Cat peeing on clothes while we're away

[puya aravand]

Hello all,

we have this ~3 year old male russian blue (neutered) who is an indoor/outdoor cat that loves to go outside during the day.  When we leave the house for extended periods of time (>1 day), we'll come home to him having peed (not sprayed) on his primary owners' clothes. I also experienced this aberrant behavior - while catsitting him for a weekend - when he tried to wake me up in the morning to let him outside, and when i didn't wake up he peed on my clothes, chair, and backpack. I've read in the forums that peeing on clothes that smell like you occurs when the animal is stressed (i should mention he does use his litter box to defecate, but when we returned from a vacation this weekend he had only defecated in the litterbox and had only urinated on clothing). We try to get neighbors to let him out in the mornings while we're away, but occassionaly it's difficult to do so. He also has a clean bill of health as per our most recent vet appointment (1 month ago) - and this behavior has been going on for at least a year or two.

I was wondering if any of you had advice you could give regarding this behavior. As he only urinates on clothing when we are not around, it wouldn't be possible to catch him in the act. Any tips would be extremely appreciated.

Warm regards

 

[moorspede]

I'm sorry I'm not understanding you properly. You are saying that your cat pees outside and defecates in the litter tray unless you are away in which case he pees on your clothes? 

You could put your clothes where the cat cannot reach them.  

As for the mishap early in the morning, you could get a cat flap so that he can let himself out instead of waking you. 

Here's an article you may find useful about leaving cats alone. 

I'm not sure if it's an urban myth or a breed trait but I've heard that Russian Blues are very fastidious about their litter boxes. If he is being left alone, perhaps it's not being emptied enough?

Here's an article where experts talk about common litter box problems.  

 

[orientals]

Sounds like it stresses him out when you guys leave.

How long and how often are you away from him? And was this always so, since kitten, or is this more recent?

 

[puya aravand]

He usually does pees and defecate outside, but at nights or if we don't let him out he will do his business in the litterbox. while we were away he defecated in the litterbox but peed on the clothes (during the single day we didn't have someone come let him out).

That's a good point about the litter box condition during our vacations. he has several placed around the house but favors one of them. i'll think about adding more/getting more of the same box he uses.

Thanks for the advice

 

[puya aravand]

yeah i think this is his way of coping.

we usually don't leave more than a weekend. but occassionaly (maybe twice a year) are gone for a week. 90% of the time we have someone come help out while we're away, but it's no substitute.

he's always had problems with our absence. he has been peeing on clothes during this time periods for as long as we've had him i think (~2 years)

 

[puya aravand]

I was thinking about getting feliway, but i'm not comfortable with any chemical alteration to his habitat. any tips?

 

[orientals]

Feliway won't solve this by a long shot. Something drastic needs to change to change this. What may have started out as stress has now become a habit.

One solution would be to take him to a cat hotel for the weekends you are away, or a friends house if they're willing. But continuing the same behaviour from you will most likely mean he will continue to react the same way too.

 

[puya aravand]

yeah, that makes sense. thanks for the tips and the honesty.

 

[orientals]

Is he your only cat?

 

[jennyr]

I have a cat who does this and always has. He came to me as a stray and was used to peeing outside, though when he is not stressed he will happily go inside. As soon as I am away or if he feels he cannot get out then he will pee inside on clothes or furniture. I keep the bedroom doors closed if I am not there, and try to get someone to come in and let him out for an hour or two during the day. But if this is when you are at work every day then it is more difficult. I did find Feliway helps a little - it does not happen so often. Feliway mimics the natural hormone of a cat, to make them feel less stressed. But it is a problem - the only good thing is that you are sure your cat misses you and is trying to find comfort by mixing his smell with yours.

 

[puya aravand]

yup

 

[puya aravand]

thanks for the response.

thankfully it doesn't happen while we're at work, only when we leave for >1 day. i think closing the doors and making sure clothes aren't on the floor is a good idea, especially having someone visit to let him out.

so i suppose feliway isn't harmful to the cat. do you have one of the plug in ones or the spray? i was wondering if the plug in ones are only useful for a room or for a more extended area. and if perhaps if there's a harmful side effect to removal of feliway from the environment (like increased stress/withdrawal)

 

[miagi's_mommy]

Pick up the clothes. Angel did pee on clothes given the chance but doesn't any more. So pick them up so he doesn't have the opportunity to do it.

 

[moorspede]

thanks for the response.

thankfully it doesn't happen while we're at work, only when we leave for >1 day. i think closing the doors and making sure clothes aren't on the floor is a good idea, especially having someone visit to let him out.

so i suppose feliway isn't harmful to the cat. do you have one of the plug in ones or the spray? i was wondering if the plug in ones are only useful for a room or for a more extended area. and if perhaps if there's a harmful side effect to removal of feliway from the environment (like increased stress/withdrawal)

I'm sure that having someone someone coming over to see that it's fed, watered, cleaned up after and let out daily should help but it can't be 90 percent of the time or the cat will continue to be stressed. If you can't guarantee that your cat is being looked after while you are away please consider paying someone to do it or boarding it.   

Feliway may help with stress but it won't fix the underlying problems. There is a thread on this site where people have found that it has made some cats aggressive, I've never heard of addiction issues. It helped my cats when they first came to live with me and when they were introduced to each other. I used the plug in which cannot pass through doors and they recommend that you don't place any obstructions close to it.