A healthy cat typically urinates about twice a day and has one bowel movement, so if you’re scooping the litter box noticeably more often, something has changed. The cause could be as simple as a diet switch or as serious as kidney disease, and the key to figuring it out is paying attention to whether your cat is producing more urine, going more frequently in small amounts, or having more bowel movements.
What “Normal” Looks Like in the Litter Box
Most cats urinate about twice per day, producing clumps roughly golf-ball to tennis-ball sized in clumping litter. They typically have one bowel movement per day. A healthy cat weighing around 10 pounds needs about 200 to 250 milliliters of water daily, which includes moisture from food. These numbers give you a baseline, but every cat settles into its own routine. What matters most is a noticeable change from your cat’s personal normal.
Large Volumes vs. Frequent Small Trips
This distinction matters more than anything else when figuring out what’s going on. A cat producing large volumes of urine each time it goes (bigger clumps, heavier litter box) is dealing with something very different than a cat making frequent trips but only passing small amounts or straining to go.
Large-volume urination points toward metabolic or organ problems: diabetes, kidney disease, or an overactive thyroid. Your cat’s body is producing more urine than it should, and it’s drinking more water to keep up. Frequent small trips, on the other hand, suggest a problem in the urinary tract itself, like an infection, inflammation, or a blockage forming. You might notice your cat squatting repeatedly, spending a long time in the box, or crying while trying to urinate. If your cat is straining and producing little or no urine, that’s a veterinary emergency, especially in male cats, because a full blockage can be fatal within 24 to 48 hours.
Diet Can Change Everything
If you recently switched your cat’s food, that alone could explain the extra litter box visits. Cats eating wet food produce dramatically more urine than cats eating dry kibble. In one controlled study, cats on a wet diet produced an average of 228 milliliters of urine per day compared to just 62 milliliters on a dry diet. That’s nearly four times the volume. Even adding water to dry food bumped output up to about 93 milliliters. So a switch from kibble to canned food can easily double or triple the amount of urine you’re scooping, and that’s completely normal and actually beneficial for urinary tract health.
Diabetes
Diabetes is one of the most common medical reasons a cat starts urinating more. When blood sugar rises too high, the kidneys can’t reabsorb all the glucose, and it spills into the urine. That excess glucose pulls water along with it, producing large volumes of dilute urine. Your cat then drinks more to compensate, creating a cycle of heavy drinking and heavy urination.
The classic signs of feline diabetes are increased urination, increased thirst, weight loss despite a normal or even increased appetite, and sometimes lethargy. Middle-aged to older cats, overweight cats, and male cats are at higher risk. If your cat is soaking through litter faster than usual and also seems thinner or hungrier, diabetes should be on your radar.
Kidney Disease
Chronic kidney disease is extremely common in older cats and often shows up first as increased urination. Healthy kidneys concentrate urine efficiently, pulling water back into the body. As kidney function declines, the kidneys lose that concentrating ability, and your cat starts producing larger volumes of dilute, pale urine. To avoid dehydration, the cat drinks more water.
This is a gradual process. Early kidney disease often has no symptoms beyond slightly increased water intake and litter box use. Over time, you may notice weight loss, decreased appetite, vomiting, or a dull coat. Because the early signs are subtle, many owners don’t catch it until the disease has progressed significantly. Cats over seven or eight years old benefit from routine blood work that can detect kidney changes before symptoms become obvious.
Overactive Thyroid
Hyperthyroidism is another condition that hits older cats and causes increased urination alongside increased thirst. An overactive thyroid ramps up the body’s metabolic rate, which affects nearly every organ system. Cats with hyperthyroidism often seem restless or hyperactive, eat ravenously but lose weight, have a rapid heart rate, and may develop a patchy or unkempt coat. Increased urination and drinking are common signs. The condition is very treatable once diagnosed, and a simple blood test can confirm it.
Urinary Tract Problems
If your cat is making frequent trips to the box but only producing small amounts, or if you see blood in the urine, the problem is likely in the lower urinary tract. Bacterial infections, bladder inflammation (sometimes called feline idiopathic cystitis), and bladder stones can all cause urgency and frequency. Stressed cats are particularly prone to bladder inflammation even without an infection present.
Watch for straining, vocalizing in the litter box, urinating outside the box (often on cool, smooth surfaces like bathtubs or tile), or excessively licking the genital area. These signs all point to discomfort in the bladder or urethra rather than a whole-body metabolic issue.
Increased Bowel Movements
If the extra bathroom trips involve stool rather than urine, the possibilities shift. More frequent bowel movements can come from dietary changes (especially higher-fiber foods), food intolerances, intestinal parasites, inflammatory bowel disease, or hyperthyroidism. Diarrhea or soft stool accompanying the increased frequency usually points to a gastrointestinal problem. If your cat is straining to defecate and producing small, hard stools, constipation with frequent unproductive attempts is the more likely issue.
Spraying vs. Urinating
Sometimes what looks like a cat urinating constantly is actually territorial marking. The two behaviors look quite different. A cat that’s urinating squats low to the ground over a horizontal surface. A cat that’s spraying stands upright with its tail raised and quivering, often treading its back feet, and deposits urine on vertical surfaces like walls, furniture, or doorframes. Spray marks tend to show up in socially significant spots: near doors, on the owner’s belongings, or on laundry.
Cats that spray typically continue using the litter box normally for their regular urination and bowel movements. So if you’re finding urine on walls or furniture but the litter box habits haven’t changed, the issue is behavioral, not medical. Spraying can be triggered by new cats in the household, outdoor cats visible through windows, or other sources of social stress.
What to Track Before a Vet Visit
Before calling the vet, spend a day or two noting specifics. Count how many times your cat visits the box. Note whether the urine clumps are larger than usual or if there are more clumps of a normal size. Watch your cat’s posture in the box: is it squatting normally, straining, or making quick in-and-out trips? Check the water bowl more frequently to gauge whether your cat’s drinking more. Note any changes in appetite, weight, energy level, or stool consistency.
These details help your vet narrow the possibilities quickly. The difference between “my cat is peeing a lot” and “my cat is producing large clumps four times a day and draining the water bowl” points the diagnosis in a completely different direction than “my cat visits the box ten times a day but barely produces anything.”