Cat peeing/pooping on the bed

[VadGTI]

This started several months ago. We don't know how old she is, but we've had her since 2008 and at that point, she already had kittens (we found her living under our house with one surviving kitten and kept both). She's always had random pee/poop issues where we'd find that she sometimes peed and pooped in random spots around the house (maybe once or twice a month). For the last several months, however, she has essentially been going in our bed. This seemed to coincide with my girlfriend's work schedule change in April (she now gets up much, much earlier than before and I am now in charge of cat breakfast, etc.), starting a few weeks later.

She only does it on my side of the bed, and even does it when I'm sleeping, peeing all over me, the sheets and my blanket. She's even peed on my pillow. This isn't some hatred of me, she definitely loves me, sleeps on me, crawls into my arms and rides my shoulders when I get home.

We got tired of daily sheet replacements/laundry and started putting down puppy training pads all over the bed. This has emboldened her. She's essentially stopped using the litter box almost completely. This doesn't seem to be an incontinence issue, as she intentionally makes her way from other rooms to pee/poop on these pads on the bed, walking by multiple litter boxes on the way. If we lock her out of the bedroom, her 2nd favorite spot to now poop/pee is a glass bowl on top of the microwave.

We've tried several things, including feeding her on the bed so that she associates the space with food and not a spot for her toilet habits (this failed), spraying vinegar (failed), and using enzyme cat urine cleaners (zero effect).

Bizarrely, we are now seeing a "copycat" phenomenon happening. Another one of our cats has been watching this happen and has now decided that she will also pee on these puppy training pads from time to time.

Any thoughts on what can be done about this?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. When was she last seen by a vet for a thorough checkup? This sounds like it could be a urinary tract infection, which can deter a cat from wanting to use the litter box. They correlate their discomfort with the box and not their body. I would consider a complete geriatric exam as the first thing to do to rule out health related issues. Based on the timeline she is over 15 years old, which does mean she is considered not just a senior but a geriatric cat - and a lot of stuff can start to go wrong with a cat that age.

In the meantime, try placing puppy pee pads inside a litter box, and/or perhaps even a low sided cardboard box lid and she if she will use them. This would be exceptionally helpful if her current boxes are higher sided - that too could be an issue as she may have some arthritis that also causes discomfort. Show them to her so that she knows they are different from the 'standard' litter boxes. Your copycat is probably doing the same thing perhaps because she can smell the urine, especially if the pee pads are 'used' when she finds them, and so it seems to her an "OK" place to go. That might all stop once you can get things situated with the first cat.
There are also human bed pads that are washable, as another option.

You can place a tarp - or, even a shower curtain over your bed to help deter her from going on the bed. That might not be the best option while you are trying to sleep but might help if she goes there at other times. If you buy a new tarp or shower curtain, let it air out before using it as they can carry quite a smell right out of the bag.

I don't know what kind of flooring you are dealing with, but here are some TCS articles about removing urine from various surfaces/items. For hard surfaces, including wood, others have used Fizzion or SCOE10X to rid the surfaces of urine.
How To Get Cat Urine Smell Out Of Carpet: Effective, Non-toxic Solutions - TheCatSite
How to Successfully Combat Cat Urine - TheCatSite

This is a good start anyway!

 

[IndyJones]

In addition to the above a bedwetting matress protector might at least protect your matress from being ruined. They also sell pads large enough you could cover yourself with it. Probably not the most comfortable way to sleep but beats being covered in pee.

After looking they also make waterprrof duvet/comforter covers. Comforter goes inside and it zips closed.

 

[Alldara]

Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD) | International Cat Care

First step is...to the vet! Always to the vet first to make sure you're not dealing with an ongoing medical issue.


NExt step would be to ensure you have enough boxes and a type of litter that your cat prefers.

you'll also need to ensure proper cleaning so she doesn't associate these places with potty time anymore.
heres some ideas of different litter types:

 

[VadGTI]

Hi. When was she last seen by a vet for a thorough checkup? This sounds like it could be a urinary tract infection, which can deter a cat from wanting to use the litter box. They correlate their discomfort with the box and not their body. I would consider a complete geriatric exam as the first thing to do to rule out health related issues. Based on the timeline she is over 15 years old, which does mean she is considered not just a senior but a geriatric cat - and a lot of stuff can start to go wrong with a cat that age.

We actually had a vet appointment a month ago to check for a UTI but had to cancel because something came up. She's not exhibiting any signs of a UTI. Pees normal amounts, no blood in urine, no crying. Eating normally, behaving totally normally.

 

[FeebysOwner]

We actually had a vet appointment a month ago to check for a UTI but had to cancel because something came up. She's not exhibiting any signs of a UTI. Pees normal amounts, no blood in urine, no crying. Eating normally, behaving totally normally.

Sad to say, but my cat has had UTIs with no symptoms at all - including no inappropriate peeing/pooping. Other than one time, which apparently led to her peeing over the top of a high sided litter box - the other UTIs were found more or less happenstance. So, I guess you never know.

She could be developing FIC from stress related to the changes in your household.

 

[iPappy]

Sad to say, but my cat has had UTIs with no symptoms at all - including no inappropriate peeing/pooping. Other than one time, which apparently led to her peeing over the top of a high sided litter box - the other UTIs were found more or less happenstance. So, I guess you never know.

She could be developing FIC from stress related to the changes in your household.

V VadGTI , is she declawed?
One of my cats had no symptoms I had noticed, until I realized she was peeing "here and there" tiny little drops that I had previously missed. Luckily it wasn't an infection, but she did have cystitis.
If it's stress related as FeebysOwner suggested due to the changes in the house hold, it's possible that the symptoms of something like bladder inflammation have resolved, but now the bed peeing is a habit. Has she used the litter box at all since she began doing this? I've found watching my cats while they enter, use, and exit the litter box can tell me a lot about how they feel about it. (Scratching the sides of the box usually indicates they wish it were bigger, or jumping out of the box and shaking their feet off means they dislike the clumping litter and might prefer a pellet style litter, hesitating to go in means they might not find it clean enough or would prefer a box that is uncovered, etc.)
I've heard some stories where undiagnosed health conditions do cause behavioral problems. A check up at the vet would be a great first start, because there is nothing worse than considering an underlying medical problem a "behavior issue" and spending a lot of time and money trying to fix what a vet visit could fix much easier (and cheaper in the long run!)

 

[iPappy]

The Litter Box From Your Cat’s Point of View
This helped me re-assess the "litter box situation" at my house. I have 4 cats that are (or around) 15, two that are 11, and one who is 9 and the only time there is a problem with inappropriate elimination is if someone is sick. I hope this helps!

 

[Alldara]

We actually had a vet appointment a month ago to check for a UTI but had to cancel because something came up. She's not exhibiting any signs of a UTI. Pees normal amounts, no blood in urine, no crying. Eating normally, behaving totally normally.

Peeing outside the box can be a symptom of a UTI. Also of issues with pooping.

Nobel did everything quite normally up until his first emergency vet visit for a UTI. Never underestimate the power of a cat to hide what's going on.