Tuesday nights generally go something like this. We get home from work, immediately fold up our jiu-jitsu gis (martial arts uniforms) and throw them in the bag, where our belts already are (belts do not get washed), and immediately head out for class. Last night was no different, however when we got to class and began dressing we noticed that the bag and the belts reeked of cat urine! Since our cats don’t have problems with going outside the litter box, that should have been a clue that there was a problem, but I think we were too annoyed with the fact that our belt stunk (and you can’t really wear a gi without a belt because it won’t stay on), to really consider it.
But after class, we went home and tossed the belts in the wash, nervously, because you’re not supposed to wash your belts and while Sensei told us to go ahead and wash them in this case, he couldn’t promise the colors wouldn’t bleed badly, because he’d never washed a belt before. Anyways the belts were in the wash, and the gis were laying on the floor. Suddenly I noticed Hobbes squatting on my gi. It was too late to stop him so instead of risking picking him up and spraying it across the carpet, I let him finish. It took him a long time and when he was done, there was really not much urine on my gi. I know that that means, he’s got a UTI. Which also explains the going outside the litter box behavior.
We gave the house a good look over with a black light (yes cat urine glows in black light), but couldn’t find any other spots, so hopefully we’ve caught it very early. We’ve started him on the apple cider vinegar regimen that cured Sigyn awhile back, so now it’s just time to monitor him closely and see if he improves or if a vet visit will end up being necessary.