Peeing On Dog Bed

[NewYork1303]

I have a cat (Carrot) who has been peeing on different things since we brought him home a few years ago. He started out by peeing on the bed and peeing on just about anything left on the floor. The solution to this was closing him out of the bedroom and keeping blankets, towels, and clothing out of his way.

He also pees in laundry baskets that are left out and on his own blankets sometimes for no apparent reason. He has even peed on the throw pillows on the couch.

He has been checked by vets for any problems that could cause him to pee everywhere and he has never had a problem. He continues to pee in his litter box while also peeing on other items.

Most recently he has started peeing on our dog's bed to the point where he does it just about every day.

I don't know what to do at this point since he even peed on a blanket that I had on my lap when I was right next to his litter box the other day. He looked specifically at the litter box and then at the blanket, and came to pee on the blanket instead.

I'm at my wits end with this little brat! I know he was returned to the shelter three times before and I'm almost certain that this is why.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

How do you clean the items that he has pee'd on? Given that cats have phenominal noses, unless you are using a good enzymatic cleaner, he is still smelling his own pee, and going back to those spots. Have you tried him with different litters? Cats can be extremely picky about the type, scent, texture, even color of their litter. I would suggest finding the one he likes best, and making sure that he has two boxes with that litter.

He is neutered, right? I can't imagine him coming from a shelter and being intact.

This really sounds as if it has a huge territorial component to it, and the fact that he bounced around from shelter to home to shelter several times reinforces that feeling for me. It almost seems as if he is saying, "this is mine, and this is mine, too!" He is territorially insecure, and wants to make certain of his place in your home. It is a rare, and generally traumatized cat, who pees in his own bed to mark it as his. It may be helpful to keep curtains drawn, as he may be reacting to neighborhood cats coming into the yard. If that's the issue, the fix may be motion activated sprinklers that will give the intruders a good soaking!

These articles may give you some ideas on how to help him calm down and know he is home.

Spraying: When Your Cat Uses Urine To Mark Territory
Potential Stressors In Cats - The Ultimate Checklist
Inappropriate Peeing, Spraying, Toy Obsession And Leg And Hand Nipping

I hope you don't give up on this boy, although BOY do I feel your frustration!

 

[NewYork1303]

Definitely don't want to give up, just don't want to have to wash things each day if at all possible!

He's had a lot of different cat litters. The current is his favorite, World's Best. Maybe more scooping would be helpful? We do it once a day. Like I said he happily pees in the litter and then pees elsewhere a few hours later then goes back to his boxes. Everything is cleaned with water and vinegar and then with Nature's Miracle enzymes.

He is neutered. I wonder if it is possible if they missed something since the peeing does seem more territorial than anything else. Is it possible to mess up a neuter like a spay so that hormones remain?

Would it be helpful to confine him to his own space for a while away from other cats and the dog? He did this even before we had the other two cats, but if it is territorial maybe getting away from them sometimes would be worth a try.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Well, you do seem to be doing everything right, thus far. I'm wondering if he is seeing other cats out of doors, though. That could trigger it in a highly territorially insecure cat. You can certainly try confining him for a few days and see if it helps, but I'd try scooping two or three times a day first. That's the least invasive to his territory and routines, then make sure he isn't reacting to seeing cats in the yard, then isolate him for a few days. I'm hoping that one of the other remedies will solve the issue before you need to isolate. I'm here. I'll keep trying to find more creative solutions!

 

[NewYork1303]

We will start scooping more to start.

He can see cats out the sliding glass door. But since he was doing this before we moved and there were no cats out the window then I don't see this being the problem. We've been working on getting the cats out of the yard, since they drive Ruby crazy.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Let me know how it goes. I'll keep trying to think of things to try.

 

[NewYork1303]

Thank you! I will keep you up to date. Today we took down all the Christmas stuff and the normal schedule should set in again tomorrow. Hopefully that will be helpful.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

They don't much care for change, do they? I took mine down yesterday as well, and Hekitty was ROLLING on the floor where the tree was!

 

[NewYork1303]

Carrot and Ruby have been running around like crazy now there aren't decorations in the way. So far no problem with the peeing, but he hasn't been tempted since the dog is at my mom's until later this week, which means her bed is hidden in our room.

I had another thought though. I wonder if I take the dog blanket off of the bed and keep that for car rides rather than having it piled up on top of the bed he'll be less likely to pee on it. He never peed on the dog bed when we all lived at my moms, but there was never a blanket on the dog bed there.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Now, there is a thought certainly worth persuing! Give it a try!

 

[NewYork1303]

Dog bed is back out without the blanket. Carrot didn't pee on it all night, which is an improvement. Fingers crossed he continues leaving it alone.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

So far, so good! Don't want to jinx this, but BOY would that be an easy fix!

 

[NewYork1303]

No kidding. Day two and still no pee. If this is it, I am going to feel incredibly stupid!

Good news is that the dog doesn't mind not having her blanket at all.

 

[catman513]

Good luck with what you have done so far. But . . . something is bothering him . . . a lot. Remember, cats are territorial and need to control some space free from others.

 

[NewYork1303]

I know people say that cats always have a reason for peeing on things and I'm sure he does, but I'm not sure if its a territory thing. He is such an easy going cat. He has a space up on top of a bookshelf that is firmly his as no other cats go up there. At the same time he is the one who is also always in the middle of everything. He loves to roll around in the middle of the living room, rub up against the dog, get into each of the other cat's faces.

We can usually tell when he is stressed since he has feline herpes and his eyes get really bad whenever there is a lot of stress.

Maybe he just doesn't like bunched up fabrics sitting anywhere around his territory. He hasn't peed on the dog bed still and hasn't peed on anything else as far as I can tell.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

And it well could be something as simple as that. My father, who was as wise in the ways of anything with fur, once said, "Cat? Who knows from cats?" LOL, be sure to make your beds!