Kitten Peeing On Bed As Habit Now?

jesmb

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I think I know why this is happening, but I just want opinions of more seasoned cat owners. My apartment is tiny but a loft, so there are two floors - living room and kitchen downstairs, bedroom and bathroom upstairs, no door aside from the bathroom. Derby is 11 weeks old and sleeps at night in her crate (big 4x4x2 crate) so she isn't roaming the stairs/loft wall at night because she isn't quite confident and balanced on them yet and we don't want her getting hurt overnight. Her litterbox is downstairs in her crate, and she's had no problem since we got her at 7 weeks going downstairs to her litter box when she's upstairs playing.
Two weeks ago my boyfriend took her out of the crate when she woke up and she came into bed with us and peed on the bed. We immediately followed all the steps to clean the blanket (soak up, Nature's Miracle, vinegar, washed on hot with vinegar). We realized her crate door had been knocked shut so we assumed that was why.
The end of last week, my boyfriend was laid up in bed for days with the flu. Derby is used to playing with him downstairs all day, me going up to bed, them falling asleep on the couch for a bit, then she goes in the crate and he comes up to bed. Thursday morning - Sunday morning, my boyfriend was in bed all day and I was sleeping on the couch, and Derby in her crate. Saturday morning she went right upstairs from her crate and peed on the bed. We figured the change with him being sick threw her off, and we did all the cleaning steps again.
Yesterday we settled back into normalcy and her regular nighttime routine returned. This morning, I let her out of her crate, she eats her breakfast, then looked at me, sprints upstairs, pees on the bed, runs back down and straight into her crate before I even have time to catch up to her. Blankets are soaking in the wash with vinegar as we speak. I assume she's still thrown off, but three times in two weeks speaks to starting a habit I can't afford to keep, seeing as I have to go to the laundromat every time.
I feel like this is from her schedule having been off the last few days and hopefully it won't happen again, but I'm at a loss. I feel like the blankets can't smell like pee anymore seeing as they've had a gallon of vinegar taken to them in two weeks and she's peeing on different spots, and since it's a studio loft, there aren't any doors to keep her out of the bedroom and we can't safely block off the stairs.
For now, I'm going to keep her crated in the morning for her breakfast and while I get ready for work to ensure she pees in her litter box. What else can we do aside from giving her some extra love, now that we've returned to her normal schedule? Should we play with her upstairs more so she feels comfortable up there and isn't just going up there to pee on the bed? Put another litter box up there but in the bathroom to keep it away from the bed? Keep her downstairs entirely for now? I'm assuming it will happen at least once more since she's so young, but at $5/pee, I can't afford this laundry habit and need to nip it in the bud ASAP.
This tired, stressed cat momma and her kitty thank you in advance :)
Derby.jpg
 

ArtNJ

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Sounds like a habit yes. The bed is a super common and normal spot for kitten mistakes, because the comforter smells like you and because it can be kneed between the paws, which gives the illusion the kitten is burying waste. Add in the fact that the kitten perhaps goes to the bathroom first thing after waking, and your BF taking the kitten out of the crate when kitty was sleeping was a recipe for the initial accident. To break the habit, don't let the kitten in the bedroom or remove the comforter first. Eventually you should be able to let the kitten back in the bedroom. Don't be shocked if the kitten develops other bad habits, like peeing in the laundry basket if you leave it around, it can take a couple months for the litter box use to become very reliable if the kitten is presented with temptations.
 

Mamanyt1953

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And add a second box upstairs, as well. The ideal is to have one box for each cat, plus one.
 
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