Kitten (6mo) peeing outside litter box!!! Pls help!

[galatashdev]

Hello everyone, we adopted our kitten Bean when she was 4 and a half months ish January 24th at our shelter, and just two-three days ago she started going into heat. Our adoption fee included a spay, so I called and asked when they wanted to set up this appointment and they can't get her in until the 24th which I thought would be a breeze, but last night she peed on my bed and soaked all the way through. THANKFULLY my mattress pad stopped it from getting into the mattress and we quickly washed it and got the stain and the smell out! So we locked her out of the bedroom last night and she didn't pee at all, not even in the litter box. Then she decided to pee on the couch so I quickly took off the covers and sprayed the inside cushion with a cat urine spray cleaner I bought and hand washed the cushion quickly before it set. Right now I have her in her pen with litter box and her food and she's laying in her litter box. I called the vet before we put her in there and she said it could be a UTI but I looked up that cats pee outside the litter box when they are going into heat. We've had her for a month and she's had no problems with the litter box. Today she even poo'd in the litter box but decided to pee on the couch. I'm not sure what to do. How long does a heat cycle last? And should I let her out of the cage or keep her in there? I'm going to try to call the shelter tomorrow and see if there's any way we can get it done sooner but if this is because she's in heat then don't we have to wait until she's done with her cycle anyway?? I have been catching it right away thankfully but I don't want this to become a habit I'm so lost right now, our resident cat never did this and we got her spayed right away when signs of heat were showing.

 

[margd]

I'm sorry your kitten is causing such problems.  I would take her to the vet even though you suspect her problem urination may be due to her going into heat.  She should be checked out for a UTI, just in case. These can be very painful.

You could have her spayed while she's in heat but it is a more complicated operation and your shelter may not want to handle it.  On the other hand, it's definitely worth checking with them in case they do, and in case they can get her in sooner.  In the meantime, if there are any intact males around keep them away.

The time that cats stay in heat varies considerably.  The average I've read is 4 to 6 days but it is not at all uncommon for a cat to stay in heat longer, especially if there is an intact male around.  If you're lucky, your kitten might be one of those who stays in heat 3 days or shorter.

The best thing to do when it comes to clean-up is to use an enzyme cleaner, such as Nature's Miracle.  There are plenty of other similar products on the market - just do a search on amazon to see some of them.  Enzyme cleaners actually break down the urine molecules to eliminate odor entirely. Other cleaners may  leave the soiled object odorless to our noses, but cats have a very sensitive sense of smell and can still smell things we can't.    It does help to get to the stain right away, as you've been doing.  [emoji]128077[/emoji]

About keeping her in her cage, does she have a lot of room in it?  If you can get a much earlier vet appointment to spay her,  it wouldn't hurt her to stay in there for a day or two. 

You might find this article of some help.    And good luck.   I guess a final resort is covering furniture with plastic since this problem shouldn't last long. 

[article="32366"]How To Solve Litterbox Problems In Cats The Ultimate Guide  [/article]

 

[galatashdev]

I'm sorry your kitten is causing such problems.  I would take her to the vet even though you suspect her problem urination may be due to her going into heat.  She should be checked out for a UTI, just in case. These can be very painful.

You could have her spayed while she's in heat but it is a more complicated operation and your shelter may not want to handle it.  On the other hand, it's definitely worth checking with them in case they do, and in case they can get her in sooner.  In the meantime, if there are any intact males around keep them away.

The time that cats stay in heat varies considerably.  The average I've read is 4 to 6 days but it is not at all uncommon for a cat to stay in heat longer, especially if there is an intact male around.  If you're lucky, your kitten might be one of those who stays in heat 3 days or shorter.

The best thing to do when it comes to clean-up is to use an enzyme cleaner, such as Nature's Miracle.  There are plenty of other similar products on the market - just do a search on amazon to see some of them.  Enzyme cleaners actually break down the urine molecules to eliminate odor entirely. Other cleaners may  leave the soiled object odorless to our noses, but cats have a very sensitive sense of smell and can still smell things we can't.    It does help to get to the stain right away, as you've been doing.  [emoji]128077[/emoji]
About keeping her in her cage, does she have a lot of room in it?  If you can get a much earlier vet appointment to spay her,  it wouldn't hurt her to stay in there for a day or two. 

You might find this article of some help.    And good luck.   I guess a final resort is covering furniture with plastic since this problem shouldn't last long.  :catguy:

[article="32366"] [/article]

Thank you for your response. Just to update a little bit, we let her out of the pen right away, I felt bad and she was good all night (we locked her out of the bedroom). Woke up this morning and I didn't see any accidents. Saw a little piddle on the carpet but didn't smell like urine. I did clean it with Nature's Miracle just in case! We took all the cushions off the couch and layer garbage bags over it and put blankets on top of that and there was no pee thankfully. Put the couch back together today and left the bedroom door open all day to see if she was okay and she didn't pee on anything thankfully. Actually she peed in the litter box last night, I'm not sure about today? Called the vet and updated them as well and they agreed that we should just monitor her and if she does do it again to bring her in. I personally think it was stress related, because we were gone all day right after she got a distemper. And she did it as soon as we got home, I thought it was because my boyfriend showered with the door close and she couldn't access her litter box but then our friends came over and she did on the couch the next morning but now she seems okay so maybe she had anxiety?? That was the first time we have left her alone all day and I'm thinking that just have gotten to her. We wrapped the couch cushions with garbage bags and put blankets on top of them so we are prepared for an accident now! I just hope it doesn't happen! She doesn't seem like she has a UTI. She's not frequently urinating or visiting her box or anything like that so fingers crossed!!! She must have been a 3-day cat because she seems to be out of heat now!

 

[margd]

This is all good news.   I would have let her out of the cage as well, btw.  

  

The peeing really might be due to stress - the timing seems to support that.  Did she hide when your friends come over?   Both of my cats now are real show-offs but I've had ones who zipped under the bed the moment there was a knock on the door.  You might try getting some Feliway spray and spraying it around before, during and after visitors.  (The during part would be near wherever she's hiding.)  Feliway has mixed reviews but when it works, it's terrific and is worth trying.  Its formula is based on that of pheromones that cats release when they are content.  

As for the three day heat -  wonderful!  

 

[galatashdev]

This is all good news.   I would have let her out of the cage as well, btw.  :catguy:   

The peeing really might be due to stress - the timing seems to support that.  Did she hide when your friends come over?   Both of my cats now are real show-offs but I've had ones who zipped under the bed the moment there was a knock on the door.  You might try getting some Feliway spray and spraying it around before, during and after visitors.  (The during part would be near wherever she's hiding.)  Feliway has mixed reviews but when it works, it's terrific and is worth trying.  Its formula is based on that of pheromones that cats release when they are content.  

As for the three day heat -  wonderful!  

She doesn't hide when people come over but my friends don't understand that cats are not like dogs and don't like to be smothered every second. So they would constantly be touching her and picking her up and petting her and whilst they were here, we had our bedroom door shut so she wouldn't pee on the bed again and I don't know if all that mixed with being locked out of the bedroom just set her over the edge but she hasn't peed on anything today either. We left the bedroom door open last night and she didn't pee on the bed or the couch so thank God!!!

She did pee in her litterbox again last night, and deficated. So hopefully it was stress. She has only met my friends once before and though she didn't have issues then, maybe they fact that she couldnt come into the bedroom made her pee again so I guess time will tell!! I will look into the spray thank you.

 

[galatashdev]

I just want to give an update that two days ago she started going into heat and last night was when it was full blown and she once again peed outside of the litterbox on the bed so we stuffed her in the bathroom for the night. It's only happening when she's in heat, so I don't think it's a UTI since she has been fine these past two weeks since she ended her heat last time. But I was reading that "spraying" is against a vertical surface but she's squatting like she's peeing? She is currently eating and I've seen her pee in her litterbox twice today. We have kept close eye on her so this doesn't happen again but is there any other tips I could try? Still 10 more days until she gets fixed and hopefully she'll go back to normal. I bought one of those emergency blankets made out of aluminum from Walmart since I seen that was suggested in the a different forum, trying to keep her off the bed, but she thought it was a toy and immediately ripped a hole in it lol. So we have garbage bags laid over the couch cushions and are keeping the door shut. I don't know what else to do. I wouldn't mind if she went on the carpet, I could get that out quick and no big deal but cleaning couch cushions is a bit of a pain. And we live in an apartment so having to wash a blankets every time this happen is expensive. I know that you guys will probably just tell me to wait until she's spayed and I understand that, I just wanted to give an update I suppose and make sure everything is okay. Has anyone else had this before? My two female cats growing up would pee on everything when they would go into heat. But when I told the vet I think it's because she's in heat she said that's probably not it but there's no other explanation.

 

[margd]

Thank you for the update!

   I really wish I had more ideas for you to try but the only thing I can think of is to add a couple more litter boxes near the problem areas and to place a few soft cushions on the floor nearby as substitutes for your couch and bed.  Having said that, I have to admit that I don't know how much such cushions would cost but perhaps you could find some in a Goodwill or other source of secondhand goods.  

To answer your question about spraying - my experience with spraying females is a bit limited but they have always stood up, just like the males. 

I'm really sorry you're having to go through this.  Hopefully,  she will only be in heat three days again.

    Please let us know what happens.

 

[galatashdev]

Now that I think about it I have never seen her actually "pee" but I catch her immediately because she is scratching the blankets. Each time she pees she's done it while we were right next to her and we don't notice until she already did it so she might be standing up but I always assumed she was squatting since it was always on a flat surface.

She has been good today so far. We've been watching her like a hawk, haha! If she is only a 3-day heat cat, she should be done tomorrow so fingers crossed!! Thanks for the advice! If she does it again anywhere tomorrow I will look into a cushion or maybe some pee pads.

Will update you in the future if anything else happens! Thanks so much!