5 month old kitten pees on my daughter’s bed

[SmillaBille]

Hello to you all! I need your wise advice... we adopted a kitten in September, our third cat. All started well, all cats got along rather quick. At first we had one litter box in the room (and 2 in the basement with access via cat door in the wall, the older cats always go there) for the kitten. All went well and then we noticed that the kitten uses also the litter boxes in the basement. So we moved the box down. The first morning after, in the morning when we all were awake, she went on our bed and literally peed on us. Ok, I thought, bad move with the litter box. But then a month passed, the litter boxes are still in the basement, I clean them 2 x a day and change the litter once a week and they all use it, no accidents. And now, the kitten starts peeing regularly on my daughter’s bed - always in the morning, always when she has just woken up. First it was once in a month and now it happens once in a week already. I don’t understand... she has no pain peeing, before she peed on her bed, she was downstairs near her litter box... Help!!! We are thinking of restricting the access in the mornings to our daughter’s room, I have washed in 90 degrees the sheets and blanket, sprayed lavender oil on the “pee-preferred” area... Has anyone any advice and experience? We have 3 cats and 3 litter boxes. All in one row, next to each other. I will try adding another box, and put it a bit aside...

 

[Rhall]

I would put a box back closer to your daughters room. I also would try cat attract (there is a kitten attract) litter.

Cat Attract™ Litter | Dr. Elsey's

 

[SmillaBille]

I would put a box back closer to your daughters room. I also would try cat attract (there is a kitten attract) litter.

Cat Attract™ Litter | Dr. Elsey's

The problem with putting a box in our rooms is that all 3 cats start using it and its super dirty in couple hours. And smells. It’s not like the kitten (a teenager really, she is 5 month old) doesn’t know where the 3 clean litter boxes are and she is using them all the time with no problem. The peeing in the bed is more like a habit...

 

[Rhall]

It's usually a reaction to something. I too have 3 cats and I know they will all start to use it - but something is upsetting the kitten so that she won't go downstairs. I would start with that first and clean it a couple of times daily. I would also restrict access to your daughters room.

 

[SmillaBille]

She goes downstairs, husband said that she actually went this morning and he saw her using the litter box in the basement. And then she comes up and pees in my daughter’s bed... it’s just that it happens always in the same manner - as soon as she wakes up, gets out of the bed. And not every day - used to be once a month, and now after a week of the last accident... Absolutely nothing out of ordinary has happened.

 

[She's a witch]

I’d have the litter boxes on the levels where cats are more active to avoid situations like this. And if you say all cats would start peeing in the litter box upstairs, it looks like they all prefer them to be closer to them.
You also need to clean the sheets and the mattress in your daughter room with the enzyme cleaner to get rid of the smell for the kitten.

 

[SmillaBille]

I really don’t think it’s the problem with litter boxes. All cats will go where ever the boxes are, not because they want them on all levels. And this happens literally only on Sundays, while I am still in bed and my daughter wakes up before me. This kitten has been with us since she was 2 month old, and this has happened only as of recently and 3 times. The litter boxes have always been in the same place and she uses them happily all the time...

 

[lucicat]

Having all the litter boxes in one area is the same as having only one box, according to Jackson galaxy and cat Behaviorists. You really need a box per cat and in different places.
It’s possible that the older cats are territorial about their boxes and make the little one feel afraid to go down there.
Anyway, I’d retrain by putting litter box as close to where she is peeing as possible. Make sure she isn’t stressed by other cats, make sure she is feeling confident in the space and gets playtime. Cat behavior is telling you something and you have to figure out what.
My guess is having all three boxes together is a problem.

 

[SmillaBille]

So the kitten is afraid to use litter box only every second Sunday? Because it’s always on Sundays. Like I said, I am sure it’s not about the boxes. And the litter boxes are not next to each other but in different places, on one level. Also, the kitten is the bully, not the older cats. She has no fear taking their food or dominate when playing. She is not stressed.

 

[She's a witch]

Even if the boxes in the basement are not the root cause of her peeing inappropriately, moving them closer to her may help to solve it, so I’d still move them up, hopefully temporarily if you don’t have a space for them on main level.
If that happens on weekend when usually most humans are around, maybe she doesn’t want to waste her time going down but wants to be around her people?
Or maybe it’s a dominance thing, if you say she’s acting dominant towards other cats, maybe she wants to mark her scent on the bed as well. Is she spayed?
She may also be doing it because she still feels her scent from the first time, so washing everything in the enzyme cleaner will take this scent away (she can still feel it even if you don’t).
Does she have a good relationship with your daughter? Does she treat her gently? Sometimes kids lacks sensitivity towards pets.
There’s always a cause for such peeing so you’d need to play a detective to find it.

 

[SmillaBille]

She is spayed. Other cats never sleep in my daughter’s bed. My daughter has been thought well and she is not rough with cats, but she likes to pick the little one up - but very gently. The kitten does not protest really. It is very strange, the timing, when she pees in her bed. I will take her to the vet too. And I will give her dewormer, just in case. But really, the litter box in my daughter’s room is not an option - I will not be able to tolerate it. I have super sensitive nose, I can feel the cat poo from 2 floors down behind closed doors... and it makes me nauseous. Just ordered the enzyme cleaner. I have washed all the sheets and blankets in 95 degrees - it will not be enough? I have also sprayed peppermint oil on my daughter’s bed... and we will keep the door closed. The problem is, that the kitten manages to pee literally in seconds when we have turned our backs...

 

[SmillaBille]

I also read that it’s worth trying to give snacks to the cat where she pees, to change the meaning of the spot. And I tried today, two other cats gladly jumped on the bed to snack, but the little one hesitated a lot.

 

[She's a witch]

I also read that it’s worth trying to give snacks to the cat where she pees, to change the meaning of the spot. And I tried today, two other cats gladly jumped on the bed to snack, but the little one hesitated a lot.

If she hesitated, maybe she indeed still can feel the scent, cats avoid eating where their “toilet” is, so hopefully the enzyme cleaner will be enough.

Going a bit off topic here: If you’re sensitive to poop’ smell, maybe it’s worth looking into if anything can be done to improve it.. Generally high protein, low carbs canned food gives the “better” smell, not mentioning that cats fed raw food have almost odorless poops, but that’s not an option for everyone.

 

[SmillaBille]

Any smell I can feel from a huge distance. My family smell nothing, while I smell even when a cat peed in the litter box. It’s awful And it’s not that they have super smelly pee or poo - I already give them indoor cat food... About raw meet I am not sure. We started to feed our old cat a raw chicken meet diet when she was diagnosed with some health problems. Her poo smelled anyway, but in 5 month she developed 2 different kinds of cancers - she was 16 years old but that happened awful fast. She died after 7 month. Don’t know, since then I am careful with raw meet.