Kitten peed on my bed

[weldrwomn]

Archimedes actually peed on my bed - very frustrating.

Here is my theory though:

He is 4.5mos old (approx) and he had spent an hour tearing around the house playing with Darcy. As I was headed to bed, he tore into the bedroom at full speed, jumped on the bed, squatted and peed.

Is it possible that (just like a young child) he forgot to listen to his body?

This is the first time it has happened and I would prefer for him to use the litterbox instead of the bed. I haven't had a cat this young before, so I don't know if my theory holds water.

 

[strange_wings]

Originally Posted by WELDRWOMN

He is 4.5mos old (approx) and he had spent an hour tearing around the house playing with Darcy. As I was headed to bed, he tore into the bedroom at full speed, jumped on the bed, squatted and peed.

Did he do anything before squatting? Sniff around a little?

It's possible that he forgot. Though at close to 5 months, it shouldn't really happen. That's more of something an 8 week old kitten would do. At his age, where he born feral, he'd be mostly fending for himself right now - that's where his development would be.

I'm thinking, since it was a bed, that it was scent marking. The bed smells like you and probably like Darcy. He wanted his scent up there. It's also up higher than Darcy would have been, thus an urge to claim it.

Clean it up thoroughly, add a bedroom litter box just in case. Have a bed cover on the mattress in case he does it again when you're not there. And make sure you get him neutered soon as he may be one of those cats more driven to scent mark through urinating.
Hopefully it's only a one time thing.

 

[weldrwomn]

He has an appointment on Oct 21st to get his furry little attachments cut off. I really hope it will mellow him out and stop any future scent marking.

Having two really mellow cats, this is a very rude awakening.

He doesn't get the run of the house unless we are home, but not while we are sleeping. After the peeing incident, he doesn't get to go in the bedroom at all. When he is not being supervised, he stays in the mudroom.

 

[strange_wings]

Well, he can't stay in the mudroom forever.

for his upcoming neuter. I hope it's completely uneventful.

I really do hope it's a one time thing. If you notice him going outside the box in the mudroom or acting like he's having any problems, of course get him checked for a UTI.

 

[otto]

Neutering is not going to change the fact that he is a kitten though, and kittens go go go.

How much time do you give to him, one on one interactive play? Being in the mud room alone too much will cause him to bust out, once he's out and about. Kittens need a ton of stimulation.

Queen Eva has Cat TV (birds fed on the outside windowsill) Tolly, Mazy and Jennie to play with, and they dote on her and play with her a lot, but she still needs play time with me a couple of times a day.

And even with all that, she still finds the energy to get into mischief.

It's been over 11 years since I've had a kitten in the house. I'm enjoying it a lot!

I think, based on your description

As I was headed to bed, he tore into the bedroom at full speed, jumped on the bed, squatted and peed.

it does sound like he just forgot where he was.

If it happens again, I'd get him in to the vet to check for UTI trouble.

 

[weldrwomn]

Thankfully, it just happened that one time. Other than that, he is very good about using the litterbox.

As for being in the mudroom, he really is in there a lot, but when hubby and I get home in the evenings, we let him roam the house. Usually from 4pm-10pm. Since we have only had him 1.5 weeks, we were giving the girls time to get used to him but still have their own space.

He is so intense at feeding time, we have to feed him in the mudroom - away from the girls. He has known starvation and will not let the girls eat in peace. I am really finding him to be very frustrating.

 

[strange_wings]

Originally Posted by WELDRWOMN

I am really finding him to be very frustrating.

Welcome to having a kitten!

And a male kitten at that. Give him time, he'll settle down a bit once he's into the routine of things. Hopefully his eating slows as he ages.

 

[cheylink]

Originally Posted by WELDRWOMN

Thankfully, it just happened that one time. Other than that, he is very good about using the litterbox.

As for being in the mudroom, he really is in there a lot, but when hubby and I get home in the evenings, we let him roam the house. Usually from 4pm-10pm. Since we have only had him 1.5 weeks, we were giving the girls time to get used to him but still have their own space.

He is so intense at feeding time, we have to feed him in the mudroom - away from the girls. He has known starvation and will not let the girls eat in peace. I am really finding him to be very frustrating.

Definitely a good thing that he will be neutered soon. When you feed him separately, do you stay with him?
I think since he is at the age of intense play mode, and only allowed to interact those 5-6 hours each day, that he gets very wound up and in the heat of the moment, peed on your bed.
I think if possible it would help to let him interact in the morning before you leave, even if it is only for an hour. This is when they are most active so it would really help him to release that energy.

 

[gingersmom]

Ginger peed on my bed once, right where I lay down, but she was under 3 months old at the time. From then on, I was HERS.

For her, it was scent marking. For your boy, it may have been the same, but I'll agree with the others, I just think he wasn't thinking.

Spraying is a bit different than squatting. If he squats to pee on anything else, it could be a UTI.

Definately get those little nuggets taken off ASAP, though, that'll help a bunch!

 

[weldrwomn]

Update on Archie:

Since Thursday of last week, Archie has been sleeping inside at night. Over the weekend, he got free roam of the house.

Last night (Sunday), he ran upstairs and peed on my side of the bed again. This is the second time. He hadn't done this since I originally posted about it. This morning (Monday), he peed on the bath mat.

Can he have a UTI if he is already on antibiotics? He has been taking Amoxicillin since Friday evening for a suspected URI. He didn't actually see the vet, but the vet suspected that he was the carrier since I brought both the girls in because they lost their voices.

This whole peeing thing is making everybody in the house very upset (including the girls). I keep the litterbox very clean, but there is no way we can have more than one. There simply is no room in this very small house.

 

[strange_wings]

Sure he can. Just like a person can have an infection that doesn't respond to some antibiotics.

Since he's hitting a lot of stuff it's definitely time to get him in to be checked. It could even be crystals - which an antibiotic will do nothing to prevent.

How small is very small? My home is 1390sqft total. The cats are not allowed into five of the rooms - except for the den bathroom which Sherman is only allowed in to eat. I'm not sure what those rooms measure out to, but I'd be willing to bet the space allowed the cats is 900sqft or less. I have 7 litter boxes. I had to get a bit creative with placement, some are side by side.
Where there's a will, there's a way and all ~

ETA: Rough estimate since I rounded up because I have odd shaped rooms - 936sqtf. A little more than I expected, actually.

 

[cococat]

Sorry this is happening. Sharing a one small bathroom area with a couple others might be aggravating the situation. I would add an extra box or really two. I wonder how often one has to go but it is in use. That could be stressful for a cat.

 

[weldrwomn]

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Sure he can. Just like a person can have an infection that doesn't respond to some antibiotics.

Since he's hitting a lot of stuff it's definitely time to get him in to be checked. It could even be crystals - which an antibiotic will do nothing to prevent.

How small is very small? My home is 1390sqft total. The cats are not allowed into five of the rooms - except for the den bathroom which Sherman is only allowed in to eat. I'm not sure what those rooms measure out to, but I'd be willing to bet the space allowed the cats is 900sqft or less. I have 7 litter boxes. I had to get a bit creative with placement, some are side by side.
Where there's a will, there's a way and all ~

ETA: Rough estimate since I rounded up because I have odd shaped rooms - 936sqtf. A little more than I expected, actually.

Our house is 750sqft. The litterbox is in the laundry room which is connected to the bathroom. The only option for two boxes is to downsize and put them side-by-side. Right now we have a really large TidyCats enclosed box.

The weird thing is about 15min after we think Archie peed on the bathmat this morning, he went right into the litterbox and pooed.

I called the vets office this morning and made an appointment for this afternoon.

Yesterday, when I got home from washing the comforter at the laundromat, hubby and I went through the house with a blacklight. We found former puke stains that were cleaned with nature's miracle, but no pee.

 

[strange_wings]

What rooms do you have? Everything but a kitchen is ok to cram a box in - cause IMO, a litter box in the kitchen is just gross.

Can you fit an uncovered box in the bedroom? Or maybe moved the covered one there and put two uncovered ones there the current box is? As long as it's scooped frequently odor won't be too bad - and definitely preferable to a peed on bed.

With so many cats you have to expect someone to get fussy. Nothing is ever simple, they make sure of that.

Also, you're extremely creative! If anyone had to find a way to hide a litter box in plain sight, I bet you could.

 

[weldrwomn]

Unfortunately, box placement is not totally up to me. There is a person with the power of veto - that being the hubby. The litterbox(es) are limited to non-carpeted flooring areas only. Which for now is the laundry room or bathroom. Archie's other box is in the mudroom where he is staying during the days until we get this solved.

The girls have never been this much of a problem

 

[strange_wings]

I have carpet in the den, there's no problem with litter boxes in here. I have mats in front of them. The only thing I've found that happens, and obviously in your home too, is that any barfing cat will run straight to the carpet.

Litter, if it makes it off the mats, actually tracks less on the carpet.

Still, remind him that compromise is better than urine soaked bedding.

 

[weldrwomn]

Well, I had a long talk with hubby and we figured out how to make two litterboxes work for us.

Also, The vet kept Archie over night to get a urine sample and it came back positive for a UTI even though Archie was already taking Amoxicillin.

 

[ldg]

Oh poor baby! I'm so glad you got him to the vet though - UTIs in males are dangerous. Having girls, you may not know that boys have very thin urethras, and they can block easily - then the urine backs up into their system and becomes toxic. The UTI could be stress-induced from all the changes going on in his little life, but it's just something to be aware of and to keep an eye on.

While I'm sure the UTI was the issue, as to the bath mat... just checking - did it have that rubbery backing? For some reason cats seem really attracted to peeing on those. We had to replace our bath mat with one that has no backing on it.



Also, you can buy some fake grass, and cut out what you need to cover a carpeted area - leaving some extra room - and put a box on that. It does a great job of catching litter as they leave the box and is really easy to clean. (We live in 320 sq. feet with 8 cats and three boxes. The only area that isn't carpeted is the kitchen area).