Urinating On The Bed, Particularly My Side And Pillows

[Boogercat1]

My problem child Emily has started urinating on my bed and pillows. She is currently on prozac as a last resort to the same issue but ALL OVER the house. My vet recommends rehoming her, but if the behavior goes to the new home, she would be sheltered AGAIN. I'm closing the bedroom but at night, the other cats cry and claw to get in. Any suggestions?

 

[FeebysOwner]

So, she is coming in at night while you are in bed and peeing on it? If so, you might want to consider isolating just her at night in a small room with a litter box, food/water/toys. And, if that room has a bed, cover it with a plastic tarp or shower curtains to deter her from peeing there. If not, then cover your bed with plastic while you are not in it.

Does she use the litterbox the rest of the time (for both peeing and pooping)?

Another thing - if you are NOT completely removing the urine smell from the bed clothes (and pillows too), she can smell it and that encourages her to do it again and again.

 

[rubysmama]

Is this a different cat than the one you wrote about in the summer? If so, when did Emily's litter box issues start?

 

[Boogercat1]

Emily has been urinating on everything until we tried the prozac. Now she is leaving the stove, printer, furniture alone and going for the bed. At night, we either lock her in the garage or close the whole herd out of the bedroom. The second we open the door, she heads in for the bed. She uses the box just fine otherwise. I have cleaned everything with an enzymatic cleaner multiple times. I'm just wondering if anything can be done, I feel guilty isolating her.

 

[rubysmama]

Since you're isolating her anyway, I wonder if she's a candidate for Crate Training. I have no experience with it, and it only occasionally comes up on the forums, and with varying degrees of success. But it's something you might want to read up on.

http://www.ourcompanions.org/pdf/OC Crate Training for Your Cat.pdf

TCS threads where members tried crate training their cats:
About To Start Crate Training For My Extremely Litter Box Averse Cat
Crate Training My Cat

 

[di and bob]

I take it she is spayed, unspayed cats urinate everywhere. Otherwise, SOMETHING is bothering/upsetting her to make her want to mark your things as hers. I would observe closely the next few days or when you can and see if anyone in the 'herd' is bothering her, or if something is reoccurring that may be frightening her. Like neighbors, a dog running loose, someone not letting her get to the litter box/food, etc. The cats I have had that did that were always bothered by something, like a move or big change to their routine, one took almost a year to resolve, but it finally did. The fact that she is only using your pillows. etc. an improvement, and i pray it continue. Do you have a litter box in there? I have one in my bedroom hidden in a very nice cabinet, it looks like a piece of furniture. Don't worry about isolating her, I have two cats that slept in a heated shop for three years because too many were inside, and they actually looked forward to going there every night, they got treats!

 

[Jem]

She sounds like she may be very insecure. Have you tried any confidence building techniques with her?
Does she get along with all the other cats in the house? And do they get along with her?
Have you managed to figure out what it is that is stressing her out? (something outside, another cat in house, stray or neighborhood cat peeing outside your home that she can smell) Is your household stressful to her? (loud kids, fighting, lots of hustle and bustle/busy lives) Does some one in your home have some form of anxiety or severe stress and is cranky a lot? And no judgement on the last two points, it's just that cats can sense our emotions so she may be reacting to the stress that someone else has. She may sense stress for whatever reason, even a simple loud disagreement, and this will cause her to feel like she needs to be scared of something, she does not know that it's OK, all she knows is that her people are stressed, so she should be too.
What is YOUR relationship with her like? I have heard instances where a cat would pee on items or in areas that are heavily scented with someone in their household, because they are trying to blend scents with them. I mention this as she seems to like peeing on your side of the bed and pillows.
Just throwing some ideas out there for you, it might point you in the right direction.

 

[sabrinah]

I didn't read the other thread so I don't know the entire story, but did you happen to do anything that seriously upset her?

When I brought my dog home my cat wasn't pleased. She peed on my bed, the pillows, and me. Repeatedly. I taped together puppy pads to keep the bed (and myself when I was in it) safe. She would stop, then start up again for no apparent reason. It took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out that she peed on the bed every time I used any of the bedding that had been on the bed when my dog was brought home. Quilt, throw pillow, pillowcase, it didn't matter. It didn't matter how many times I washed it or what I washed it in. If she saw it (even if she had never peed on that item before) and it was around when the dog showed up, it was getting peed on. Once I got rid of that bedding and the entire outfit she stopped.

 

[Boogercat1]

Since you're isolating her anyway, I wonder if she's a candidate for Crate Training. I have no experience with it, and it only occasionally comes up on the forums, and with varying degrees of success. But it's something you might want to read up on.

http://www.ourcompanions.org/pdf/OC Crate Training for Your Cat.pdf

TCS threads where members tried crate training their cats:
About To Start Crate Training For My Extremely Litter Box Averse Cat
Crate Training My Cat

 

[Boogercat1]

Emily has plenty of litter boxes that she uses regularly, so I'm thinking something has put a big in her rug. I'm going to watch her and see if any behaviours stick out. And restrict her access to the bedroom. That's the best I can do at the moment