Constant Peeing- I'm losing it

[littlekingtrashmouth]

Hello! I posted on here ages ago about the same problem that miraculously went away! But sadly two years later my little bed wetter has returned, and it seems with a vengeance. I recently moved back home after school and he LOVES it here. more windows, way bigger space, more people to love on him. I ruled out environmental change being the problem because when I would come home for breaks for weeks at a time he was fine, no peeing the beds. But a few weeks after I moved back in he started peeing on my parents bed, then my brothers, then mine. It has now been probably 6 months of him peeing. Mostly on beds, sometimes right outside the litter box, but I found I couldnt get a smell out of one of the mats so I threw it away. I use the Natures Miracle odor remover line. Ive done baking soda and vinegar. He. Wont. Stop.

He has two litter boxes, plenty of free reign, more toys than I care to admit, & affection whenever he wants it. I am losing my marbles. I do not know how to deal with this any more. He has been to the vet, gone on antibiotics twice for a UTI and some leftover bacteria found in his bladder. I can't keep affording vet bills and I can't keep trying to get into bed only to be greeted by the lovely smell of cat pee.


PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!

It seems like it's a behavior issue that I don't know how to stop.

 

[nwc]

Don't let him in your room, then? Doesn't solve the peeing, but if he has full reign of the rest of the house I'd say that whatever frustration he experiences from loss of territory or access is a fair trade off for not having a bed full of pee. That's gross.

 

[Jem]

He has been to the vet, gone on antibiotics twice for a UTI and some leftover bacteria found in his bladder.

Have you gone back for a culture to make sure it's gone? Did the vet do a culture to make sure that the right antibiotic was used?

 

[EmersonandEvie]

He can still smell the urine. Cat pee is NOTORIOUSLY hard to get out of anything and cats' noses are so sensitive that they can detect scent when humans cannot.

Has the pee gotten on the mattress itself? If it has, I would clean it as thoroughly as I could with a enzymatic cleaner (I have heard really great things about Biokleen's Bac-Out, but have not used it myself because I've never *knock on wood* had a cat pee issue. It can be found on Amazon.) and put a zipper waterproof cover on the WHOLE mattress. Not one of the ones that fits like a fitted sheet, but that you have to lift the mattress up and zip around.
After that, I would either a.) Use the enzymatic cleaner in with my sheets and comforter quilt and see if that gets the residual smell out or, if that doesn't work, b.) get entirely new sheets and comforter.

 

[tuxedokitties]

Ugh, I had a cat do this before. I put a waterproof tarp on my bed while trying to solve the problem; it was helpful because it protected the bed, and if she peed on it she got herself wet, which was a deterrent.

Ditto the zippered waterproof mattress cover and enzyme cleaner.

Has cat been checked for diabetes? Kidney problems? A repeat culture to make sure the UTI is actually gone, as suggested above? It really is super common for urinating issues to be tied to health issues.

If urinary & other health issues have been ruled out, there are a lot of other ideas that may help. If he did have a UTI or crystals, those can be painful; I had one cat who continued going outside the box after his experience with crystals, because he associated his litterbox with the experience of painful urination. We switched from his previous litter to Cat Attract, and that brought him back to the box. (Cat attract is a cat litter brand with a cat-preferred texture and a cat attracting smell. The attractant can also be purchased separately to add to litter, just make sure it's unscented litter.)

For my bed peeing girl, her issues turned out to be a combination of stress since I was gone a lot (Feliway calming pheromones helped), and just being a very fastidious cat who would rather pee on my bed than step into a litter box with so much as one single other pee or poop in it. Adding more litter boxes helped keep her content while I was at work.

Think about your cat's boxes and the environment surrounding them from a cat's perspective:
Has your litter changed, or has the manufacturer changed the formula? Subtle differences in texture or scent can deter some cats. Is anyone using any air fresheners or scented cleaners in or near the boxes? Most cats hate fragrances. Is there anything that might have scared him away from the boxes, or that could have caused him to have a bad association? Other pets or people who may have startled or frightened him while he was in there? Anything making strange noises near his box that could be bothering him? How big are the boxes? Cats need to feel safe and relaxed while going. If your cat is getting older, he may have more trouble maneuvering in a regular sized or covered box, and might do better with a jumbo sized uncovered box.

I know this is super frustrating, but hopefully it can be solved with some detective work.