1 year old kitten has peed laying down since I adopted her

[SoftAries]

It's been a little while since I last posted here. But I'm back!

I really did figure I'd end up having to come back to ask this question, as my caliby, Keaton, was already doing this when I first got her a year ago.
But, she has this tendency to lay down when she pees. She never pees on herself, it's almost as if she's figured out how to do it without getting any of the urine near her.

She was born in the shelter, and shows a lot of signs of being taken away way too early from her mother. I thankfully adopted another kitten at the exact same time who's done a lot to help teach her how to be a normal cat. But again, she still has quite a lot of weird tendencies. Peeing while laying down being one of them.

Any thoughts on this would be awesome!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Short of trying to stand her up and see what she does, I have no idea. It won't likely change her behavior with doing it just a few times, but she might 'get it' if you do it repeatedly. Does she hold a more typical position when she poops?

It probably isn't a big deal and may never be, unless in her older years she might be less inclined to hold whatever position she is using now that prevents her from peeing on herself.

I hope other members come along soon with some ideas for you!

 

[IzzysfureverMom]

Seeing as she is walking into the box, it is probably not anatomical. Though I think it makes FeebysOwner's question very important (how does she poop) . You said she has done this since you have had her.. I have see cats do this in shelters. I wonder if it because it has a familiar smell and they feel secure. It is not typical behavior for sure, but has been reported back to us that this no longer happened after they felt secure in their new home.Hoping for more thoughts on this here.

 

[Hellenww]

If she is healthy and pooping with a more traditional stance, I would think a quirk of her own. Perhaps a learned behavior from others at the shelter. "hide as low as you can behind the box side so predators don't see you're vulnerable"

 

[SoftAries]

Hi. Short of trying to stand her up and see what she does, I have no idea. It won't likely change her behavior with doing it just a few times, but she might 'get it' if you do it repeatedly. Does she hold a more typical position when she poops?

It probably isn't a big deal and may never be, unless in her older years she might be less inclined to hold whatever position she is using now that prevents her from peeing on herself.

I hope other members come along soon with some ideas for you!

Thank you so much for the response! She does poop normally. Actually never thought of trying that. I'm always afraid of causing litter box aversion by messing with the cats when they're in there.
But it's worth an attempt.

Seeing as she is walking into the box, it is probably not anatomical. Though I think it makes FeebysOwner's question very important (how does she poop) . You said she has done this since you have had her.. I have see cats do this in shelters. I wonder if it because it has a familiar smell and they feel secure. It is not typical behavior for sure, but has been reported back to us that this no longer happened after they felt secure in their new home.Hoping for more thoughts on this here.

If she is healthy and pooping with a more traditional stance, I would think a quirk of her own. Perhaps a learned behavior from others at the shelter. "hide as low as you can behind the box side so predators don't see you're vulnerable"

Both of you make extremely great points!! She was actually kept in a giant viewing room that was in the main entrance hallway to the back of the shelter that customers and workers constantly walked down/by with dogs. The room she was in was filled with many, many different kittens and was basically just a giant glass wall, no places for them to hide or do much except for lay on pillows.

I'm starting to think it's probably very much learned behavior as she does nothing else differently. And was also quite a fearful little thing when I brought her home. She spent the first two days laying on a giant pillow exactly like she used to do in that room.
And her sister, who was at another shelter and kept in a separate cat only room that had zero access to people unless you asked to go in, uses the box like a normal kitty.

I have a very well hidden litter box for her sister and her. Before when they were younger I had an exposed box that she'd do that in. But with this new one I can't ever see her using it when she's in it, as it's designed to give her more privacy. The only time I notice her doing that is when she uses the litter box of my older boy that's fully exposed.
I've never gone and checked to see if she uses the hidden one normally or not. I tend to like to leave them alone when they pee or poop.

I'm going to see if I can maybe sneak a peek on her the next time I hear her peeing just to see. Because I really feel that experience may be the reason!

Bless her soul, she may just be a candidate for cubby/covered litter boxes for the rest of her life. Which is fine