Cat keeps peeing on the bed.

[Norachan]

Hi,

I originally posted this on another thread but I think it has been overlooked so I'll post it again here.

I have a problem with my 18 month old female cat, Chicken.

A bit of background, she was a stray kitten that I took in, along with her three sisters, when she was about six months old. All four of them have been spayed and for the first year she didn't have any litter box issues at all.

About two weeks ago she started peeing on the pile of towels I left in the bathroom. I washed the towels every time and replaced them with different ones, so I don't think it was the smell that was making her think that was the right place to pee. Also, as it was the same place every time I thought it unlikely that she has a UTI but could I be wrong?

I then decided to remove all the towels, the wire rack they were stacked on doesn't interest her at all but she has now started peeing on my bed. I usually either catch her in the act or notice what she has done within a few minutes, as I'm IN the bed at the time Every time the sheets and duvet go through the hottest wash, the mattress is aired and sprayed with enzyme cleaners then the whole lot gets sprayed with this citrus stuff that is supposed to break down any remaining odours. Honestly, it has such a sickly sweet lemon smell I think it would mask pretty much anything.

After three bed-wetting incidents in five days I decided to make her a bed in the laundry room. She had her blanket, food, water and a litter box but nothing else absorbent that she could pee on. At 5 a.m. this morning she started crying and scratching at the door so I let her outside. At 7.30 she came back in, made a bee-line for the bed and peed on it.

There were five clean litter boxes available at the time and the window was still open, but she chose the bed.

I think she might be jealous because there are a lot of stray kittens around at the moment. She gets on well with them and they all play together in the garden, but as I'm getting the females TNR'd at the moment there is often one or two kittens in the house over night.

Do you think she's doing this to get more of my attention? Anything I can do to stop this? She already gets lots of "Chicken time", gets fed first and played with a lot more than any of the others do, but she still doesn't seem happy.

Thanks for reading such a long post, I'd welcome any suggestions.

UPDATE.

In the past two days I've been keeping Chicken in the laundry room or outside when I can't be there to supervise her and letting her go wherever she likes when I'm home and awake. She's been very good about using the litter box in "her" room but she doesn't like it in there, spends most of the night crying and peeling the wall paper off the walls.

Any idea about what's causing her to pee on the bed and how I can stop her from doing it? 

As I said, no bed wetting since Sunday morning but I think she's just biding her time......

 

[mani]

I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to rule out a UTI. 

But other kittens around could be stressing her.  It's such a frustrating thing, but it may be that she will just settle down of her own accord. However it's really important to reduce all stressors. 

You're doing all the right things in terms of giving her quality time.  Also make sure her routine is kept to.. this will make her more secure. 

And you could try a Feliway diffuser.

 

[cesg]

two years of age is a pretty common age for kitties who are going to be dealing with urinary issues to present themselves.  so at 18 months I would not rule out urinary issues simply because you don't think it is.  Especially if you feed dry food.

inappropriate elimination is a huge red flag that something is wrong in your cat's world, and more often than not it is medical.  Even if there are known stressors in the cat's world, and you want to chalk the inappropriate behavior to that, you have to remember that stress is very hard on a cat and it very quickly can turn into a medical issue.

get your kitty to the vet.  if they give you antibiotics, ask if there was an actual bacterial infection - because more often than not urinary issues are 'sterile".  Do not give anitibiotics unless there is an actual bacterial infection.

if crystals are found, chances are they are going to try to sell you 'prescription food' that either treats the issue by increasing salt and thus hopfully increasing thirst or with an added ingredient that helps keeps the urine closer to the normal acidic levels for a healthy cat.  both of these foods are very low quality foods and often you can do much better feeding a high protein low carb (and low plant based) canned food and if you feel the need you can add extra water.  Vet foods are 'easy' and require little thought and monitoring.. but they are expensive.. 

http://catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth

 

[Ms. Freya]

One thing you could try is one box of a different litter...she might be drawn to something a bit different. I agree with Mani, though, that its worth a vet visit to completely rule out a UTI. You could also try a covered litter box. If she's feeling exposed with the other kittens it may help.