Pee on dog bed?

Krienze

Officially a cat lady now. No regrets.
Thread starter
Super Cat
Joined
Feb 2, 2020
Messages
988
Purraise
1,787
Location
Louisiana
I noticed a wet spot on one of the dog beds and after sniffing both, they both smell like they have been peed on. One smells like cat urine, the other? I'm not really sure. It smelled like urine, but was dry.

I think the reason they went outside the box is because we were late getting home/cleaning the cat boxes and so far can't smell urine anywhere else (though I sprayed the furniture down with natures miracle JUST to be on the safe side)

Should I worry about this becoming a habit now that they did this once? I don't even know what cat did it.

I know the odor wasn't SUPER strong, because I had to get right up onto it to smell it. I noticed the kittens and Sammy SNIFFING it but I never saw any of them actually -pee- on it. Isabel, however, has a history of going outside the box whenever the box gets a 'little' dirty (she's been that way as far back as I can remember)

IS there a way to kind of tell by scent whether it was male or female? I thought male urine was stronger but both of my boys are fixed
 

neely

May the purr be with you
Veteran
Joined
Dec 22, 2005
Messages
19,635
Purraise
47,800
Just out of curiosity, how many litter boxes do you have? The reason I'm asking is because you mentioned Isabel has a habit of going outside the box when it gets a little dirty. It may have been her way of letting you know she was unhappy with you coming home late and not cleaning the boxes. You may already know this but rule of thumb is to have one more litter box than the number of cats in the household. I wouldn't be too alarmed if this was the first time it happened but would definitely keep a close eye on the cats. You may even want to consider removing the dog beds temporarily and airing them out.
 

ArtNJ

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 1, 2017
Messages
5,485
Purraise
6,957
Get an enzyme cleaner, and just keep an eye and nose out for repeats. If there are repeats, then yes, it has become a habit and you'll have to put the dog bed away for a while, unhappy dog or not.

Extra boxes definitely reduce the burden on the other boxes, giving your more margin for error on cleaning. I have 4 boxes for 2 cats, cats that are tolerant of a not super clean box, and its just a godsend to not have to do it more than a couple times a week.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

Krienze

Officially a cat lady now. No regrets.
Thread starter
Super Cat
Joined
Feb 2, 2020
Messages
988
Purraise
1,787
Location
Louisiana
Just out of curiosity, how many litter boxes do you have? The reason I'm asking is because you mentioned Isabel has a habit of going outside the box when it gets a little dirty. It may have been her way of letting you know she was unhappy with you coming home late and not cleaning the boxes. You may already know this but rule of thumb is to have one more litter box than the number of cats in the household. I wouldn't be too alarmed if this was the first time it happened but would definitely keep a close eye on the cats. You may even want to consider removing the dog beds temporarily and airing them out.
Currently we only have three litter boxes and four cats. It's never been an issue before, but we plan on getting two more -- it's just a matter of trying to find a place for them where the dogs can't get to them.

When I say habit though, it doesn't happen often. It happened one around 4th of july too, where she peed on HER bed but I think that was more fireworks scaring her (she's a 16 year old cat)

Get an enzyme cleaner, and just keep an eye and nose out for repeats. If there are repeats, then yes, it has become a habit and you'll have to put the dog bed away for a while, unhappy dog or not.

Extra boxes definitely reduce the burden on the other boxes, giving your more margin for error on cleaning. I have 4 boxes for 2 cats, cats that are tolerant of a not super clean box, and its just a godsend to not have to do it more than a couple times a week.
I typically clean their litter boxes in the morning & at night, but also through out the day when I noticed they've gone. They also get completely dumped once a week and have fresh litter replaced. So usually the boxes stay fairly clean.

As for the beds, I washed them separately twice.I spritzed them down with natures miracle, put in the wash with a cup of detergent and some white vinegar, washed it, then re-washed a second time with just another cup of detergent, then spritzed it down with natures miracle again. It's currently drying outside in the heat.
 

fionasmom

Moderator
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
Jun 21, 2014
Messages
13,119
Purraise
17,350
Location
Los Angeles
I think that this might be a one time occurrence because the litter boxes were not clean, but watch, especially given her age in case this is health related.
 
Top