It's starting to look like a lost cause

Our cat started peeing on the guest bedroom bed that my husband sometimes sleeps on when he's extra "snorey" over a month ago. I took him to the vet and they said he had a slight amount of crystals in his urine and put him on a prescription diet. We haven't given him anything but that diet since then and we've been keeping the guest bedroom door shut. A couple weeks ago he got in there by accident and automatically jumped up on the bed and peed again. I cleaned it up and used Nature's Miracle. This morning my husband was in there ironing a shirt and when he openned the door, our cat ran in there and jumped right up on the bed and luckily my husband was able to grab him off there before he got a chance to pee. He just wrote me an email saying that if it happens again, he's afraid we're going to have to take him back to the Humane Society. I guess he's just in the habit now of using this as his 2nd litter box. We can't have that. I'm so sad. I wish he'd stop this. I'd hate to take him back but I understand that we can't keep a cat that is doing this. I don't know what to do.

When we had a cat that did this (many years ago), and after trying all the things you did too including shutting the door, I ended up taking the mattress and box springs off the bed and laying them up against a wall.

And after saturating the mattress in enzymatic cleaner, I sprayed it with an acrid lemon spray. If I had to do it over I might use something else like perfume that cats hate.

I finally encased the mattress in an allergy-protective rubber sheet that went around the entire mattress and zipped closed. I left it sideways for about a month (I don't remember exactly how long, but a long time).

When I put the mattress back down, I think I may have also rearranged the room.

I don't know if you have already tried using loose sheets of aluminum foil, but cats tend to hate the sound and feel of that and will avoid it. One of my cats totally freaks and one does not- but both of them avoid walking on it when there are several sheets loosely stacked in a pee area.

You might try putting something like a big atlas on the bed and laying the foil loosely over the atlas so the foil retains its creepy noise and texture.

One last thought is that you might think about getting another, inexpensive, mattress. Considering how much you probably invested in your kitty, it could be worth it. I know my hubby would freak about doing that, so this is just a last resort suggestion.

I can't really take the mattress off the bed for a long time cuz my husband sleeps on it quite often. He snores and I can't sleep so there's no way that we could go without that bed very long. I just got a phone message from my husband suggesting that I call the vet again cuz he's also been meowing more when he's back by his litter box. I called and they want to test him again incase the prescription diet isn't working for him. So, I'm going to drop him off on my way in tomorrow and pick him up on my way home and see what their test results show this time. I think I will douse that bed in Nature's Miracle again. What kind of citrus type spray do cats hate? I'll certainly buy some of that and spray the bed too. I think we have bitter apple. Would that help?

I guess we'll see what the vet says tomorrow. Hopefully they can give him something that will help if he's still got crystals and maybe this problem will go away.

You might want to take a look at this chart, it might help. What did the vet 'suggest' that your cat eat? You are the one responsible for putting the proper food into his food bowl.

http://cats.kenanderson.net/html/comparisons.html

Usually a cat's bad behavior depends upon the nutrition he is getting or I should say, not getting.

If you have a steam cleaner OR a wet vac or borrow one, you could also clean the mattress with straight white vinegar.

We used to feed him Innova because we thought it was a really good food. Now he's on this prescription food that the vet recommended. I don't remember the name of it. I'll have to look when I get home and write back with it tomorrow.

Does white vinegar work better than Nature's Miracle?

After you are sure the urinary tract problem is cured and you have thoroughly zapped it with an enzymatic odor remover cleanser....you have to re-establish behavior expections about the bed.

Cats generally won't pee where they hunt or eat. so you need to spend some time playing hunt games and feeding your cat dry treats on the bed. Also spray the bed with feliway and put an infuser in the room. then make sure the cat does not go in the room except to play(hunt) or eat until you are sure he is using his real litter box regularly again.

Once the cat associates the bed with hunting and peeing instead of peeing, the urinating will stop.

Good luck and hang in there !!!

Soak the mattress with:

2 c hydrogen peroxide
2 t baking soda
2 drops liquid dish soap

Works way better than Nature's Miracle.

Innova is a great food from what I hear. Most vets suggest 'Science Diet' which is simply average. You can request that your vet order a brand of prescription food that might have better ingredients than Science Diet.

Another thing is considering a holistic vet. You have to be very selective when finding one but we have a fabulous one here near Atlanta. A lot of times holistic care can improve a cats life.

Please don't take your cat back to the Humane Society! I'm sure a solution can be found!

Thanks for all your suggestions. My husband just called me at work and said he checked Frankie's litter box and he hasn't gone to the bathroom all day. That sure sounds like this prescription food that our vet recommended is not curing the problem. Lately he's been walking around by the litter box meowing almost like he's crying before he goes to the bathroom. It sounds so sad. I'm really starting to think that he's still having pain when he's going pee. I'm glad I got the appointment for them to do another urine test tomorrow. I'll let you know what the results are. I sure hope we can help him feel better if he's still hurting.

Any suggestions of good food for crystals in urine if he still has that?

I'm going back a number of years here and I know vet. medicine has come a long way...I had to hospitalize and then medicate my cat when he had a bout with crystals in the urine/urinary tract...there was no food cure option. Then again as I mentioned it was a long time ago.

I do wish you the best with your little guy...those are all great ideas!

Will that solution work on the sitting pillows inside my sofa do you think?

Does that go directly on the place that got hit and spread out from there or could I double it if I needed more? I have a rather vindictive little cat who was angry with me...and may well be again soon. LOL!

I just got a call from our vet and she said he doesn't have crystals anymore and that his urine looks good. She told me the same thing you guys are telling me, to keep that bedroom door closed and to clean the mattress really well cuz they can smell things like 20 times more than we can. She also said I should spray the area where he peed with phermones to help deter him from that area if he runs in that room. She said there's a phermone spray called "Feliway" that I could buy at a local pet store. I'll write down all of your cleaning ideas and keep cleaning that mattress with the different solutions that you've listed and we'll keep him out of that room. Hopefully in time he will forget about peeing in that spot. I think we can get this worked out and be a happy family. Thanks for all your responses. Wish us good luck.

The easiest thing to do is keep the door shut ALWAYS, no exceptions. If your husband sleeps in there, have him sleep with the door shut.

If that is all it takes for the cat to stop peeing -- why not do it.

my kitty used to go on my comforter when I first got her.

I used oxy clean and bleach on it and then sprayed it down with lemon juice and water.
she never went there again.

the feliway works but from what I understand you have to keep applying it regularly? not sure about that though, just what I heard.

the foil thing works well too, glad your kitty is ok! hang in there...

If you only have one litterbox, you might want to add another. Some cats need two.

We talked last night and we are going to do whatever it takes to keep our little guy even if we have to keep that bedroom door shut forever. My husband is going to be extra careful not to let Frankie sneak in there when he opens the door. This weekend we're going to spray both sides of the mattress with Nature's Miracle and also the sheets and blanket with that before washing them. Then we'll pick up some Feliway and spray that on the bed on a weekly basis. If he still tries to get up there, we'll try cleaning the mattress with some of your other excellent ideas. We're confident that we can correct this problem. Thanks for all your help.

P.S. When I got home with Frankie yesterday, my husband who gets home a couple hours before me, said that he really missed not having Frankie around for those couple hours. He said they like listening to jazz together. I think that helped make him realize how much we love Frankie and couldn't take him back.

Originally Posted by peeps

We talked last night and we are going to do whatever it takes to keep our little guy even if we have to keep that bedroom door shut forever. My husband is going to be extra careful not to let Frankie sneak in there when he opens the door. This weekend we're going to spray both sides of the mattress with Nature's Miracle and also the sheets and blanket with that before washing them. Then we'll pick up some Feliway and spray that on the bed on a weekly basis. If he still tries to get up there, we'll try cleaning the mattress with some of your other excellent ideas. We're confident that we can correct this problem. Thanks for all your help.

P.S. When I got home with Frankie yesterday, my husband who gets home a couple hours before me, said that he really missed not having Frankie around for those couple hours. He said they like listening to jazz together. I think that helped make him realize how much we love Frankie and couldn't take him back.

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Good for you!

Originally Posted by catcaregiver

Good for you!

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Thank you. I'm a much happier person today knowing there isn't a chance that we would be taking him back.

so glad you decided to keep kitty...

Yaaaaaaay! Oh I am SO happy to hear that! Peeing can be a real problem but I know you and your hubby (and Frankie) will find a good solution.

I am so happy for you! It's sweet your husband really thought about it and realized what it would be like without him.

You guys are great. You were a big help in this decision too!