Vent: peeing cat

lelekay

Aaarrrrrrggghhhhh!  My cat will not stop peeing on our bed!!!  MH is about to lose it, and I am, too.

She's about 13 years old, and I've had her for 9 years.  She's been doing this for about a year and a half now.  She pees on our bed, and sometimes on towels or blankets that are left on the floor.  We took her in for a full medical workup (at $700) to rule out bladder infections, etc.  Nothing!  So it's most definitely behavioral. 

I've avoided leaving anything (blankets, etc.) on the floor, and that helps.  But the bed!  We'll go about 2-3 months with nothing, and now she's done it twice this week.  We now have 4 litter boxes (one on every floor - split level), which we scoop constantly.   So it's not like she can't get to a box easily.  For the record, she's in good health, and isn't so old that she can't get around okay.  And I don't think it's an impending baby thing, as this started way before becoming pregnant.....although it my not be helping at the moment.

It would be very difficult to contain her to one room, or even out of our bedroom.  I guess that's what we're going to try next....keeping her out of our room.  But I suspect that she'd just start somewhere else then.  I guess it's worth a try though.  That makes me so sad, since she's slept by my side all night every night since I got her (she does this during the day, or right before bed).  She's normally very, very sweet.  I do yell at her and even rub her nose in it when I discover it, but she doesn't seem to learn from this.

What do I do????  Any other suggestions?  By the way, "getting rid" of her is NOT an option (as MH's work friends all suggest).

Amy4773

I was just coming here to do my own pet vent - my damn digging dog.  I left for an hour and she effing dug to China.

I don't know what to do for the cat peeing....I hate to admit I'd be of the same opinion as YH's work friends!    On the flip side, unless you catch her doing it, "rubbing her nose it" won't be effective.  Yes, the can smell their urine, but unless you catch her doing it and reprimand her at the time, it's not going to work.

mrsdarling

Did you recently flip the mattress, or change your brand of cat litter?  If she smells the scent of her previous episodes on the mattress maybe it makes her want to pee there again.  Or, if she doesn't like the cat litter, she might be going elsewhere to avoid it.

When I was growing up, my mom's cat used to do this same thing (on the bed or in a laundry basket full of clean clothes).  I hate to say it, but I don't think he ever stopped.  She thought he tended to do it more when he felt ignored, like if she was out all day and he was home alone.

You should try posting on the pets board - those ladies are very knowledgeable!  And I'm with you, getting rid of a pet is not an option for me (or my mom, obviously!).

This sounds weird, and I don't know if it would just encourage the behavior, but if it were me and I'd tried all other advice and the cat refused to stop, I might make some kind of a 'decoy' by piling an old blanket or towel in a shallow litter pan (for leak control) and leaving it on the bedroom floor.  At least that might distract her from my bed.  I'm no expert and it's probably a horrible idea, but if my cat was constantly peeing in my bed I'd probably try anything.  GL!

Snarling Fox

Sorry - that's so frustrating. My kitty is around 13 years old too. Last year he started doing the same thing. Anything we left on the floor that he could paw around, blankets, clothes, towels, floor mats - ended up in a little pile with pee. We have a wood-floor that's now stained and no furniture in our living room since he got the couch and the chair. After tons of money at the vet - they found he was diabetic from being overweight and now strict(er) diet, he's gotten better. I also have 2 litter boxes for a 1100sf house - hate it!

What we've now done - kitty is off-limits from the bedrooms when he is home alone. I felt bad doing that since he normally sleeps on our bed when he's alone but I hated putting my sheets and padding through sanitary cycle more. He has his own padded chair to sleep on but no towels/blankets on it from him to paw at.

And I'm not sure if this was part of the problem but I think he was having trouble getting on/off the bed to go pee. Probably too old to jump comfortably. So when he is there to sleep next to me at bedtime - he has an ottoman next to the bed to step up to and act like a landing before the next jump to the bed.

In the last 4-5 months, no accidents except for one - he used a box that had supplies that was next to his litter box. I'm almost ready to refurnish my living room and put an area rug down again.

Good luck and I hope things get better

 

pbear

Try Feliway either the plug ins or the spray, it is supposed to be calming for cats. You can get it at Petco/Petsmart

kaesha

Both of my cats started doing it when they were 12 or so (from the same litter); I feel your pain. One of them pooped everywhere too - she had serious anxiety issues.

In the end, the only thing that helped was changing their litter brand. We went from the gravel stuff to a clumping, soft sandy stuff, and that made a HUGE difference, although it never got perfect.

Other than that, I've got nothing.

redshoegirl

kaesha:

In the end, the only thing that helped was changing their litter brand. We went from the gravel stuff to a clumping, soft sandy stuff, and that made a HUGE difference, although it never got perfect.

This makes a difference with our cats too. They (and I, since it's awesome at reducing odor) strongly prefer the crystals to the sandy or gravel kind. So I don't know if changing up litter types might help? Or getting new boxes altogether sine plastic absorbs odors so she might not like the boxes any more?

mrspresley

i'm sorry nothing is more frustrating! i agree with the comments about the urine scent attracting the kitty to urinate in the same spot.  i'd really want a urine culture and bloodwork - yes again.  older cats should get routine bloodwork done every 6-12 months anyway to catch early signs of kidney failure.  and the urine culture b/c it's so common for older cats to have UTIs that cause this.

try different litters. different types of boxes. you might have to get a new mattress to get the smell out.  feliway pheromone room diffuser may help sometimes.  and, if it is caused by idiopathic cystitis, then things like wet/moist cat food and environmental enrichment (i.e. play w/the cat more) will help a lot. oh and if it is behavioral, rubbing the cat's nose in the spot doesn't do anything unless it is done w/in 2 seconds of the offending behavior.

i'm sorry, it can be so frustrating to deal with this problem.  if you've exhausted all medical causes and you're sure it's behavioral...then it would be worth your money to work with a vet that has done a residency program in behavior medicine who can work with you.  look for one near you here