Cat peeing on my pillow and in the bathtub

[lsurtees88]

Our cat has been peeing in the bathtub for a while. We do our best to keep the bathroom doors closed so she doesn't have access to the tub and that usually solves the problem. She's been doing so good lately and I forgot to close the bathroom door today and she peed in the tub. So frustrating. But, that is the only place she pees except her litter box. However, early this week late one night she peed on my pillow. I was so mad but I got up and put the pillow case in the laundry and set that pillow aside to put in the wash the next day. Well, the next night I went to lay down in bed and noticed a dry pee spot on my pillow!! Different pillow! She always sleeps on my husbands pillow, right next to my pillow but never pees in his. She has only peed on mine. I am 17 weeks pregnant so is it possible she senses the pregnancy and is just feeling insecure? I'm at my wits end with her. Thank for any help!

 

[tammyp]

Yep, she may be feeling a little unsettled with your pregnancy - stressed 'cause things are changing, not mad at you.  Of course the rule of thumb when something pee-wise which is not like them happens, is to vet check for health.  I actually think the first step for me next time will be not to take my cat to the vet, as that increases his stress.  I'll be getting a fresh urine sample and whizzing that down for analysis as my first health-check step (I'm sure the vet will tell me if they want to see him asap, but hopefully this will rule out a stress-compounding visit).

After/while you are ascertaining a clean bill of health, you can start on behavioural/environmental modification.  Get yourself NEW pillows.  There just isn't a way to clean them well enough so your cat won't smell their urine; and we all know that residual smell will signal 'pee here' or 'I need a scent top-up'.  Get yourself new pillow slips too.  Then, the thing we discovered last month....get yourself some good quality water-proof pillow protectors.  They feel just like pillowslips (I was scared about plasticy smell and crackling - none).  So if the accident happens again, all you need to do is get new pillow slips/protector. But I think for thin things like this, I would be able to enzyme clean it sufficiently with something specific for cat urine.  This reassurance will help your stress!

We also put away our pillows every single morning when we get up (into a cupboard with doors), and only get them out when we sleep.  I have a theory also, that some new pillows have a smell to them that attracts cat's to pee on them; then they learn it felt nice and soft to pee here so they keep on looking for pillows even if they don't have that smell. Plus it has your scent in them, so peeing on your scent and mingling scents is calming for a stressed cat.  There's also the theory of humans sweating ammonia  type smells - they'll build up in an old pillow and this is a pee attractant.  Anyway, putting the pillows away breaks the cycle - just like shutting her out of the bathroom.

A Feliway diffuser helps too - I'd order a couple as with new bub arriving, it will be nice to have that calming scent for your cat going as reassurance.  By the way, I found this article really helpful on helping your beloved cat with a new baby arrival: http://doklao.thedigitalcottage.com/images/Cats and Babies - Sarah Loch.pdf

And then there's the litterbox cleaning vigilance - and/or add another.

 

[lsurtees88]

I threw my pillows in the washing machine, used detergent and bleach. Now she hates the smell of my pillows and makes a funny face when she smells them. Much the same as the face she makes when I'm coloring my hair or painting or removing polish on my nails. She squints her eyes and pulls away. The problem with putting our pillows away is that my husbands pillow is where she sleeps and has never peed on his. I have been closing our bedroom door during the day unless we're in here or in our bathroom. I have also become highly aware of her stepping foot on my pillow while I'm asleep and I wake up and grab her off of my pillow and hold her and let her instead. She purrs for a bit then goes back to my husbands pillows by his head.
I will definitely take a look at that article! Thank you! I have made sure since they day we got her that she has had plenty of handling and similar treatment to what kids would give her. She doesn't have a tail because she is a Manx so we don't have to worry about the pulling of her tail but she doesn't care if you grab her ears or touch her face, she is very trusting and will let me put my whole palm over her face and she just licks my hand I can hold her face on either side and give her kisses and she has been carried around any way imaginable and dressed up. She is so laid back and hardly ever uses her claws! I am gentle with her. I know it sounds like I terrorize her but we've had her for a year and she has just had "kid" training from day one to prepare her for grabby hands. But of course, we will teach our kids to be gentle and respectful. She came first and she will always be just as important as any of the rest of our kids!

 

[richbet]

I'd definitely try to capture a urine sample and have it looked at by the vet's office, to be sure there is no infection or crystals in it. You can put a small plate in the tub where she goes with a little bit of litter on it. Maybe she'll pee there for you. You could also just try a paper towel. Ask the vet's office for the best way to capture the urine.

Females get urinary blockages, too. My cat started pooping in the tub a couple of years ago; I thought she was jealous; I couldn't figure out why until there was blood all over it! She was in pain and was trying to tell me about it. I never locked her out of the bathroom , as my mother suggested, because I'd rather that she poop in the tub, where I could sanitize it. Once I got that under control with the vet's help, she is fine; she has to take a stool softener medication and hairball med every day now. She understands that the med is helping her and sits willingly for me on my lap when I give it to her. They can be so smart; we, however, can be pretty dense! You can figure it out... It's a mystery. Years ago, my female started screaming when she peed; you cat may not be that bad yet. Please listen to her and let her know you care, whatever it is!

 

[lsurtees88]

I just finished reading the article and I loved it!! Thank you so much for sharing!!! I watched a video a few days ago about a cat soothing a crying baby and as soon as the baby started crying my Nora perked up and went in search of that strange noise! She has been around a lot of younger kids and loves it but also grows tired of the constant attention, just like all animals do. I'm sure she will do great and I am so excited to see their interaction!

 

[lsurtees88]

I'll see what we can do about getting her checked out. If she is shut out of the bathroom she only pees in her litter box but she has been peeing in the bathtub if she has access for quite some time and has been checked out by a vet during that time. I think it's more of a behavioral issue. She has had the bathtub problem for almost a year now. But if we limit her access we have no problems anywhere else until she decided she wasn't happy with the pregnancy and expressed that with pee on my pillow twice.

 

[tammyp]

Glad you liked it Isurtees88!

Re your pillows and the smell she doesn't like - she's smart.  Bleach is poisonous to cats, including the fumes.  It may also be that she will try to eliminate that bad smell by putting her own smell over it.  I never clean with bleach, except the litter pan and I rinse about 10 times.  Preferrably, if I can get my hands on it, I use an oxygen bleach that decomposes into very benign elements (not chlorine).  Also, the bleach won't get rid of the urine smell for your cat.  Only a specific enzyme cleaner for urine will do so; the enzymes actively eat the ammonia and urine, which is why you need to have a bit of time and wet it with the cleaner, then allow to dry naturally(eating time), then wash.

If your cat sleeps on hubby's pillow, maybe your step is to just put away yours? I'd sure hope she wouldn't wee while your head was resting upon it in sleep !!

 

[lsurtees88]

Actually, the first time she peed on it, I was laying on it! She comes around my pillows now so apparently the smell she didn't like is gone. I have caught her laying on my pillows a couple of time which she isn't allowed to do because I'm allergic to her so she jumps off and run to his pillow and lays down, as if there is no way I could tell the difference however, no pee. Since there is a chance she could be feeling insecure with the realization that she won't be the baby anymore, I have been holding her and cuddling her and loving on her more. So maybe that's why she hasn't peed since the second time? I didn't realize you needed a special enzyme cleaner. When we first got her she peed on our bed (practically brand new bed only 4 months old) but luckily we have a mattress protector. So we would take the mattress protector off and wash it then after I put it back on I would have her smell it in the spot she peed and see if she tried to bury it. If she tried to bury it we would wash it again until she didn't try to bury it anymore. And, she hasn't peed on our mattress since.

 

[tammyp]

Oh goodness! While you were lying on your pillow!!  I've only read of it once before...that person swears her cat has the happiest expression on her face while she's doing it, and that it must be some weird love expression!!

 

[lsurtees88]

Yeah! Luckily she missed my head! I was not a happy lady though! I am leaning more toward it being an insecurity issue since she hasn't done it again and I've been actively paying more attention to her. We moved twice in about 4 months, with the first move she had to be in the car for 8 hours then when she was finally getting use to that apartment we bought a house and moved again. We had a dog for about a month but he was far too aggressive with her and kept hurting her so we found a new home for him, then I think she realized I'm pregnant. So all of the recent changes in our home plus my hormone changes I think is what's throwing her off. And making her act out. We did move her litter box last night so its closer to our bedroom. She wasn't too happy while my husband was moving it so as soon as he set it down she jumped in it and went potty. She gets mad when he's cleaning it too and gets in it and tries to push him away. her new potty spot is a bit more private and like I said, closer to our room. My fingers and toes are crossed that we dot have anymore problems.

 

[tammyp]

Oh good, I'm glad things are settling  - like you said, all of those things, and in a short space, would stress a cat.  Ours is a stress pee-er: if BOTH of us get sick, if we have a fight, if we go away AGAIN, when Dave got Leukemia, a dog barking outside all day.  I so glad you're giving more loves with such a great result!  

 

[richbet]

She is definitely traumatized by all that moving!! I'd research that... Look for ways to help her feel safe again.

 

[lsurtees88]

She has been so much better the last 3 days!! Still no reoccurrence of the pillow peeing! She walks by and rubs up on me multiple times a day which she doesn't usually do. She's also been climbing up on me and laying on my tummy. I think she's gonna be pretty surprised when she lays on my tummy and gets kicked

 

[tammyp]

Awesome!!!

 

[ann gallagher]

O yes I can relate to this as my three year old taby titues is starting to pee our bed agin he started doing this. About a year and a half ago but has started agin with no reason to this

 

[lsurtees88]

It's is so frustrating isn't it? Since our cat is a Manx I have ready that with the gene that shortens their tail they tend to have problems with the nerve endings being damaged so they tend to have bathroom problems but she hasn't really had any medical problems that we've noticed, she only has behavioral problems. I think it almost makes it worse that it is a behavioral problem.

 

[ann gallagher]

Yes wee were all going crazy when titues started agin the last time wee. Had to by a new matrers and a totel of 15 new quilts [[/B]

 

[cataliina]

Just so you know, you're using a lot of toxins with the nail polish (research it) and polish remover and they are bad for you and the cat. The nail polish actually gets into the human body through the nails which are porous apparently. Anyway, the research is new and you may want to stop all those chemicals.