Cat Peeing On Dog Bed -updated

AlmostThurber

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Help! I had suspected it but outright today caught our 9 month old, spayed indoor-only female peeing on the dog bed. She did the pawing/scratching on the “bumpers” and perched on the bumper bed part and peed on the flat part then pretended to scratch to cover it.
We have 2 dogs, one of which she bullies. She’s currently in a slightly “aggressive” phase. I have a Feliway diffuser in the house but can’t tell it’s helping.
Has anyone switched to “cot style” dog beds because of this? My dogs are old and need soft beds. We have 2 dog beds in our room I don’t think she’s messed with. This bed she peed in was the den. Her litter box is in a spare room right off the den. We use the pellet based Tidy Cats Breeze cat box.
Of course we will take her to the vet to rule out a UTI but she seems young and healthy for that...could drinking the same water as the dogs cause a UTI?
 

She's a witch

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actually, I would take to the vet the dog that she bullies. Cats sometimes get aggressive if they feel weakness/sickness in other cats/animals/humans.
 
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AlmostThurber

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actually, I would take to the vet the dog that she bullies. Cats sometimes get aggressive if they feel weakness/sickness in other cats/animals/humans.
Thanks. The one she bullies is 13, so not surprising.
 

FelisCatus

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You mentioned using a Feliway diffuser... how many do you have/or how big of a room is it in? I think on the box it says it requires one per 250sq ft, so a large room... if there's one upstairs on the second floor it won't be doing anything downstairs in the living room. Ideally you would have 1 per floor, but I myself have 4 all around, it gets costly since they require monthly refills. It would be a war zone here without them though.
 
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AlmostThurber

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Update and grasping at straws here:
Spayed 10 month old cat has been peeing on the dog beds. We have 2 dogs, 11 and 13 years old. Nowhere else. Yet. (Thank God).
She uses a TidyCats Breeze pellet system.
We have tile floors entirely except in our closets which are still carpeted.
Had her checked by vet thoroughly and is healthy.
Added a 2nd Breeze system which she began using right away.
Still peeing on dog beds.
When she pees on the dog beds, she scratches the nonexistent litter and perches as though she’s in her box.
Our dogs also frequently sleep on a sofa, a chair, very short pile rugs by the bed and in my husband’s carpeted closet, none of which she’s peed on. Neither does she pee on bath mats.
Once, I caught her “scratching” on the dog bed (as though at invisible litter), picked her up and put her on the litter box which she promptly used.
Questions/Straws I’m grasping at:
I’ve ordered a 2nd Feliway diffuser to see if it will help. Not here yet.
I’ve ordered a Sergeant pheromone collar. Not here yet.
I’ve put out old bath mats for the dogs to hang out on tonight (they have rubber bottoms and are washable after all) to see if that helps while giving them a soft place to lay.
I am thinking of having a local upholsterer sew me a couple of faux leather/vinyl “pillowcases” for new dog beds I ordered to see if that helps,
Thoughts? (She’s so sweet and beautiful, our hearts are breaking over this).
 

Furballsmom

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Hi!
I like your idea of upholstering the new beds, hopefully that and the other products help with this :vibes::crossfingers:
 
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AlmostThurber

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I put the old bath mats out earlier. Dogs seem to like and cat has sniffed at the rugs but that’s it so far. I googled “vinyl dog beds” and “faux leather dog beds” and found nothing. Hard to believe between issues like dog drool, cat pee, and other bodily fluids plus pet hair and dust. Maybe I have a million dollar idea?
 

jcat

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What are the dog beds filled with? The scent of whatever it is - foam, cotton, polyester, etc. - may be encouraging her to urinate on them. For example, a lot of cats will pee on no-skid bath mats.

It might help if the replacement beds have a totally different filler.
 

lavishsqualor

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It's bizarre but a vet once told me that cats will urinate on things in an attempt to cover the smells of others they don't like. She said a patient came in once with a cat who had NEVER urinated outside the box but was now peeing in the owner's bed. After a series of diagnostic tests she discovered in conversation that the owners boyfriend had begun sleeping over and wasn't being too kind to the cat. In essence the cat was attempting to get rid of the boyfriend's odor by urinating on his side of the bed.

Given that your cat bullies the dog I'm wondering if she's doing something similar by peeing in his bed.
 

Rhall

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What are the dog beds filled with? The scent of whatever it is - foam, cotton, polyester, etc. - may be encouraging her to urinate on them. For example, a lot of cats will pee on no-skid bath mats.

It might help if the replacement beds have a totally different filler.
I wondered this also. I once had a dog bed filled with cedar chips and found this had happened too. I got rid of it.
 

di and bob

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Maybe you could try one regular litter box, with regular litter? It might be novel enough she may want to go there instead of on the bed. Some cats like one kind of pee to use for that and another for pooping. It wouldn't hurt to try!
 

Jem

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Did you end up bringing your dog to the vet to check if s/he is OK? That could still be a possibility.
 
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