Cat urinates on me when I sleep.

Thanks everyone. I'm already trying to get in the habit of cleaning everyday before I go to sleep. But now I wake up to whenever she hops in bed and if I see a tail twitch, I freak. But she's not doing a thing. I'm just tired of changing the sheets.

I still might try the feliway to see if it helps with the little one calm down.

This is perhaps not the most conventional solution - you have already been given excellent advice. Maybe it will help and it doesn't cost anything to try.

Lilly urinated on our bed during the first 6 weeks living with us. She was already 30 months old, had experienced 2 other homes and came to us together with another unwanted older cat. It was just too much stress for Lilly but that problem cleared up completely.

Many years later she started urinating on the washing (dirty or clean) and in corners at the bottom of the stairs. This time it was a health issue - bladder infection followed by, a few years later, kidney deficiency.

At first I put a cotton rag (old tea towel, or torn up sheets) in the areas which she preferred to use to her litter box. It was easier for me to see where the puddles were and to mop up. Then I simply put a rag in an empty litter box. She now uses this every time she needs to urinate and the normal cat litter box when she defecates.

OK this rag has to be changed regularly (3 or 4 times a day) and washed. It is only urine so I wash it with other hygiene articles using the very hot washing cycle.

I know this is hardly conventional but it works for a sick (but still very happy cat) who already has to suffer a special diet and the loss of her teeth. It may mean extra washing for me but less cat litter to buy and ...... no more puddles in unexpected places and unwanted comments from other members of the family about "that cat".

If you have 2 cats you should have 3 boxes ideally. Scooping litter twice a day is a must!! Only takes 5 min. I have 8 cats - takes me 10-15 to scoop. Makes sure you are completely emptying and washing boxes at least every 2 wks. Also, cats can still smell the urine even tho we can't , so you might need to get a new comforter.

Chellby said:

Thanks everyone. I'm already trying to get in the habit of cleaning everyday before I go to sleep. But now I wake up to whenever she hops in bed and if I see a tail twitch, I freak. But she's not doing a thing. I'm just tired of changing the sheets.

I still might try the feliway to see if it helps with the little one calm down.

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Glad she's doing better. I also have a Feliway diffuser in the bedroom and it seems to help.

I think if I were your fiancé I would consider leaving you a note on your pillow in magic marker. lol.  My cat is a fastidious soul; I clean his box at least two - three times a day, sometimes more! He sits near it and stares me down if I don't. He's never peed outside the box, fortunately. This is in a one cat household by the way.  I clean in the early a.m., at @ 4 pm when I come home from work, and again before I go to bed. Not hard to forget with his encouragement. Odd of him because he was young feral when we got him. You would think he'd be more tolerant.

Really, perhaps you can just make yourself do the evening cleaning routine.

So, here is an update since it has been 2 weeks.

I've begun to clean the litter boxes everyday and so far, no accidents.

But around her food bowl, it kind of smelled like urine so I cleaned up the area. It might be the cleaner from before when she urinated there months ago. So we'll see.

Does anyone have a link to Feliway Collars? We are looking for some since the little one is hyper and now necessarily scaring Jinx away, but now she sleeps under the bed to be in peace from his playful attacks.

Chewy.com had the best prices for collars (3for $16) my cat destroyed the first one trying to chew it off but after that he accepted it and it has made a world of difference!

Well, I spoke to soon. She just peed on us. And I'm sorry to say this but I'm pretty much done. I cleaned her box and everything and yet she still did it. I'm at the end of my rope.

Time for a vet visit with another urinalysis.

That is about the same age as my cat first developed symptoms of cystitis, except he targeted any laundry basket.  He started having accidents and had a very bad urinary tract infection, which turned into full blown cystitis. He has been on antibiotics about 3 times since then!

Anytime your cat urinates on your bed, usually means they have a urinary problem. Cats do not pee for revenge. They pee because it hurts.  A cat will not willing pee in a place that they sleep in.  Would you purposely pee in your own bed? Of course not!  Not unless it is accidental.

Every time my cats (who sleep with me) have peed on the bed, they have always gone straight to the vet afterwards! And every time they have had either blood in their urine or an infection and needed medication.

Wetting the bed is not a normal behavior... Your cat is in pain and trying to tell you that it hurts!  Cystitis is extremely painful even if the urinalysis comes back normal, it can still be cystitis.

This is what people say about cystitis:

"I have suffered with interstitial cystitis for over 11 years now. I have extreme pain and nothing seems to make it go away. I have changed my diet, cut back on smoking and even gotten off the soft drinks. I have even lost weight to see if that would help, noting does. The pain is so bad at times all I want to do is cry and sleep. Individuals who do not have this or even know what it is have no idea of the pain and suffering that someone with this has."

"I am a 23 year old university student who has dealt with IC for over 4 years. I was desperate to try anything to help since I was usually up at night anywhere from 10-24 times (ended up with severe insomnia as a result) and often had to make up to 42 trips to the bathroom during the day. I had to drop out of university and could hardly work."

Try to understand, your cat only know something is hurting it, and is trying to find a way to feel better (and letting you know it is sick) in the process.

But if it was medically, she would do it every time. But no, its only when I sleep and she's been doing this since we got Ber ikn March. And I've watched her use her litter box today with no issues what so ever.

I think k she might be marking her territory. Maybe from our kitten, or maybe she smells the cats in the apartment behind us. I'm not sure, all I know is that we're sick and tired of it. She was doing so well for 2 weeks and bam, she peed and we didn't notice till hours after the fact. And she's peeing on our memory foam topper which is not helping with the cleaning.

Ugh, I just don't know what to do. I'm seriously at the end of my rope. And at the moment, with the whole California pay raise, my workplace decided to cut hours bad so I can't spend the $50 just to have her checked out. God, I don't even know how much they'll charge for the test.

Even with cystitis she wouldn't be doing it "all the time". The disease has flare ups and remissions. As in it could be every day of the week,  twice a week, or once every few weeks that she has an accident. 

I would try Purina's urinary health cat food. See if it helps. Worth a shot!

It does sound medical to me. At such a young age, she shouldn't have any reason to "mark her territory". Marking behaviors usually develop in older cats.

If it is behavorial there are prescription medications that you can try. Cats sometimes do need antidepressants.  That doesn't mean they are depressed. There are some studies showing cats who have cystits have smaller adrenal glands than normal cats which means any stress will set them off, even if there is little to no stress! There bodies just don't work normally.

Antidepressants have more uses than just for "depression".  There are serotonin receptors throughout the body. Antidepressants can be used for unexplained abdominal pain, nausea, irritable bowel and urinary issues in people.   Although typically most people tell you they work to reduce stress (probably what your vet will say)... But most people have not studied or barely studied all the uses of a given medication. If you look at the actual chemicals these drugs affect, you realize they can work systematically. 

Another thing you should try is throwing out your blankets and buying new ones. The smell tends to linger. I would change laundry detergent as well.

If you are sexual with your bf, be sure to change sheets too!  

I still suspect it can be medical.  Many people with cystitis will check out "normally" on a urinalysis, but their pain still remains very real.  

A urinalysis is usually $30-$40. I would get it done, because you do not want your cat to suffer needlessly and if she does have urinary crystals or anything going on, it can get much worse.  It is better to find out now. Have you ever had a urinary tract infection? Those are very painful...

Gilmargl said:

This is perhaps not the most conventional solution - you have already been given excellent advice. Maybe it will help and it doesn't cost anything to try.

Lilly urinated on our bed during the first 6 weeks living with us. She was already 30 months old, had experienced 2 other homes and came to us together with another unwanted older cat. It was just too much stress for Lilly but that problem cleared up completely.

Many years later she started urinating on the washing (dirty or clean) and in corners at the bottom of the stairs. This time it was a health issue - bladder infection followed by, a few years later, kidney deficiency.

At first I put a cotton rag (old tea towel, or torn up sheets) in the areas which she preferred to use to her litter box. It was easier for me to see where the puddles were and to mop up. Then I simply put a rag in an empty litter box. She now uses this every time she needs to urinate and the normal cat litter box when she defecates.

OK this rag has to be changed regularly (3 or 4 times a day) and washed. It is only urine so I wash it with other hygiene articles using the very hot washing cycl
I know this is hardly conventional but it works for a sick (but still very happy cat) who already has to suffer a special diet and the loss of her teeth. It may mean extra washing for me but less cat litter to buy and ...... no more puddles in unexpected places and unwanted comments from other members of the family about "that cat".

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You are indeed a wonderful mummy and very understanding. I don't know how I would cope with a cat peeing .outside the box. Kudos to you.