Cat Pee

irenepaark

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My cat Hazel, (1 YO, Female) has been peeing on my sister’s bed nonstop. She is spayed and didn’t use to do this but she’s been on a new blanket at least 7x in one week. We even put a new litter box in the room but she looks at it and doesn’t use it. I spray non-marking spray but it doesn’t work. My sister wants to give her to the shelter at this point and I really don’t know what to do. I don’t know if this helps but Hazel also really doesn’t like humans, she runs away whenever we get near her. Which I don’t understand because she was born in this house and has 3 other siblings. Does anyone have any advice?
 

FeebysOwner

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If that is the only place that Hazel is peeing (besides her litter box), is there any reason NOT to have your sister close her bedroom door and keep Hazel out? You say a new blanket, and that she didn't do it before the new blanket? Have you washed it each time she has peed on it? If not, she will continue to go there until her urine is completely removed from that blanket. See article link below for ways to try to get the urine scent out of material.

You also can't rule out some sort of UTI/bladder infection. A lot of cats experience pain when peeing and will avoid the litter box because they think the pain comes from the box and not them. And, many of them seem to like soft stuff to pee on when that happens.

Seems like there might be some other things going on as well. Additional information might be helpful. Are her siblings still there with her? Do they also run from humans? Or, is the running away from humans new too? Tbh, it doesn't sound like your sister is all that fond of Hazel - cats pick up on these things. Another aspect to consider.
How To Get Cat Pee Smell Out Of Clothes And Linens – TheCatSite Articles
 

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is there any reason NOT to have your sister close her bedroom door and keep Hazel out?
:yeah:

Easiest way to curb the behavior.

You say a new blanket, and that she didn't do it before the new blanket?
The new blanket might have been the trigger of the behavior. It smells weird to the cat and that may be enough for a cat to show displeasure by peeing on it. Soak the blanket in an enzyme cleaner and thoroughly wash it. Then keep the blanket away from the cat. if the blanket is used just in your sister's room, then keep the door closed.

You also can't rule out some sort of UTI/bladder infection. A lot of cats experience pain when peeing and will avoid the litter box because they think the pain comes from the box and not them. And, many of them seem to like soft stuff to pee on when that happens.
A trip to the vet should be done if removing access to the blanket doesn't stop the inappropriate peeing.
 

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What caught my attention is that she doesn't like people. I have a cat who was trapped 3 months ago and she's probably ~1 now. She occasionally pees on beds and upholstered furniture. I got waterproof mattress covers and my slipcovers wash. This keeps me from worrying too much about permanent damage. In our case, she is peeing from anxiety . . . and she is marking (so claiming the item as her own). So your instinct to offer a box there is good. I am also thinking she might benefit from some additional confidence-building: does she have trees/towers so she can get up if she wants? Do you play with her? Sit & read to her? Make efforts to socialize her as if she was new to you? I don't know that these ideas will work, but I have been desperate before and have tried a variety of things. Some additional things we do (and I think have helped) are leave the radio on (sometimes Classical, sometimes NPR) if I am away, we use Comfort Zone diffusers (and you can see on another current thread that lots of people think they don't help -- we tried 2 or 3 formulas before we found one that seems to help). I just did a round of laundry because we suspected she'd sprayed a tiny bit on some surfaces, so I am here with you, but there is still a lot you can try before you conclude she should go to a shelter. The likelihood she will be successfully adopted is very low. Please watch Jackson Galaxy shows, videos, read or listen to his books (free through your library).
 

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How does Hazel feel about the other cats in the house? Does she hang out in your sister's room, or does she just go in there to urinate and then leave? Are you ever able to touch her? Did her mom nurse her until she was weaned?

It sounds like she is very stressed out. Has she always been unapproachable, or is this behavior new? Wondering if anything changed in her environment (outside of the new blanket) or has she always been a stressed out cat?

There are lots of things you can do to reduce her stress and stop the illegal urinating, but it would be helpful to hear a little more about her personality and space first.
 
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irenepaark

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If that is the only place that Hazel is peeing (besides her litter box), is there any reason NOT to have your sister close her bedroom door and keep Hazel out? You say a new blanket, and that she didn't do it before the new blanket? Have you washed it each time she has peed on it? If not, she will continue to go there until her urine is completely removed from that blanket. See article link below for ways to try to get the urine scent out of material.

You also can't rule out some sort of UTI/bladder infection. A lot of cats experience pain when peeing and will avoid the litter box because they think the pain comes from the box and not them. And, many of them seem to like soft stuff to pee on when that happens.

Seems like there might be some other things going on as well. Additional information might be helpful. Are her siblings still there with her? Do they also run from humans? Or, is the running away from humans new too? Tbh, it doesn't sound like your sister is all that fond of Hazel - cats pick up on these things. Another aspect to consider.
How To Get Cat Pee Smell Out Of Clothes And Linens – TheCatSite Articles
We can close the door but the lock doesn’t work and is able to open with a slight push. So all our cats can easily push it open. No it wasn’t the new blanket that triggered it, it happened before too. But everytime we change the blanket, she pees again! She even peed last night after this post, while my sister was sleeping. Her siblings (3 others) don’t run from us at all, in fact the cat that she gets a long with the most, likes my sister best. Do I need to take her to the vet?
 
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irenepaark

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What caught my attention is that she doesn't like people. I have a cat who was trapped 3 months ago and she's probably ~1 now. She occasionally pees on beds and upholstered furniture. I got waterproof mattress covers and my slipcovers wash. This keeps me from worrying too much about permanent damage. In our case, she is peeing from anxiety . . . and she is marking (so claiming the item as her own). So your instinct to offer a box there is good. I am also thinking she might benefit from some additional confidence-building: does she have trees/towers so she can get up if she wants? Do you play with her? Sit & read to her? Make efforts to socialize her as if she was new to you? I don't know that these ideas will work, but I have been desperate before and have tried a variety of things. Some additional things we do (and I think have helped) are leave the radio on (sometimes Classical, sometimes NPR) if I am away, we use Comfort Zone diffusers (and you can see on another current thread that lots of people think they don't help -- we tried 2 or 3 formulas before we found one that seems to help). I just did a round of laundry because we suspected she'd sprayed a tiny bit on some surfaces, so I am here with you, but there is still a lot you can try before you conclude she should go to a shelter. The likelihood she will be successfully adopted is very low. Please watch Jackson Galaxy shows, videos, read or listen to his books (free through your library).
I try to play with her through lasers and treats, but she’s very wary of me. We did have a cat tower but it got so mangled we moved it outside for our outdoor cats, do you think I need to get another one? I even got some sprays but I don’t think they are working. I don’t know why she doesn’t like us so much, we never did anything to hurt her, and all of her siblings are completely comfortable with us and don’t have that issue.
 

sunny578

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A vet visit is a good idea! She might have something going on. How recent was her spay surgery?

So, it sounds like nothing new happened when this behavior started? No new house guests, no furniture moving, no new pets? How many litter boxes do you have, and where are they located? Where does the perpetrator spend most of her time?

If she checks out at the vet, I would start by rethinking your litter box set up. If you have 4 cats, 5 boxes is a good number to start with, and you want to make sure they are in easy to get to places. You might want to evaluate the type of litter that you use, and also consider how cat friendly your space is. Do you have lots of high up places for your cats to jump to?

Keep us posted!
 
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irenepaark

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How does Hazel feel about the other cats in the house? Does she hang out in your sister's room, or does she just go in there to urinate and then leave? Are you ever able to touch her? Did her mom nurse her until she was weaned?

It sounds like she is very stressed out. Has she always been unapproachable, or is this behavior new? Wondering if anything changed in her environment (outside of the new blanket) or has she always been a stressed out cat?

There are lots of things you can do to reduce her stress and stop the illegal urinating, but it would be helpful to hear a little more about her personality and space first.
Yes, she’s always been unapproachable. Been like this ever since she was born here, but I don’t understand because all her siblings are fine and don’t get scared or us. We never did anything to hurt or traumatize her but she’s always been so difficult to touch, be near, take to the vet, etc. It’s like she’s a stray! She comes to sleep on my bed sometimes and recently, she very rarely lets me pet her in the mornings. I can’t touch her otherwise. She’s peed on my bed before too but not as much as my sister’s (which is like every night). Yes, she seems to only
go to my sister’s room to me. She sleeps there once in a blue moon and looks outside her window. She’s grooming herself just fine on my bed right now, I really don’t know what is triggering this frequent urination. It started like 2 weeks ago and there was no change in our household that would’ve caused it. My cats family is the mom (Gummy), son from first batch (Lychee), daughter from first batch (Luna), daughter from second batch (Hazel, the cat in question). She only seems to interact with Lychee though and not so much with Gummy or Luna.
 

sunny578

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That sounds like a nice cat family:)

If she checks out at the vet and no UTI or other bladder condition is suspected, let us know! If this is the case, I would start with making sure you have lots of litter boxes (at least 5) in various easy to get to places around the house. I would have some of these boxes be hoodless, and I might experiment with different types of litter. Cat attract is a good one to try when you have cats who are urinating out of turn.

Some cats will urine mark a space when they see a cat/other animal outside, so if your sister's bed is pushed up against the window, you might consider that possibility.

How is Hazel's relationship with your sister? One thing you can do is try to create a new association with your sister's bed. You could play with Hazel on the bed, give her treats on the bed, spread catnip, and put some of her toys on her bed. It sounds like she doesn't like to be brushed, but if she does, you could try brushing her on your sister's bed.

If your sister is down, you could add some cat scratchers or even a cat tree to her room (I get though that she might not want a whole cat tree in there, haha.) I have a cat scratching post in my daughter's room, and I think this is one thing that helped her stop urinating on her bed. If Hazel is in fact trying to spread her scent, scratching is another (more acceptable!) way for her to do this.

You might also check in with her diet. High water content diets (not dry food) can help promote healthy bladders.

Are there any dogs or kids in the house? Even if not, she might just need extra space to feel comfortable in her territory. Cat trees or cat shelves can really help with this--having a place to jump to might make her feel more confident and a part of the family. Also providing cat hiding places can help too (although most houses have those kind of built in.)

Once you make sure your litter boxes and home are both set up for a nervous cat with litter box issues, if the behavior continues, I would try blocking her access to the beds for a bit. You could put a tarp on the bed when it's not in use, and then when your sister is asleep, she could use a doorstop to make sure Hazel can't get in. If you do something like this to deter Hazel from urinating on the bed, you want to make sure that you do it after you have perfected your litter box set up and made your home as cat-friendly as possible. Otherwise, she might just pick another illegal spot to urinate.

You could also work on building your relationship with her like you might with a feral cat. They make these squeezy pouches of treats that a require a cat to come close to you in order to eat them. Dedicating 15 mins a day to play with her can also help.

Let us know how it goes!
 
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irenepaark

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That sounds like a nice cat family:)

If she checks out at the vet and no UTI or other bladder condition is suspected, let us know! If this is the case, I would start with making sure you have lots of litter boxes (at least 5) in various easy to get to places around the house. I would have some of these boxes be hoodless, and I might experiment with different types of litter. Cat attract is a good one to try when you have cats who are urinating out of turn.

Some cats will urine mark a space when they see a cat/other animal outside, so if your sister's bed is pushed up against the window, you might consider that possibility.

How is Hazel's relationship with your sister? One thing you can do is try to create a new association with your sister's bed. You could play with Hazel on the bed, give her treats on the bed, spread catnip, and put some of her toys on her bed. It sounds like she doesn't like to be brushed, but if she does, you could try brushing her on your sister's bed.

If your sister is down, you could add some cat scratchers or even a cat tree to her room (I get though that she might not want a whole cat tree in there, haha.) I have a cat scratching post in my daughter's room, and I think this is one thing that helped her stop urinating on her bed. If Hazel is in fact trying to spread her scent, scratching is another (more acceptable!) way for her to do this.

You might also check in with her diet. High water content diets (not dry food) can help promote healthy bladders.

Are there any dogs or kids in the house? Even if not, she might just need extra space to feel comfortable in her territory. Cat trees or cat shelves can really help with this--having a place to jump to might make her feel more confident and a part of the family. Also providing cat hiding places can help too (although most houses have those kind of built in.)

Once you make sure your litter boxes and home are both set up for a nervous cat with litter box issues, if the behavior continues, I would try blocking her access to the beds for a bit. You could put a tarp on the bed when it's not in use, and then when your sister is asleep, she could use a doorstop to make sure Hazel can't get in. If you do something like this to deter Hazel from urinating on the bed, you want to make sure that you do it after you have perfected your litter box set up and made your home as cat-friendly as possible. Otherwise, she might just pick another illegal spot to urinate.

You could also work on building your relationship with her like you might with a feral cat. They make these squeezy pouches of treats that a require a cat to come close to you in order to eat them. Dedicating 15 mins a day to play with her can also help.

Let us know how it goes!
so we’ve had only two litter boxes, i know crazy, but our house is very small and not many areas to put them. :( we never had any peeing issues until recently but we have now extended that number to 4. although hazel is very wary of us she still slept on our beds and never peed on them. it started around 11/20 and I’m not sure what could have triggered it. we did have a lot of people come over for thanksgiving but it happened even before that so i don’t think that’s the trigger. We took her to the vet yesterday but it was way too expensive for our family to afford. The bill came out to 577, because she also broke a toenail while we were trying to catch her so we asked them to cancel the urine test but it was still 377 for her toenail. Is this normal pricing? I found this vet by searching affordable vets on yelp but was very distraught by the price. I bought a well-reviewed UTI medication from amazon and started that but I’m not sure how it will do. She has peed everyday now and even peed on my bed and pillow earlier tonight (it's 5 am now and I can't sleep because I'm so stressed). I put catnip and treats on the bed, but that doesn’t seem to work. I’m sleeping with a shower curtain on now but I don’t know how much longer I can take this for! I also bought a cat tree, window hammock, pheromone diffuser, urinary help cat food, and a door stopper, should I add a 5th litter box? It’s costing us so much money out of nowhere, especially with washing a whole blanket/bedsheet every single night. Do my cats need to be let outside for a couple hours a day? I don’t like them being outside but maybe they’re stressed in this small house with each other? As I’m typing this out, I did hear her use the litter box multiple times (like every few minutes for 20 minutes) and then she came into my room and was licking her bottom. Do you think that means something alarming? I feel like it does!! I don’t know how to afford another vet visit, I want to cry! 😿😭


😭😭
 

sunny578

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Yes, that could be a sign of a UTI or other kind of bladder thing. If that is the problem, then she needs prescription antibiotics. UTI's are so uncomfortable, and if that's what it is, nothing is going to help outside of the meds from the vet:( I think, like with humans, they give antibiotics that are targeted for the bacteria that they find in her urine, so I think this is an essential step. The fact that she went to her box multiple times and was licking her bottom points to some kind of health issue. The good news is that once she's on the meds, she could stop this behavior entirely. I don't think that the supplement from Amazon or the special food is going to help at this point :(

To afford it, I would maybe return the pheromone diffuser and window hammock for now, and then maybe put the rest on a credit card. Some vets offer their own line of credit, so you could ask about that. You could look into insurance for next time. These sound like normal prices to me, but you could also call around, explain your situation and see if you could get a better price. Animals cat get so expensive and it is so hard! We are still recovering financially (and emotionally) from our dog's cancer diagnosis this summer.

Let us know how it goes!
 
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irenepaark

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I did get two types of antibiotics from the vet yesterday (both 7 day supply)!! It’s for her toenail though but do you think that could still help? I’m thinking about waiting til the end of those medications to see if the problem persists. 😣
 
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irenepaark

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Yes, that could be a sign of a UTI or other kind of bladder thing. If that is the problem, then she needs prescription antibiotics. UTI's are so uncomfortable, and if that's what it is, nothing is going to help outside of the meds from the vet:( I think, like with humans, they give antibiotics that are targeted for the bacteria that they find in her urine, so I think this is an essential step. The fact that she went to her box multiple times and was licking her bottom points to some kind of health issue. The good news is that once she's on the meds, she could stop this behavior entirely. I don't think that the supplement from Amazon or the special food is going to help at this point :(

To afford it, I would maybe return the pheromone diffuser and window hammock for now, and then maybe put the rest on a credit card. Some vets offer their own line of credit, so you could ask about that. You could look into insurance for next time. These sound like normal prices to me, but you could also call around, explain your situation and see if you could get a better price. Animals cat get so expensive and it is so hard! We are still recovering financially (and emotionally) from our dog's cancer diagnosis this summer.

Let us know how it goes!
I did get two types of antibiotics from the vet yesterday (both 7 day supply)!! It’s for her toenail though but do you think that could still help? I’m thinking about waiting til the end of those medications to see if the problem persists. 😣
 

sunny578

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Maybe! You could look up the medicine name and see if it is prescribed for UTIs as well. But, it could be something other than a UTI--some kind of inflammation in the bladder, which can cause similar symptoms. One of my cats had that and I totally thought it was a UTI but it wasn't, and after just one dose of the anti-inflammatory she felt better and was back to her regular litter box/urinating habits. So I would say if she isn't feeling better in a couple of days and is still urinating frequently, you probably need to get her urine/bladder checked out.

Good luck!!! Let us know how it goes!
 
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