. In this, one cat retrieves its urine in the past instead of passing it properly, retrieving it within the body for long periods. This leads to the formation of the painful developing abominable urinary tract stone or moving over nasty pieces of yolk in the bladder. Obstruction of urinary flow occurs following these and it is a painful experience along with a struggle to urinate.

Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD): 

This is a common disorder that essentially affects the bladder and urethra of a cat’s family members. It comprises a variety of disorders such as cystitis, urinary blockage, presence of bladder stones, etc.

Kidney Issues: 

Prolonged periods of holding urine may also tend to overload the kidneys which in a course of time may result in kidney failure.

Urethral Blockage: 

The urethral blockage is particularly common in male cats as they have comparatively narrow urethras that pose such risks. A blockage can be catastrophic without immediate treatment because it can lead to the body becoming poisoned because of the build-up of toxins.

Promoting Good Urinary Health in Cats

Provide Fresh Water: 

Make sure you provide fresh water to your kitty. Some cats dislike still water and prefer running water. A cat water fountain may help with that. You can also place several water bowls around the house so that cats flop one or another when they get thirsty.

Wet Food Diet: 

Allowing your cat to eat wet food can help boost the otherwise low water intake in cats which is essential for their urinary health. Cats with a dry food-only diet are at higher risk of water loss in their bodies which can lead to urinary complications.

Clean Litter Box: 

Ensure that you use litter for your cat and it is kept clean and kept away from noise giving permission. Since cats are very clean animals they will likely avoid urinating in a dirty or inaccessible litter box.

Behavior Changes: 

Watch for the urinary habits of your cat and the potential changes in normal activity. However, if they are going to the toilet on the litter more often, trying to push, and looking unhappy, a vet appointment is necessary.​

How Often Do We Empty Ourselves at the Cat Litter?

On average, a cat would urinate around two to four times a day. Things such as their food, age, and amount of fluids consumed contribute to this. If a cat’s urination frequency decreases than usual or there is evidence of difficulty in doing it, then veterinary help should be sought. Also, cats that urinate way too much should be considered looking for pain or diseases such as diabetes and/or kidney diseases.

When to Take him to the VET

You should consult the veterinarian if you observe any of the shear ailments listed below:

Taking a Lot of Litter Box Trips: 

If your cat goes to pee constantly but only produces a few drops, it could indicate some blockage or some kind of infection.

Straining: 

Difficulty or only a few drops are common in urination and are associated with urinary tract infections in most instances.

Blood in Urine

There should be no trace of blood in the urine, so if you see any, then this is a red flag and must be addressed straight away by a vet.

Increased Urination 

It is often described as the need to urinate more often or an increase in volume. It may be a sign of many diseases, including diabetes and kidney disease, among others.

Health Issues

Health issues like UTIs, diabetes, and diseases in the kidneys highly affect a cat’s ability to hold their urine.

UTIs: 

The condition is common in cats and is typically found in cats with other underlying medical conditions. A cat experiencing a UTI will urinate more frequently and have cat trouble holding urine as long as it should. Associated clinical signs include straining to urinate, blood in the urine, and pain on urination. It can progress to more serious conditions if left untreated, including kidney infections.

Diabetes: 

In the case of diabetic cats, the problem is that there is too much sugar in the blood, leading to excessive urination or “sweet water” (polyuria). The body strives to extract as much water from the digestive tract as it can into the bloodstream to dilute the excess sugar in it, so the cat urinates very often. In addition, neuropathy due to diabetes also may interfere with control over the bladder so that a cat will not be able to hold its urine inside. Left untreated, this could become disastrous for the quality of life of a cat​.

Kidney Disease: 

The kidney filtration function weakens with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and the kidneys produce much more urine than normal. Urinary incontinence develops in late stages in cats, and they cannot withhold their urine. In the final stages, a cat can no longer gain control over its urination.

Those conditions require prompt veterinary attention with the purpose of finding out and treating the underlying health disorders responsible for a cat’s inability to hold urine.

Conclusion

Knowing how long a cat can withhold urine and the factors that will affect bladder control are important to keep your pet healthy. One thing is the fact that, under normal circumstances, the average cat would probably be able to withhold urine for some 48 hours. However, this should never be encouraged, since withholding for such a period could result in severe urinary health problems. Keeping your cat well hydrated with fresh water, a clean litter box, and a stress-free area will help them urinate healthily. It is also important that you are attentive to checking their behavior and go for check-ups as necessary in warding off those conditions that can be life-threatening. In this article, we discussed We will discuss how long can a cat hold its urine.

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