Cat Is Peeing On My Clothes!

[MomoCalico]

Hi there, I'm gonna be completely honest, I've run out of ideas and I'm not sure what to do. My cat Molly is a 4 year old Spayed Calico who doesn't really like other animals. Lately she's been peeing outside the litter box, but will still use the litter box (as I'm typing this she's using her litter box even). She's done it before but it was a separate incident that was rectified (Last time it was due to a bladder infection, which was corrected). This time, there's a few new stressors in the house.

She doesn't do well with other animals but has never had a problem with my mom's dog (she's an old Cocker who could care less that Molly is in the house), and has never peed in protest about her. Last week my sister and her family moved in with us, which includes her boyfriend, her daughter, and 2 dogs. Since they've moved in she's peed on my belongings twice in the past week!

I can't ask my sister to get rid of the dogs, nor would I want to. Just like Molly to me, she's family. And getting rid of Molly is OUT of the question. Any advice?

 

[di and bob]

It is entirely too much for that poor cat, new people, a child, AND dogs!? It's a wonder she hasn't totally freaked out. It will take a lot of time for her to get used to all this, are they there for long? When are you able to get a place of your own? If not for a while I would then say, pick your clothes up, she can't pee on them if they are hung up or in a drawer. Any changes in a cat's life is very upsetting to them. try to keep her separated from them with a place to hide. She's peeing on your clothes because she is claiming you to the invaders. Getting rid of your cat when you were there first is ridiculous, the dogs should be kept outside and kenneled when they are in, or kept in a separate area.

 

[ArtNJ]

Clothes that are laying around are a frequent target of cats that are sick, stressed or not fully trained (i.e. kittens). It might be as simple as doing a better job putting your clothes out of reach. I mean, don't get me wrong, you should address the stress too, but this immediate problem may be a matter of making sure that clothes aren't accessible. Of course, there are other favorite targets for stressed cats (bedspreads, bath mats, area rugs & if you are unlucky a corner), so I guaranty nothing, but its worth a try. Also, habits are a PITA, so even if you fixed the stress, no guaranty it would stop if the clothes stay accessible.

 

[Kieka]

I have been in almost the exact same situation. I had a little female cat, my brother, his wife and their newborn moved in with us. It was too much for my cat and her stress level rose. It caused her to start peeing everywhere which in turn caused our other female to start peeing everywhere. I cannot tell you how much time and money I spent doing everything I could think of to fix it. I wish I had known about this site at that point.

I wish my tale had a happy ending. After 9 months my cat peed on my nieces bed and my brother flipped out. At that point I decided to rehome both cats because the situation in our home wasn’t going to change any time soon. I was working a minimum wage job and away for 10-12 hours a day, I was out of money and didn’t have time. Both cats were under 2 so they were young enough to find homes.

It was the hardest decision of my life and I still regret it. I still wonder how they are doing 10 years later. I still am ashamed and embarrassed that I made that choice. Despite knowing that the cats were better outside of the situation (which lasted for 7 years and I didn’t get my current cats until my brothers family moved out).

Since that point I have learned a lot more and had a lot of what if conversations with myself. I even had to revisit the what if recently because my brother and his wife separated and He moved in with us. I had a very frank discussion with him this time around about how he was to act to the cats and what their routine is. He’s grown up since the first time around and sees that my cats are more then just stupid animals (as he called them the first time). I am not going through that again and he is on board to stop it from happening again.

What would I do if one of the cats started to react badly and my brother wasn’t on board?

I would make my bedroom the cats only place to be. Catify the heck out of that room. Litter box. Water. Food. Cat trees. Wall shelf. Toys. Feliway plug in. Cat bed. Cat tent. I would not allow in the dogs. I would not allow in anyone who stressed the cat.

Once the cat had settled in the room and things calmed I may consider supervised excursions into the rest of the house. But I think it would be better to just have the cat in it’s sanctuary. Smaller but safe and secure.

This, of course, assumes that you have already ruled out a reoccurrence of the medical issues you mention previously occurred. I do realize that I may be jaded from the past so you may also want to check out this article about other causes of litterbox issues: How To Solve Litterbox Problems In Cats: The Ultimate Guide

 

[Mamanyt1953]

You know, it also occurs to me that your clothes smell like YOU, and she is frantically trying to assert that YOU belong to HER, and that this is HER place.