Kitten keeps peeing on blankets

marmar04

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I'm really at a loss on what to do at this point. Two months ago I rescued a kitten who's now three legged and I love her a ton. I do have 2 other cats indoors but she's never had a problem with them and they pretty much spend their time ignoring her. Recently (like 2 weeks ago), She's started up the habit of peeing on any blanket she's on at the moment. She'll stop whatever she's doing and just urinate. If I pick her up to try and take her to the litterbox, she just keeps going. Like 20 minutes before writing this, she peed on a bunch of sweaters of mine. I've been cleaning everything immediately and she never goes twice on the same blanket so I don't know if it's a stress/anxiety thing or if she just has a UTI. I'm making a vet appointment to cancel out the possibilities of a UTI but I'm also trying to figure out a solution if i can beforehand as I don't have a lot of money. (Still a teen so my money management skills are bad.) She doesn't seem to have an issue with her litter as she'll still go poop in there.
 
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marmar04

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I forgot to add this but she's also not spayed yet. I was going to wait till she's a bit older and heavier (only like 5 months old and 4 pounds.) but now I'm planning to do so immediately incase it's a marking situation.
 

di and bob

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Does she have access to two litterboxes? Some cats pee in one and poop in another. Make sure it's just a plain clay-based litter, some cats hate 'different' litters. maybe you could provide her with some puppy pee pads, they are scented and draw animals to them. I think she either has UTI or hates her litter or box. Peeing on blankets/clothing is a situation because they have non where else. If this started two weeks ago, it could be a UTI, does she go often? Or she could be coming into heat and is marking. At 5 months old that is a real [possibility, I have had cats get pregnant that young.....
 
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marmar04

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Does she have access to two litterboxes? Some cats pee in one and poop in another. Make sure it's just a plain clay-based litter, some cats hate 'different' litters. maybe you could provide her with some puppy pee pads, they are scented and draw animals to them. I think she either has UTI or hates her litter or box. Peeing on blankets/clothing is a situation because they have non where else. If this started two weeks ago, it could be a UTI, does she go often? Or she could be coming into heat and is marking. At 5 months old that is a real [possibility, I have had cats get pregnant that young.....
Yes, she does have two litter boxes and I’m planning on buying more just in case. I’ve noticed solely pee in one but I don’t know if it’s her or one of my other cats doing so. I’ve been having her on pellet litter and she doesn’t seem to be against it as she’s been on it since I got her. Her peeing on blankets/clothes have been once every few days but yesterday it was twice. I don’t think she has a UTI as she just got off of amoxicillin for something else.
How do I tell if she is marking?? I know what spraying looks like but her’s is nothing similar. She just sits and pees.
 

sunny578

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My cat was like this. It was so hard to deal with. I'm sorry that you are.

Wondering if anything happened around the time that this started 2 weeks ago? What were the antibiotics for?

The spay most likely will solve the problem. I wonder too if she needs some special accommodations since she only has three legs. What is her mobility like around the litter boxes? Is it possible that she is having some minor difficulty with them and decided that sometimes it is easier to just go on blankets? It sounds like she is still sometimes using her box for urine, which is great.

What is your space like? Where are the litter boxes located, and what are those like? You might try getting some larger boxes with a low profile so it is incredibly easy for her to get into them. With three legs, she might not feel super stable on pellet litter, so you might try some regular old clumping litter. Cat attract has a special herbal infusion that is supposed to draw cats to the box.

Once you get a couple of more litter box options for her, I would keep the space extra extra clean until she starts building on some better habits (and until she's spayed.) I'd keep the blankets and laundry in a closet or some other space that she doesn't have access to.

Please keep us posted, and if it continues, let us know! My cat had the worst litter box habits for years and years and years and I have tons of solutions for such issues. Good luck!!
 
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marmar04

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My cat was like this. It was so hard to deal with. I'm sorry that you are.

Wondering if anything happened around the time that this started 2 weeks ago? What were the antibiotics for?

The spay most likely will solve the problem. I wonder too if she needs some special accommodations since she only has three legs. What is her mobility like around the litter boxes? Is it possible that she is having some minor difficulty with them and decided that sometimes it is easier to just go on blankets? It sounds like she is still sometimes using her box for urine, which is great.

What is your space like? Where are the litter boxes located, and what are those like? You might try getting some larger boxes with a low profile so it is incredibly easy for her to get into them. With three legs, she might not feel super stable on pellet litter, so you might try some regular old clumping litter. Cat attract has a special herbal infusion that is supposed to draw cats to the box.

Once you get a couple of more litter box options for her, I would keep the space extra extra clean until she starts building on some better habits (and until she's spayed.) I'd keep the blankets and laundry in a closet or some other space that she doesn't have access to.

Please keep us posted, and if it continues, let us know! My cat had the worst litter box habits for years and years and years and I have tons of solutions for such issues. Good luck!!
the only big change was that my parents left for two weeks and just came back. I thought it might have been a stress issue but she started a few days before their return. The antibiotics were for a case of Ringworm which is now gone.
Her mobility is pretty decent, she just hops in and out. The litter box that I’ve only seen pee in is low leveled and is slightly small as it was a kitten litter box. The other one is higher but that was due to our other cats having a issue of kicking litter all around the box. Both are in the garage.
To get the garage door, you do have to go through the living room and I’m starting to think it’s just a thing of convenience to her. I haven’t changed the litter away from pellets as the clumping one I initially used would get stuck to her paws and she’d suck on her feet to get it off so I was worried about blockage.
I’ve been washing and putting everything away but my family insists on having blankets covering the couch so it’s all frustrating to me.
 

Flybynight

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I would get her spayed now, she could be sexually mature already. Maybe small so maybe a little older than you think.
Female cats may do scent mingling when stressed and trying mingle their scent with their humans. Often areas where your scent is strong such a mattresses or chairs. Something soft.
You need to clean where she marks with bio washing powder or special pet urine remover to make sure her scent is gone or she will remark in the same place.
Probably good to get a urine test to make sure no bladder issue, another cause of urinating on soft items.
 

sunny578

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the only big change was that my parents left for two weeks and just came back. I thought it might have been a stress issue but she started a few days before their return. The antibiotics were for a case of Ringworm which is now gone.
Her mobility is pretty decent, she just hops in and out. The litter box that I’ve only seen pee in is low leveled and is slightly small as it was a kitten litter box. The other one is higher but that was due to our other cats having a issue of kicking litter all around the box. Both are in the garage.
To get the garage door, you do have to go through the living room and I’m starting to think it’s just a thing of convenience to her. I haven’t changed the litter away from pellets as the clumping one I initially used would get stuck to her paws and she’d suck on her feet to get it off so I was worried about blockage.
I’ve been washing and putting everything away but my family insists on having blankets covering the couch so it’s all frustrating to me.
Oh yeah, you might be right! it might very well be the convenience thing! I would put a couple of litter boxes in the living room or in other places around the house. I know it might be a hard sell, but having a few extra litter boxes is much better than having cat urine in unexpected places:-/

Wondering if you live in a place that got colder recently, and if maybe the garage isn't as comfortable as it was a few weeks ago.

Another possibility is that this all fixes itself once she's spayed!

They make some clumping litter that is made out of wheat and some that is made out of corn if you wanted to try that, but it sounds like you think the pellets aren't the issue.

Let me know if you need some more ideas!!
 

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I’m sorry you’re dealing with this! It’s very frustrating to have any cat going outside of the box.

I did adopt one kitten who randomly peed outside of the box after we brought him home. We took him to more than one vet and he did not have any infection or medical cause that we could see.

He’s over 2 years old now and luckily haven’t had anymore major issues. One thing I notice is if the litterbox is too dirty for him, he will pee outside. He also likes to kick litter outside the box, and if I don’t clean up whatever pile of litter he formed there, he will pee on that too (outside of the box).

Hopefully you narrow down the cause and keep your kitty. To be honest I almost gave my kitten back because I had just dealt with an elderly rescue who peed outside of the box constantly due to medical reasons. It was smelly and such a mess to clean up, but I didn’t want to abandon her. Anyway, our kitten grew up to be such a sweet and unique cat and I’m so glad to have him now.
 
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