Quantification of Urine Elimination Behaviors in Cats with a Video Recording System

BACKGROUND: Urinary disorders in cats often require subjective caregiver quantification of clinical signs to establish a diagnosis and monitor therapeutic outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To investigate use of a video recording system (VRS) to better assess and quantify urination behaviors in cats. ANIMALS: Eleven healthy cats and 8 cats with disorders potentially associated with abnormal urination patterns. METHODS: Prospective study design. Litter box urination behaviors were quantified with a VRS for 14 days and compared to daily caregiver observations. Video recordings were analyzed by a behavior analysis software program. RESULTS: The mean number of urinations per day detected by VRS (2.5 ± 0.7) was significantly higher compared with caregiver observations (0.6 ± 0.6; P < .0001). Five cats were never observed in the litter box by their caregivers. The mean number of urinations per day detected by VRS was significantly higher for abnormal cats (2.9 ± 0.7) compared with healthy cats (2.1 ± 0.7; P = .02); there were no apparent differences in frequency between these groups reported by caregivers (0.7 ± 1.0 and 0.5 ± 1.0, respectively). There were no differences in mean urination time between healthy and abnormal cats as determined by VRS or caregivers. Mean cover‐up time determined by VRS was significantly longer in healthy cats (22.7 ± 12.9 seconds/urination) compared with abnormal cats (8.7 ± 12.9 seconds/urination; P = .03); differences in cover‐up time were not detected by caregivers. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Caregivers commonly underestimate urination frequency in cats when compared to video‐based observations. Video recording appears to facilitate objective assessment of urination behaviors and could be of value in future clinical studies of urinary disorders in cats.