Chronic Inappropriate Elimination Issues

[pippapurring]

Hi everyone!

I have a 3 year old ragdoll named Teddy. He's a wonderful, super loving cat. He's been peeing on our bed, where I sleep specifically, for almost his entire life. This is what I've tried so far:

• Taken him to the vet - no medical issues
• Cat boxes and cat litter of every kind available - he uses all of them without issue. The only place he pees inappropriately is my side of the bed. We have one more cat box than we do cats and they're kept clean.
• Changing his food - he's now on a mix of high quality cat food (applaws) and prescription cat food (royal canin calm) as well as wet food once a day. We use a water fountain and it's well liked by our kitties.
• Buying a new top mattress, using anti-pee sheets. At least the pee can't sink in and damage our bed now, it soaks the top sheet and then the pee sheet catches it. He never pees on our blankets or pillows, only on the spot where I sleep.
• Feliway etc don't help at all. The calming food he's on seems to make everyone a little more chill so I'm willing to keep buying it, but it definitely hasn't stopped the inappropriate peeing.
• Enzymatic cleaners make absolutely no difference.

The only thing that works is completely exiling him from my bedroom. When he doesn't have access to our bed, he uses the cat box. He's never pooped on the bed. It seems to me this is some kind of soothing behavior where he wants to mix his scent with mine. I work from home and we're together all day. He has a tendency to follow me around... unless I accidentally leave the bedroom door open, then he'll go to the bedroom to pee. We're looking into getting a mechanical door closer to make sure it's not possible to forget to close the door.

Possible stressors:

• We're a multi pet family. We have three cats and a dog. This isn't going to change - I won't give up Ted for his behavioral issue (since I can manage it by keeping him out of the bedroom) and none of my other pets have behavioral issues. There's no fighting beyond the typical play that gets too rough sometimes. He's never been an only cat. Our dog is a new addition (adopted her when he was 2) and she's made no difference in the frequency of the peeing - he's an opportunist and he'll do it whenever he has access to the bedroom. He's friendly with all of our pets and is especially close to our british shorthair.
• I work from home, but I have to travel for significant amounts of time (usually 2 weeks but sometimes longer) 2-3 times a year for my job. This also isn't going to change. I do think he has some separation anxiety. He tends to cry and scratch at the door whenever I leave, even if it's just to take the trash out. He doesn't display any other anxious behaviors (continuously crying when I'm home, over-grooming etc) - just the peeing and the scratching and meowing when I leave. He doesn't behave this way when my partner leaves the house.

I really can't think of anything else that would cause this problem. Is this something a behaviorist could fix? I live in Sweden and I'm not sure if behaviorists are a thing here. Does this sound like it could be an anxiety problem he was born with? If so, would anxiety medication be worse than just keeping him out of the bedroom? I'd be worried about possible side effects and long term use damaging his health. I feel bad because our other cats are allowed to sleep with us, but if he needs to deal with that injustice to ensure that we're able to keep our bed clean then so be it.

Any advice would be highly appreciated!!

 

[catpack]

Bless you for being so patient and dedicated to Teddy!

I was recently at our local veterinary dental specialist and he told me the following story:

He had a client come in a few weeks back that had a cat with a suspect tooth issue (redness around the gum). Ended up being tooth resorbtion and the tooth was extracted. No big deal.

Well, when the owners came back for their follow up visit 2 weeks later he learned this...
The cat had been peeing on their bed for a good year or so. They had taken the cat to the vet and ruled out urinary issues, cystitis and other medical issues that would be associated with inappropriate urination. Assumed the issue was behavioral. Well, that didn't end up being the case. Turned out that once the tooth was removed, the cat immediately stopped peeing on the owner's bed!

Don't know if this will apply in your case, but I had never before heard a correlation between tooth pain and inappropriate elimination.

If you do suspect Teddy's is behavioral, have you considered anxiety medication? Not just a supplement, but an actual prescription medication.

 

[pippapurring]

Thanks so much for your advice!

That's really interesting, it makes sense too. I took a look at Ted's teeth and gums and I don't see anything unusual but I'm going to bring him to the vet for a dental screening soon - something could be up and I'd have no idea since I don't have a trained eye. He's three years old and has never had any attention given to his teeth so it's probably time for a look anyways. They just look normal and off-white to me and I've never seen him have trouble eating or drinking. I've mentioned the inappropriate peeing to my vet before but I've only gotten advice related to what I posted previously - none of which has helped. I'd hate to think that he's been in pain for so long and trying to tell me while I remain oblivious.

If it does end up being behavioral, I would be willing to consider anxiety meds as long as they don't come with long term health risks or lower his quality of life in any way, since it's not too much trouble for me to just keep him away from my bed. He'd like to go in the bedroom but he's learned that he's not allowed and has stopped scratching to come in at night. The only issue I have now is occasionally forgetting to double check the door is latched. I don't have any experience with meds so I think the next step is to start researching them after talking to my vet about it along with a dental and regular check up.

Thanks again for your help, I really appreciate it!

 

[pippapurring]

Just wanted to give an update to anyone who may find this thread in the future.

After consulting with a behaviorist we determined that the issues Ted's experiencing are purely behavioral. I've tried a variety of behavior and environment modifications and unfortunately nothing helped, so he's starting a prescription of anti anxiety medication this week.

I really hope this helps because I'm sure he could lead a happier life free of anxiety. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he doesn't experience any negative side effects and I'll keep updating this thread for anyone who may have a cat with similar issues in the future.

 

[pippapurring]

I just wanted to update this thread - I know it's been a long time, but we started Ted on medication. You can read about that journey here: Does Anyone Have Experience Treating Their Anxious Cat With Buspar/buspirone?

Unfortunately it wasn't successful. Ted started peeing again It seems as though the medication worked temporarily and then stopped, maybe he built up a tolerance to it. He got a UTI shortly after he resumed the inappropriate peeing which was not caused by a blockage or crystals. The vet said it was due to stress. He did a three week course of antibiotics and is now on a prescription diet to avoid future infections. This is the first time he's ever had a UTI, we ruled out medical issues related to this issue in the past.

The problem now is we've done literally everything we can to make Ted's life as stress-free as possible and it feels like the only option we have left is rehoming him. We've been battling this issue for four years and an environment where he's the only pet is the only option we haven't explored.

I really don't want to rehome him, I love him and I want him in my life. He's never been an only pet and he's had this issue since we got him, though. We have two other cats and a dog. He doesn't seem to have any aggression issues towards them, and he gets along well with our other male cat in particular, but he doesn't care about our dog or our female cat. He is occasionally dominant towards all of the other pets we have.

If I did rehome him, it would be on a trial basis to see if rehoming even addresses the issue. I absolutely refuse to let him end up in a shelter and he has a home with me forever if that's the best option available to him, it just means that he'll never be allowed in our bedroom. We'll get a chip-activated cat door so our other cats can move freely between the bedroom and the rest of the house.

Does anyone else have experience with this complex of an issue? I would be truly grateful for any advice others might have.