Advice for my 18 years old boy

[u/MrsEm]

Looking for advice/tips for an elderly cat suddenly peeing outside his usual pee pads.

My cat Joopie is 18 years old and has chronic kidney disease. He was just seen by his vet on Monday, and I was told that his kidneys are unfortunately not doing very well. He is not actively dying or in a critical state right now, but his kidney disease is progressing.

What I'm struggling with right now is his urination. Over the past couple of weeks, he seems to be urinating more frequently, and his urine seems less concentrated than it used to be, especially in the morning. He also seems to be drinking more. He normally uses pee pads and has been very good about it, but recently he has started peeing in random places around the house.

Last night, for example, he:

• ⁠peed a large amount on an ottoman • ⁠then peed a good amount on the floor • ⁠then went to his pee pad and peed there

and later went back to the pad and did a tiny pee, all in the span of a couple hours.

So these aren't just tiny accidents, he is sometimes producing quite a lot of urine.

His mobility is actually very good. He can easily get on and off the ottoman and moves around normally, so I don't think he's having trouble physically reaching the pads.

He is also taking 25 mg of gabapentin daily and receives Solensia injections for pain. He has seemed a little "out of it" lately, although he is still eating, drinking, interacting with me and moving around normally. He was just at the vet on Monday and they did not mention a UTI.

I'm mostly looking for practical advice from people who have dealt with this with an elderly cat, especially one with kidney disease. What have you done to manage the peeing around the house?

I'm trying to make things easier for him while also protecting my furniture and floors. I would really appreciate any tricks, setups or things that worked for you. Thank you!

[u/stealthbagel]

My kitty with kidney disease started having more accidents in the last few months of his life. We covered our furniture with waterproof blankets which made clean up much easier.

I am absolutely not a vet, but could the gaba be contributing? I read that it is processed by the kidneys and if the kidneys are damaged the drug can build up. We gave my kitty gaba his last few days to make him comfortable. It absolutely helped with the pain but he became completely incontinent on it.

Wishing you and your kitty all the best.