My cat is physically fine, I took her to the vet last week and she couldn’t determine that anything was wrong, but every week or so, she’ll uninate on my bed (this morning was the third time). The vet suggested that this was a behavior issue, but wasn’t able to give any specific suggestions.
I just changed the litter yesterday, and it’s the same brand as always, so I don’t know what’s going on. Note that I’ve never caught her in the act, and my understanding is that it doesn’t help to rub their noses in it later.
I’d rather not get rid of the cat, but if this keeps happening, I’ll have to.
I understand cats urinate as a kind of “attention-getting” behavior. Maybe she feels you’re ignoring her? Try playing with her more, or at least scratch behind her ears a lot. Or, if you’re out of the house at odd hours (without a regularly established schedule, I mean) the lack of routine might upset her. Again, lotsa interaction when you get home might help.
Perhaps your cat just really likes whatever material it is on your bed. I had a cat once that enjoyed pissing on beanbag chairs. We got rid of the chairs, not the cat.
Cats never relieve themselves in their lairs; therefore, for some reason your cat doesn’t think of your house as home. Try leaving food in random places around the house - that might help.
Some may consider this cruel but there are electrified mats you can put on the bed that will impart a mild shock if the cat jumps on it. Not enough to hurt but enough to be distinctly uncomfortable.
Also, I had a co-worker use the invisible fence in his house (you know, the stuff you bury in your yard and then put a receiver/electrode on your pet…if they cross the line their collar imparts a shock).
In his case the cat was pissing on the couch so he put the ‘fence’ in a ring under his couch. If the cat jumped on the couch it passed the ‘invisible’ barrier that would make the collar impart a shock. Said it worled great…removed the fence in less than a week.
He did say he tried out the fence thing himself. Holding the collar unit in his hand he sat on the couch. The strength of the shock surprised the hell out of him. Then his wife came home and wanted to try. He told her that the shock was significant but she said she wanted to try anyway. After she got zapped I guess HE got in trouble for not warning her enough. Apparently his laughing at the surprise on her face when she got zapped didn’t help matters either.
Fenris, are you or your spouse pregnant? (Don’t know your gender, so excuse the generality.)
When our new kitten started going into heat, our oldest cat, TC, started spraying and peeing in the bed. (He is neutered, but he’s one of the few cats that that doesn’t seem to stop this territorial behavior.) He stopped after we spayed her. Then about 2 months later, he started again. We couldn’t figure it out until we tried a pregnancy test. My wife was extatic (so was I), but I soon found out that this also explained his continued behavior.
Food and water dished helped control him somewhat, but even now 4 months after our daughter’s birth he’s still marking. We try to pay attention to him as much as possible, but at night he likes to crawl between us to sleep. That’s where our daughter sleeps (long story), so we’re constantly shooing him. So he’s still jealous.
Once she gets moved to a crib, hopefully his behavior will change.
A co-worker who heard me bitching about this last week and this morning pointed out that the last two times the cat did this, I was getting ready for work…
This is clearly signifigant, but I’m not sure what to do about it.
I recently had the same problem with my cat, only she was peeing in a few spots. I tried researching on the net and didn’t find out too much, but here’s what i did find out:
Clean litter daily. You didn’t just get a new litter box, or hood did you? This can upset the cat.
Multiple litter boxes, maybe she can get to one on time? This may help just to open her options.
Clean old pee spots. If she can still smell her pee on your bedspread or sheets, she(or he) will automatically want to pee their again.
Territorial. A huge possiblilty is that your cat feels for some reason that she needs to mark you or your bed as her territory. Shutting off the bedroom is a good idea.
Is your cat spayed/neutered? This is what stopped my cat (i hope)from peeing.
I sympathize with you because i know this behavior can drive you nuts, especially if you love your cat and don’t want to get rid of her.
Sounds like she doesn’t like being left alone. How about leaving the TV (or radio) on when you’re gone? I’ve read that pets like having the TV on when people are away because it keeps them company. At least this is a pretty easy idea to try out for a couple days.
Or, possibly, a long term solution would be to get another cat to keep your present one company.
