Foster feral kitten - pees on cat beds but poops in box

[Meowchelle1992]

I’m fostering two foster kittens who are 8 weeks old, not spayed/neutered, and have been in this environment for 4 days. The male has been using the litter box to poop, but I’ve caught him on the ring camera making his rounds to cat beds and urinating on them.
Could this because he’s intact? He definitely has some dominant cat traits. Any suggestions to fix this? I’m going to remove the beds and only have a blanket down for them.

 

[sunny578]

Yes, it could be! Are neutering plans in the books?

Are they in their own room? I would make sure you have many litter boxes, with a few different litter choices. You also might want to make sure that you have some smaller kitten sized litter boxes in there too. Has he urinated in the boxes at all? Is he going on one bed, and then the next, and then the next? It sounds like it definitely could be behavioral urinating or spraying, but it also could be an infection, so you could reach out to the vet to see what they think (especially since it's free!!)

 

[rubysmama]

I think he's way too young for hormones to be affecting his behaviour, so I don't think being intact would have anything to do with him peeing on the cat beds. Some cats, and possibly kittens as well, don't like to pee in the same litter box they poop in. So putting down more litter boxes might help. You could also try to soak some of the urine from the cat bed to a tissue, and then put that in the litter box, and let him smell it. Might help him to understand the litter box is for pee too. There may be some other tips in the TCS article How To Train Kittens To Use The Litter Box | TheCatSite

Also launder the cat beds with an enzyme cleaner to ensure the urine smell is removed. Also note, since cats often pee on soft surfaces, he may also pee on the blankets you put down to replace the cat beds.
How To Get Cat Pee Smell Out Of Clothes And Linens – TheCatSite Articles

 

[di and bob]

If the beds have ANY smell of another cat on them, even after cleaning, he could be trying to cover it up. I think he is too young also to have his hormones bothering him, he may have a UTI or be stressed about something. Keep them confined to a smaller area until they consistently use the box. 4 days is not long in a cat's life, so stress could be a factor. Two cats should have 3 boxes, try that, at the very minimum, two.

 

[Meowchelle1992]

Yes, it could be! Are neutering plans in the books?

Are they in their own room? I would make sure you have many litter boxes, with a few different litter choices. You also might want to make sure that you have some smaller kitten sized litter boxes in there too. Has he urinated in the boxes at all? Is he going on one bed, and then the next, and then the next? It sounds like it definitely could be behavioral urinating or spraying, but it also could be an infection, so you could reach out to the vet to see what they think (especially since it's free!!)

we have requested a vet appointment for first round of vaccines as well as neutering. He went from bed to bed to urinate right after the other (I have a camera and noticed). I can’t say for certain if he’s urinated in the litter box but I thought he had - sometimes likes to go after his sister. I will try to get a second box set up for him.

 

[Meowchelle1992]

If the beds have ANY smell of another cat on them, even after cleaning, he could be trying to cover it up. I think he is too young also to have his hormones bothering him, he may have a UTI or be stressed about something. Keep them confined to a smaller area until they consistently use the box. 4 days is not long in a cat's life, so stress could be a factor. Two cats should have 3 boxes, try that, at the very minimum, two.

one bed was used by a previous round of fosters so that could be it, but the second bed was brand new. I’ll get second box and keep them in the smaller space for awhile. Thank you