cat peeing on clothes

tlgaglianese

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My 1 1/2 year old cat is peeing on all my clothes.  It doesn't matter if they are clean or dirty clothes; if they are on the floor for more than a day she is going to pee on them.  I have changed her to a special urinary tract food to see if that was the issue.  What can I do but not spend millions on every different cat liter and/or vet?  She is a good cat, very loving but does not like to sit on people's lap.  She eats well and goes bathroom everyday.  PLEASE HELP! I am at the end of my rope!
 

missymotus

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Simply keep clothes up off the floor ;)

Has she actually been seen/tested for a uti at the vets?
 

callista

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You know, crumpled clothes on the floor are rather soft and "diggable".... I wonder if there's something about them that makes her prefer to "dig" in the clothes rather than in her litter? There's litter out there that has a cloth-like texture to it. I don't know exactly what, but I did see it used once for a cat who'd been spayed; it was this fluffy stuff that might have been made of shredded newspaper or something. Maybe somebody will come along and tell us what that kind of litter is. But anyway, maybe your cat likes to dig in clothes?

Suggest you pick up all clothes for a while (buy a hamper for bedroom and bathroom so it's easier for you to rmember), while changing the litter to something more clothing-like.

Is your kitty spayed? She's female, but females have been known to mark. Sometimes a cat will mark clothes to try to mark you as "Mine". It's worth a shot; anyway, she's already over a year old and it's way past time, if she hasn't been.
 
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tlgaglianese

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Just to clarify I am not leaving clothes all over my house like some pig, I have a hamper, what she is doing is peeing on clothes that fall out of the hamper or are folded ready to be put away or in a bin in our closet. 
 

tjcarst

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We all have a few things that eventually end up on the floor ;-)

Is your cat spayed/neutered?  When I first brought my adult cat home, she was not spayed, and she marked EVERYTHING!!!  It was a mess.  After having her spayed, not one 'incident' has occurred.
 
 

callista

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Just to clarify I am not leaving clothes all over my house like some pig, I have a hamper, what she is doing is peeing on clothes that fall out of the hamper or are folded ready to be put away or in a bin in our closet. 
Didn't think you were. Normally you would leave clothes around while you were waiting to fold them, when the hamper overflowed, when you were going to wear them again the next day. I usually dump my jacket on a chair instead of hanging it up "properly", and Tiny likes to lie on it because it smells like me. I think that while you re-train her, every piece of clothing should be removed to keep her from being tempted by them. Another hamper to catch the overflow could be warranted. I mean, it's probably going to be annoying; but... better than washing the clothes constantly.

Oh, and try a baby lock on the hamper. On the closet door, too, for that matter if the door's easy to get open and the cat's got fast paws on her.
 
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Willowy

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I've never known clothes/towels on the floor to go un-peed-on in a house with cats. It seems that cloth on the floor is nearly irresistable for most cats. I learned a long time ago not to leave things on the floor if I didn't want them peed on.
 

callista

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Really? Wow, I guess I've been lucky; none of my cats have ever shown any tendency to pee on clothes. Nest in them, yes; and boy do I get cat hair all over my jackets; but never pee on them.
 

otto

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Please take her to the vet. A "urinary tract health" food off a grocery store shelf is not going to solve any health problems. She probably has a urinary tract infection, this means she needs antibiotics, which she will get at the vet. She should be on a canned diet, to prevent any recurrence, but you need to get her to the vet. UTIs don't get better on their own, they get worse. Soon the kidneys become involved.

She has no other way to tell you she is sick, so she pees on your clothes.

Please, take your little girl to the vet. Urinary tract infections HURT.

.
 
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callista

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I agree, Otto. I thought the OP had taken her to the vet already; but sometimes vets do miss things, especially if the problem's not severe yet when they see the cat. Her instinct to bury waste seems to be intact because she's using loose cloth instead of litter; so it could be just the litter box she connects with pain rather than an aversion to burying to begin with. So it really should be possible to find a way to get her to use the litter box again--it's not like she's a clueless kitty who hasn't got an inkling what the box is for. It's just that, for some reason, that box is unpleasant to her.

Depending on what kind of food it is, a urinary-health formula cat food might be useful for lowering the chances that your cat will get a UTI, but won't do a thing if the cat already has one. A checkup and antibiotics aren't particularly expensive--the checkup is usually a ten-minute thing and the antibiotics aren't expensive. I don't think it'll run you more than the checkups you're getting when the cat goes in for the required rabies vaccine (well, required in my state; I figure it's required everywhere that rabies is found in wild animals...) I'm not too rich myself and sometimes have trouble paying for vet care; but I have found that if I cut out the non-essentials, that gives me enough breathing room so that if my cats have an emergency, I can afford to get a credit card, pay for their vet bill on credit, and have enough wiggle room in my budget to pay off the bill. If there's ever a reason to use a credit card, it's a sick cat, right?

It's definitely worth the money to check again, because if the cat ends up with a kidney infection you're looking at way more money for vet bills and way more discomfort for the cat. If it turns out the cat has a UTI after all, ask the vet which foods are best for preventing another. You really can't go too far wrong with a high-protein, low-filler sort of food, but a vet's actually been trained in kitty nutrition and might be able to advise you on some tweaks that could help.
 

lamaldonado

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I am having the same issues. My kitty is spayed and five years old. She will get on top of my dryer to pee on folded clothes, as well as, go into my closet and pee on dirty clothes I have separated into piles or clothes falling out of basket. I keep her litter box very clean. Not sure what to do but I am very very tired of smelling cat urine!!
 

otto

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I am having the same issues. My kitty is spayed and five years old. She will get on top of my dryer to pee on folded clothes, as well as, go into my closet and pee on dirty clothes I have separated into piles or clothes falling out of basket. I keep her litter box very clean. Not sure what to do but I am very very tired of smelling cat urine!!
Hi, welcome to TCS!

The first thing to do is to take her to the vet. Most often this type of 'behavior' is not 'behavior' at all, it is a symptom of illness. Most often a cat avoiding the litter box has a urinary tract disorder of some kind. Either a bacterial infection, crystals in the urine, stones in the bladder, or any combination of issues.

She can't talk, she can't tell you "it hurts when I pee" so we have to watch for signs like this to know something is wrong. When it hurts to pee, the cat will blame the box for her pain, and so she seeks out soft places like the laundry, hoping that it won't hurt so much.

So a trip to the vet is the first thing to do. From there, after either getting a diagnosis and treatment plan, a re-evaluation of her diet may be needed. Do you feed a wet diet?
 

tinker-butt

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My Sammy pees on EVERYTHING that belongs to my brother. cloths pillows blankets u name it he pees on it.. took him to the vet and theres nothing wrong with Sammy. I just dont know what to do anymore I love him so much but if this does not stop I fear that i will have no choice to rehome him. I love Sammy but I also love my brother and if things dont change 1 of them will end up having to go and i dont want that to happen.


PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME!!!!!
 

otto

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We can help you! Rehoming is not the answer. No one wants a cat who has a littler box avoidance problem, and if you lied and don't mention it, he's likely to be tossed out in the street when the new home discovers the problem.. Of course you love your Sammy and don't want that to happen to him.

Something is wrong with Sammy's world or his health, and it is your job to figure out what it is and fix it. :)

I have some questions for you first:

How old is Sammy?

Is he neutered?

Is he inside only?

Do you have other cats?

What are you feeding him?

What tests has the vet done to rule out illness?

How many litter boxes do you have?

What kind of litter are you using?

How often do you scoop out pee and poop in the box(es)?

Knowing these details will help us help you figure out what Sammy's problem is and help you fix it. :)
 
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tinker-butt

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Sammy is fixed there are 2 other cats in our home he is 4 years old. the vet has run all the tests that he can. we have been to 3 different vets and they have all done the same thing. they cant fine anything at all. there have been no changes in his diet we get his food from the vet. im at a loss right now i love sammy to death i would do anything for him.
 

tinker-butt

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we have 4 litter boxes and we use a very fine grain litter and we scoop every night before bed he is indoors only hes scared on the outside.
 

fffarmergirl

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I found a way to get the cat pee smell out of clothes - did a google search then tried it and it works.  Wash the clothes once to get most of the pee out.  Leave them in the washer and fill it with just enough water to cover the clothes, and pour a lot of vinegar in (like a whole quart).  Soak them all day, or overnight.  In the morning, spin them out.  Then pour in more vinegar and turn on the wash cycle.  When the washer is full of water, add a cup of baking soda and close the lid and let it finish running the whole wash cycle.  It will fizz a lot, it's supposed to.  I guess it almost always works but there are some clothes that are a lost cause occasionally.
 

buddyndillsmom

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I have two female cats both fixed. One is 2 and one is 4. One of them, or both of them, are peeing on everything. Yes even the litter box. Everyday I am cleaning up something. Vet says they are ok. Someone else said they are pissed at me? Help. I can't do it much longer.
 

ogee nz

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I have a 8 month old cat speyed and he pee on my partners clothes only when he drop them on the floor. Maybe he can train him (my partner) better then i can. ;) he has no medical problems and normally he shares the litter box with our 6 month old kitten who is fixed aswell.
 
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