One painful and potentially deadly cat disorder is sometimes confused with pain related to feline arthritis. If you cat is peeing outside the box she may actually be suffering from a feline UTI or other urinary tract problem. Here's why you should get your vet to help you know for certain.

It's not uncommon for a cat owner to think their cat is misbehaving when they discover their cat peeing outside the box. However, if this is a new pattern for an aging cat that is also suffering from feline arthritis, you may incorrectly diagnose the problem cause being related to feline arthritis symptoms. Perhaps you think she is having problems getting in and out of the litter box because of arthritis pain or that her painful joints prevent her from squatting properly.

Don't just assume your cat's potty problems are related to pain caused by feline arthritis. These are also symptoms of a feline urinary tract infection or cat bladder stones. You see, when your cat has a feline UTI or stones her urinary tract is inflamed and irritated. The stones and irritation are painful when she urinates.

Along with the pain, she may also feel like she hasn't completely voided her bladder. Your cat may associate the litter box with the pain and start peeing outside the litter box. If you cat is suffering from cat bladder stones then the urinary tract may actually become plugged. Not only is this very painful for your cat, it can also be deadly if your cat can't eliminate waste.

Quite often owners of cat's who are missing the litter box as well as suffering from feline arthritis make the mistake that this is caused by the cat's stiff joints and inability to get in and out of the litter box. Some owner replace the cat litter box with a pan that has a shallower lip to make less of a step in for the kitty.

When the cat continues to miss the pot they spread newspaper around the litter box to capture the urine. As the scenario carries on every day the entire family grows weary of the smell of cat urine and the nasty clean up chore too. Sadly, this is the stage when the owner finally take the cat into the vet, but for all the wrong reasons.

They explain to the vet the potty problem and may even wonder if they need to euthanize the cat. While that certainly is a sad option, your cat may still have a lot of years left in her. What needs to happen is to have your vet run tests for a feline UTI or cat bladder stones. If the results are positive your vet usually can help your kitty get over this problem.

You may even find that using certain natural remedies will help heal her urinary system and prevent future outbreaks of a feline UTI. The good news is that you can give these remedies to you cat in conjunction with a homeopathic natural remedy for feline arthritis. There you go, answer for two painful problems for aging cats.