How Often Do Cats Pee? 4 Things You Should Know

You’ve just cleaned the litter box, and now you’re wondering, “How often do cats pee?” Well, you’re not alone. I’ve been there, too. It’s a valid question to ask. After all, your cat’s toilet habits can say a lot about its health.

Whether they’re going multiple times a day or only a few times, there’s no one-size-fits-all in this area. To better understand whether your cat is healthy, consider the general condition of your pet’s urine. This will put the frequency with which your cat urinates into context.

Like us, felines are notoriously private about their toilet habits and don’t take well to interfering cat parents. But don’t let that put you off from investigating their litter box.

How often your cat pees can tell you a lot about how your fur baby is doing!

How Often Should Cats Pee?

Many factors can affect the frequency with which your beloved kitty uses the litter box. Cats evolved in the dry climate of Mesopotamia, so they developed an excellent hydration system. That means they only need to go a few times a day. It’s important to note that a cat’s age, weight and overall health can also influence how often they urinate.

How Often Does a Cat Pee?

Water consumption is a critical factor behind the frequency of your cat’s visits to the litter box. The amount of moisture in their food also has an impact. Cats on wet food diets are more hydrated and thus pee more often. And if it’s a very hot or humid day, your cat may go fewer times than usual.

How Often Do Cats Pee if They’re Sick?

Medical conditions can also affect how often a cat pees. Cats with kidney disease or diabetes are likely to urinate more often. Bladder infections and liver disease can also affect the frequency your cat goes to the loo.

Cats that urinate less than average may have a urethral blockage. This is especially true of male cats that vocalize and have obvious difficulty passing urine. If this isn’t treated quickly, it can be fatal, so get your cat to the vet. This can be particularly prevalent in neutered, overweight male cats.

There may also be a behavioral explanation for how often a cat pees, mainly if they’re suddenly using the litter box less than before. If you’re not cleaning the tray often enough or the box is small, your cat may stop using it.

Older or injured cats may have difficulties getting into the litter box, which may cause them to urinate less.

How Many Times a Day Should a Cat Pee?

While the average cat goes 2-4 times a day, your cat may be different, and that’s healthy. So, how often should cats pee? They should pee however much is normal for them! If they start to go less or more often, it’s worth getting the vet to run a check-up.

How Often Do Kittens Pee?

As new pet owners, you may wonder, ‘how often should my kitten pee?’. Like everything in a newborn, a kitten’s bladder is quite tiny. This means that they typically should urinate after every feeding.

This means a newborn kitten can urinate up to 12 times daily. As they grow to three weeks old, this can be minimized to only six times a day and will lessen to four times a day as they move on to solid foods.

Finding the Right Litterbox to Help Your Cat Urinate More

Fortunately, there is literally a litter box for every kind of kitty and cat parent. If your fur baby struggles to get into the box, you can try one with a low wall. If you need help cleaning up, try a self-cleaning litter box.

Multi-cat households often deal with the issue of one cat who controls access to the litter box and scares the other kitty off using it. It’s best to have one litter box per cat and one extra.

Cat Urine Color — What’s Normal?

Besides wondering ‘how often should a cat pee?’, color is another factor to consider in a cat’s urinary health. So, what color is cat pee?

A cat’s urine color can vary from clear to dark brown. There may also be streaks of pink or red. Blue-green urine is not unheard of either. Yup. Your cat’s urine color can tell you a lot about its health.

It’s normal for a cat’s urine to be yellow or amber. Anything else tends to signal a health issue. Blue or green could be because of bacterial growth, while a milky white color or red urine can indicate inflammation.

If you spot foamy cat urine, that’s another sign that your vet needs to take a look.

Why Does My Cat Have Dark Urine?

Dark urine in cats causes a lot of alarm among owners because it usually originates from the blood — called hematuria.

It’s difficult to know why there is blood in your kitty’s urine, but Idiopathic Cystitis is the most common cause of bloody urine. This is an inflammation of the bladder that mainly affects younger felines and neutered male cats.

Other causal conditions include urinary tract infection, cancer, trauma, and urinary blockage. You’ll want to involve your vet if there’s dark cat urine in the litter box.

Strong-smelling Cat Urine — What Does This Mean?

Alongside how often cats urinate, you should also consider how your pet’s urine smells. A strong, pungent odor of cat urine tends to indicate illness.

Bladder infections and inflammations can cause foul-smelling cat urine, as can tumors and hormonal disorders. The latter is particularly true of male felines. Taking your fur baby to the vet for a check-up is best.

What Does Healthy Cat Urine Smell Like?

If your cat’s urine is clear and has no scent, that’s normal. Spayed and neutered kitties, especially, tend to have odorless urine. A slightly acidic smell is also standard.

What is a Normal Cat Pee Clump Size?

Among all the different types of cat litter, clumping litter is a godsend for cat owners monitoring their kitties’ urine. Because the litter forms into clumps when your cat urinates, you can know how much your cat is urinating at a time.

The average feline weighs 10 pounds and will leave clusters the size of a fist or a tennis ball. If you notice that the clumps of litter have become larger, your cat is producing more urine. This could signal a medical condition, the most common of which is kidney disease.

Final Thoughts About How Often Should My Cat Pee?

While there’s no one-size-fits-all regarding how often a feline pees, some guidelines will help you know if your beloved kitty is healthy.

Of course, there are a few changes in how often a male cat urinates compared to how often female cats pee. But, by paying close attention to your cat’s toilet habits, you will quickly notice when something goes wrong and will be able to get vet care fast.

Remember that how often cats pee is just one indicator of feline health. The smell, color, and amount of cat urine can also tell much about your kitty’s health.

So, no matter how uncomfortable it makes you, asking how often a cat should pee is just good cat parenting!

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