Best response to peeing out of spite/stress? (sorry, long)

Last night we returned from a long weekend (4 nights) away. While we were gone, the kitties were well cared for by someone we trust, the same person who takes care of them whenever we are away. We have gone away for even longer periods in the past without incident. However, this time, Nedicks seems to have been very upset by our absence. I was in the process of unpacking our suitcase last night when she climbed into the empty half, and without any sniffing or scratching or anything let loose with a serious stream of pee. I should add that it has become clear to us even before this that Nedicks recognizes the suitcase as a sign that we are leaving, because every time we take it out, she attacks it with her teeth, and not in a playful way either.

After the suitcase incident, she was fine the rest of the evening. No more peeing outside the box, no straining in the box, when I scooped the litter all the pee clumps were normal size, no little dime-sized clumps or anything like that. Once we were settled in, I spent a lot of time playing and cuddling with her. However, throughout the night she was very needy, kept head bonking me at all hours and meeping indignantly when I wouldn't pet her. This morning she was really insistent about waking us, but DH and I both ignored her until the alarm went off. As soon as we were both up, she went into the corner of the bedroom, in full view, and peed on the wall and carpet, a nice big puddle of pee. When I saw what she was doing, I said, "No!" and picked her up and brought her to the litterbox. Once again, no other inappropriate peeing has followed and all was well in the litterbox when I scooped.

In late May she was diagnosed with crystals (struvite and calcium oxalate) but has since been in good health. She is on prescription food, and these incidents do not at all resemble the crystal-related peeing issues she has had before. After reading the sticky on inappropriate urinating, it seems to me that this was brought on by our trip.

So now, finally, to my question: How do I respond to her? She clearly wants my attention and has been meowing and climbing on me for snuggles. However, I am concerned that I might just be reinforcing the bad behavior of peeing where she shouldn't, i.e. she will think peeing on our stuff is a good way to get attention. On the other hand, if I don't give her the attention she is clearly craving, won't she just keep acting out until she gets it?

Sorry this is so long, but I wanted you guys to have the full picture.

I'm not sure that reinforcing naughty peeing is really the issue - it's one of the only ways cats have to tell you that they are extremely stressed. If she continues to be stressed she'll continue to pee.

I'd be inclined to give her all the attention she wants to let her know that you understand and that you love her. That's what she wants and needs, and fixing that should fix the peeing.

Nedicks sound a lot like Bootsie. Bootsie also pees when she is stressed and it seems that something always happens to her while I, or my bf, are away for a while (eye infection, crystals, ...).

But, she has been better since I started treating the crystals. Currently she is on Purina UR (after they deemed her ready to go off of hills s/d).

Sometimes I think a cat can make themselves sick from stress so I try to make sure things are as stress-free as possible before I go. The litter boxes all get cleaned and get new litter. The cat sitter is informed to watch the kitties eat and prevent Monty from going after Bootsie's food. They have comfortable spots set out for sleeping and I get them a buttload of new mice to play with and tear into little pieces.

When Bootsie does have stress related accidents, though, she usually continues to have them until I retrain her. This is done by shutting her in the bathroom with her cat carrier (open, with blanket, she uses it as a bed), a few toys, food, water, and of course her favorite cat box. 2-3 days of this is sufficient, just long enough that she pees in the box 2 or 3 times. You can let her out from time to time if you are willing to watch her, or if she recently peed in the box.

Thanks for your response Satai. I've been giving her all the cuddles she wants, because really I can't resist, but I'm glad to hear that this is not going to make her think "peeing on Meowmy's stuff"="good girl".

Any thoughts on why this trip upset her so much when she's been fine in the past?

Even though it is more than likely a behavior problem from the stress of you being gone, with her history it wouldn't be a bad idea to have her vet check her urine. There is more and more information linking stress to cystitis.

It may not hurt to try a Feliway Diffuser (or spray) in the room that she is spraying to help with some of the anxiety.

Thanks for everyone's responses. There have only been the two incidents, last night and this morning, and since then all has been normal. I think I have solved the mystery of why she is so stressed after this particular trip. This morning I spoke to my dad, who lives very close by, and he said there was an awful storm while we were gone, with lots of wind, thunder, lightning, trees coming down, etc. Being alone during that probably completely wigged the kitties out, and this is how Nedicks is showing it. My poor babies. They will both get lots of extra TLC.

Originally Posted by mamacat

Thanks for everyone's responses. There have only been the two incidents, last night and this morning, and since then all has been normal. I think I have solved the mystery of why she is so stressed after this particular trip. This morning I spoke to my dad, who lives very close by, and he said there was an awful storm while we were gone, with lots of wind, thunder, lightning, trees coming down, etc. Being alone during that probably completely wigged the kitties out, and this is how Nedicks is showing it. My poor babies.

They will both get lots of extra TLC.

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Poor sweet babies - you could all probably do with a cuddle fest after that.