Peeing issue

[weldrwomn]

Diesel, my 1yr old tabby, is having an inappropriate peeing issue.  He is a neutered male.  I have consulted the vet about the issue and he doesn't have a urinary tract infection or anything physically wrong.

The problem is that between the hours of 3:30 and 4:30am, he gets really excited about the possibility of being fed and he pees on the bed.  This only happens a couple of times a month, but it is not acceptable.  We have a feliway diffuser plugged in, and he uses the litterbox the rest of the time, but it is like he is so excited about food that he forgets to answer the call of nature until it is too late.  

We cannot close the bedroom door during the night because there would be no air and we would bake to death lol.  

Are there any ideas why he is doing this and what I can do to stop this behavior?

 

[whollycat]

So glad you took him to the vet. How often do you feed him? What times do you usually feed him? If only twice per day, could you schedule a later third meal close to bedtime so he's not so hungry at that early time of morning?

He's still pretty young, so feeding him at least three times a day should not be too much. If you do feel this is too much you could make his last late meal of the day later, and smaller, but still at night before you head to bed; if he's still waking you up, you could up the amount of this third feeding.

Or...maybe invest in an automatic feeder that you use at night. Just time it to feed him his canned (I hope!) food sometime during the night after you go to bed. I would practice with the feeder beforehand, though, so he gets used to it--you could set it to go off say an hour after you fill it with food (or if the timer you use does 5-minute increments, do that), then while you are still up show it to him so he gets the idea that there is food in there. It may take a few times for him to get the idea.

Love Diesel's name! I always call Abby my "454 Chevy" because he has such a loud purr.

Hope this helps a bit!

 

[weldrwomn]

We do feed him three times a day with the last time being right before bed.  Right now, our only option is to put him in the mudroom at night with his own litterbox.  I would like to figure out if this is common behavior or if there is something else I can do besides sequestering him at night.