Kitten is urinating on the beds

[shirazi1]

Hi everyone! We have a 2 month old kitten (shirazi/persian mix) and things are going well. However, we are having an issue which I HOPE you all can help me with. So like all cat lovers we love having her in bed snoozing with us. After she was here for just a week I noticed she urinated on the bottom of my bed, I washed everything and thought maybe it was because it was late and she could not get down and had to go, I let it slide. But then it happened two more times. I have since not been able to let her on the bed and I am always closing the doors when I am not there in fear she will do that again.

Just today I was cleaning my sons room and noticed a stain on one of this blankets, smelled it and it was urine. She has a liter box, we have a small place so that getting there is not an issue and she does always use it. My husband is at his wits end with this so I need to find a solution to make sure everything is happy. I live in Saudi Arabia so we do not have any special cat things, but if you all suggest something I will try to buy it online or do what is needed. We all really lover her and want her in our family.

 

[riley1]

How long have you had her?  Can she get off the bed by herself?  Isn't she a little young to be away from mom?  Just trying to think of what the problem could be.  All cats pee on things when they are unhappy.  This is the only way they have to tell us.   Is she fixed?  I think that if you provide this additional information people here will be able to help.

 

[harleysdad]

Hello,

I had the same problem with my kitten when I first got him home, and he was 12 weeks old. Yours is quite young and accidents like this at that age are to be expected. I spoke to my vet and to my breeder and took their advice, which has worked. Thank god it has worked, because it was highly stressful having Harley urinate on my bed, so I know how you feel.

You need to keep your kitten in a safe room, preferably a small room like a bathroom or a laundry and make sure she has everything in there that she needs. I put toys, a scratching post, food, water, a comfortable bed and of course the litter tray. Keep her in there for 5 days solid - do not let her out at all. Obviously you will be going in there to play with her and also feed her. In these five days you need to make sure you have removed all the urine from your home. Simply washing the sheets will not work. You need to purchase an enzymatic cleaner specifically designed to break down the protiens in the cat urine. If your kitten can still smell the urine outside the litter tray then it will attract her to continue doing so. I also purchased a UV Blacklight which you can get on eBay, this shows urine stains on carpets or bedding by making it glow. Even if we can't smell the urine, your cat with her sensitive nose can, so you need to use this special cleaner. I used "urine off".

Kittens can also be attracted to high loft quilts to urinate on, so after treating them with the enzymatic cleaner, allow them to dry, then wash them on a high heat. This should remove the urine, however I have had to swap my bedding for cotton sheets and a wool blanket to make my bed seem less appealing.

In the five days that she is in the safe room she will hopefully be using her litter tray. Allow the scent to build up in the tray for a while before cleaning it so she knows that's where she should be going. After the five days, and making sure you have removed all traces of urine from the rest of the house, slowly re introduce her to the home. It's best to do this one room at a time. I let Harley out to play for hour intervals and then put him back into my bathroom. I did this for another five days. I'd also say it's nice to have a piece of MDF wood or something similar to go across the door to the safe room but only half way up. This is what I did and it meant I didn't have to actually shut him into the room, as the door was open but he couldn't jump high enough to get out. It worked well, as it was easy for me to look over to see if he was ok without having to open a door (and have him run out), I could hear if he was meowing and I could also keep the room properly ventilated. I think it was nice for him to be hearing noise and sounds too rather than just being locked into a closed silent room alone the whole time. Believe me, it was hard keeping him in there and I wanted to let him out but I didn't, and it worked.

After that ten day period I now let him have free run of my bedroom and he even sleeps on my bed, no problems whatsoever. It took patience and wasn't cheap having to buy, new bedding, a UV light, and an enzymatic cleaner however it was worth it now that he is using his litter tray every time.

You may also want to try adding another litter tray. Sometimes cats like to pee in one and poop in another, or perhaps the litter tray is too far from the bed?

I hope this helps and good luck.