Has Anyone Ever Had A Cat That Only Peed On His/her Things?

[ramscici]

My boy Ramses (he's about 8 mos right now) has, since I brought him home from the shelter, had a habit of peeing on his cat bed. I've washed it with enzyme cleaner thoroughly multiple times but just recently decided to throw it out because it was a habit that seemed to have become cemented. He had also previously peed on a cat hammock (made from the same soft material) with scratching posts I had to throw out, as well as a lot of his toys, particularly his favorite ones.

He uses the litter box fine and doesn't seem to have any aversions to it. The fact that it's just on his things also seems to be a pattern. Does this happen to anyone else, and any tips? Is this just a habit I'll need to cope with?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
I'm thinking out loud here, ...what if you got some of that material and put it in a litterbox?
That doesn't help at all with the toys. Were they catnip ones?

 

[ramscici]

Some of them were yes. That could have been why. He has this one that I have washed so many times and refilled with cotton and catnip that he loves so much but never fails to pee on within five minutes of me giving it back. It’s almost like he wants to do it to mark his things. I have feliway and he has free roam of the house, gets along well with our other cat and doesn’t seem stressed otherwise. He also has a habit of taking a toy he’s playing with into the actual litter box.

 

[Furballsmom]

I don't know, but what about a different calming product, maybe? There are products that have valerian and there is one, maybe more now since I last looked, that has chamomile

 

[Furballsmom]

There might be something for you here, although yours isn't literal box aversion;

Cat Marking Driving Me Crazy

 

[ramscici]

I don't know, but what about a different calming product, maybe? There are products that have valerian and there is one, maybe more now since I last looked, that has chamomile

Thank you. I suppose I could try. I actually had previously had Comfort Zone but switched to Feliway after hearing better reviews of it. I'm unsure if it's made a difference at all, but he did stop urinating after I plugged in the Comfort Zone for the first time (though we also changed his litter so that could have had something to do with it too). The Feliway is low right now so maybe that's it. But I'm still not really convinced it's doing anything for him. I guess I'll find out when I refill it.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hmmm, maybe try some Cat Attract litter, maybe that might help?

 

[Diana Faye]

My old boy, who was otherwise very well behaved, would occasionally pee on my clothes. I took it as he was upset with me about something, or something in his world was "off," and he was sending a clear message by urinating on something of mine. I did my best to figure out what was wrong, but sometimes I had no clue. It did prompt me to not leave any dirty laundry on the floor. He did have his own ottoman that he peed on several times. Not often, but enough that I got tired of trying to clean it and threw it out.

I would try to figure out why your cat is peeing on his bed. My first thought would be that he was trying to claim his territory. Does he share space with any other animals? Maybe if it's new or you've washed it frequently (which I imagine that you have) so he thinks it doesn't smell enough like him. For me, removing the target of urination worked, but there is a chance that a cat could pick a new area. You could try starting fresh with a new bed (or something where you could change and rotate linens) and put it out intermittently to absorb his scent without giving him the chance to... be effective. Will he lay on a towel without peeing? You could put that down on a fresh bed until he gets his scent in there. If that works, I would probably avoid washing it if I didn't have to to keep it that way.