Depressed cat urinating on bed

4 ½ weeks ago we adopted a 5 year old female cat. She was bullied at her previous home by the two other cats who lived with her and spent all her time hiding. She is now the only cat in the house.

We took her to the vets a week after we got her for a general check up and we were worried she was scratching/grooming a lot and wasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t eating a lot. The vet says she was physically fine. He prescribed some flea treatment just in case and plug in Feliway diffuser in case she was stressed from moving house. She is eating a lot better now and doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t seem to be grooming as aggressively.

She seems depressed and her depression seems to have got worse, although it varies from day to day. Today she spent the entire day in the wardrobe.

She also occassionally(once a week) urinates on our bed. She does not have a problem with her litter tray, she uses it 99.9% of the time. It is cleaned frequently throughout the day and is completely washed out once a week. We have not changed litter brands. We have not moved it. Which makes us think that it maybe an insecurity/terrorital problem.

Moving house is obviously very stressful for a cat, its just worrying that she is so unhappy and she canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t tell us whats wrong. We donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want to take her back to the vets again if its a psycological problem because she gets so very distressed in the car and shes been given the all clear a few weeks ago.

Any suggestions would be great.

Thank You

Did the vet draw blood and a urine sample??

Thank you for the quick reply!

No he didn't. He took her temperature and just generally looked her over.

Do you think it would be worth taking her back and asking for a blood test and urine sample?

Have you any idea what it might be?

She is sounds like she is stressed. When cats are stressed they tend to pee on soft things because it brings them comfort. If you don't get the urine smell out of your bedclothes, she will continually pee on it to refresh the smell. Zero Odor (order it online) is a good product to use.

Stress also brings on illness, so blood and urineanalysis is a good idea, especially if she is over-grooming. Over grooming can be a symptom of pain. Besides, you will need a baseline to follow should she ever get sick.

Many of the abused cats I care for have similar problems. Cats can get PTSD and be triggered into what we call "inappropriate behavior" but actually it is just instinctual behavior based on her experiences before she arrived.

I would just try to ignore her for awhile and let her settle in. Give her an extra pan to use, see to her food and water and basic needs, but don't expect her to do anything for awhile. Right now, you are a predator to her and her world (although it wasn't the best for her) has changed in a major way. I would take her back to the vet and run some lab work on her though. Don't stare into her eyes, just try and ignore her. Go into the room she is hiding in, sit on the floor and read out loud to her, or talk about your day. When you get up, where your imprint was on the floor, put some tasty treats and leave. Set up a schedule with her and keep to it, food, water litter box patrol always done at the same times every day. She will get used to you. Also, keep her carrier out in the room, fill it with soft bedding and some catnip. Let her get used to it, so she doesn't fear it.

Thank you for the advise.
We will take her back to the vets.

Thank you so much for the advice on dealing with her stress, as its really concerning me.I really didn't know what to do, give her space or try to coax her!

I will ignore her from now on unless she comes and seeks out attention.
She does come sit on our knees sometimes and when shes in the mood she loves being brushed especially her face, she also takes treats out of our hands. But when shes hiding i'll give her space.

As for not staring at her, when she looks at us she closes/narrowers her eyes and we usually close/narrow our eyes back at her as we thought it was a sign of affection, is that right or should we look away?

I will set up a schedule and put her carrier in the room, i moved it away because i thought it might stress her.

Any more ideas on reducing her stress or making her happier would be gratefully appreciated.

Thank you