Every few years this becomes a problem again, and I finally narrowed down the cause. My cat (for the most part) never urinated outside of her litter box until the last few years (there is no medical cause for this, she has seen the vet multiple times). She used to be very independent and not much of a cuddler.
After I began working from home, she got veryyy clingy. As in, she became a total lap cat, and now spends hours each day climbing onto my lap to cuddle. This happens multiple times an hour, and sometimes it's just not feasible for me to cuddle her (like if I'm working on the computer or I'm on the phone). So (very rarely), I have to gently put her back down and tell her 'no I can't cuddle right now, I'm busy' when she tries to jump on me again for cuddles. I've noticed that every time I do this, I then find a pee spot on the carpet in the living room within 10-20 minutes. She also jumps onto my bedside table in the mornings and normally I'll reach over and pet her a little bit, but if I don't do this (for example the other morning, I was very sick and did not pet her), she went within 10 mins of that "rejection" and peed on the carpet. I've been taking notes for months whenever she's peed outside the box, and not getting a cuddle has been the only common theme here.
I fear I've made her overly dependent on my affection, now to the point where if one single cuddle is rejected, it results in urination on the carpet. Has anyone experienced this or have any ideas for correcting this behavior? She gets cuddles almost every single time she wants them, but realistically if I can't cuddle her for 3 minutes, I should be able to do what I need to do without retaliation. (And yes, I realize its not "retaliation" in the human sense of the word, but she is obviously upset by the "rejection" and for whatever reason urinates on the floor as a result). Should I cuddle her less in general to get her to be less clingy towards me? I feel like any decrease in cuddles at this point will only result in more pee. She does not respond to Felliway or any of the calming cat sprays or diffusers. I'm really at a loss and I can't seem to find anything about this online.
After I began working from home, she got veryyy clingy. As in, she became a total lap cat, and now spends hours each day climbing onto my lap to cuddle. This happens multiple times an hour, and sometimes it's just not feasible for me to cuddle her (like if I'm working on the computer or I'm on the phone). So (very rarely), I have to gently put her back down and tell her 'no I can't cuddle right now, I'm busy' when she tries to jump on me again for cuddles. I've noticed that every time I do this, I then find a pee spot on the carpet in the living room within 10-20 minutes. She also jumps onto my bedside table in the mornings and normally I'll reach over and pet her a little bit, but if I don't do this (for example the other morning, I was very sick and did not pet her), she went within 10 mins of that "rejection" and peed on the carpet. I've been taking notes for months whenever she's peed outside the box, and not getting a cuddle has been the only common theme here.
I fear I've made her overly dependent on my affection, now to the point where if one single cuddle is rejected, it results in urination on the carpet. Has anyone experienced this or have any ideas for correcting this behavior? She gets cuddles almost every single time she wants them, but realistically if I can't cuddle her for 3 minutes, I should be able to do what I need to do without retaliation. (And yes, I realize its not "retaliation" in the human sense of the word, but she is obviously upset by the "rejection" and for whatever reason urinates on the floor as a result). Should I cuddle her less in general to get her to be less clingy towards me? I feel like any decrease in cuddles at this point will only result in more pee. She does not respond to Felliway or any of the calming cat sprays or diffusers. I'm really at a loss and I can't seem to find anything about this online.
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I think me working from home was bad for her. I'm going to read up on separation anxiety, I don't know wth she'd be anxious about though, she really does have a very calm, quiet, and easy life lol
