My cat is quite old (she’s between 17 and 19 in human years) and fairly spry - she can still leap distances, etc.
Her two resting places are on the lap/desk or the bed. I live in a studio, so these are pretty close together.
Lately, she’s taken to peeing on the bed, as well as using the litterbox. Obviously, I have a problem with this.
I’ve only caught her doing it once, and it was done in definite “squat” mode - she didn’t just leak while sleeping.
In the past couple of months I’ve been staying at my SO’s house quite a bit.
So, is kitty just getting old and confused? Am I not around enough to remind her to wake up and pee correctly? Or is she just giving me a big middle finger? The girl who currently has no clean bedding wants to know.
However, I did not choose kitty-ownership. I had it thrust upon me. She used to live with my parents until they lost their house, and then I got her. I’m a student who works part-time. I could pay for a vet visit with credit cards, but I’d rather not if at all possible.
So “the vet” is not my first choice.
She’s quite happy to go sleep with me, right now, while I’m here.
It may be that with your lack of smell in the bed because you are with your SO she might be marking her scent there.
It could be a UTI and the most common things cats do when they have one it to pee in inappropiate places such as on beds or clothing. Her age to me would indicate a UTI which can only be determined by a vet.
When animals exhibit a behavior that goes against their established habit, health is always the first thing to check. Especially, with a cat that old and with inappropriate peeing.
Pain when urinating causes a cat to associate the litter box with pain, therefore they look for somewhere else to pee. In most houses, beds are the most scratchable and coverable surface available.
Get her to the vet now and it’ll be relatively cheap compared to the costs if the infection moves up into the kidneys.
As much as I am inclined by circumstance to think she is flashing me the kitty equivalent of the middle finger, I am her caretaker and I’d hate to think she’s in pain. So I will look for a vet today.
I came in to say vet also. My female, slightly older cat did the same. She chose not our bed, but the stack of clean towels. The towels were white, so I could see the stains were pink with reddish traces. That told the vet the cat had urine in her pee, so she had a bladder infection. You might want to check your bedclothes for the same.
The vet gave medicines, kitty’s pain cleared and she stopped peeing on the pillows. That’s two years ago and she has been problem free since.
Vote for the vet here too. We’re dealing with a female cat peeing issue also, and it has really affected everyone in the house. With young adult cats it’s rarely a urinary tract infection, although with older cats it can be a sign of kidney problems as well as a UTI. Be sure the vet does bloodwork to check for kidney function, too.
It seems to me that if she’s peeing in the box some of the time it’s not litter box aversion. I think you might have an “I’m pissed off” (literally) situation since you’re spending a lot of time away, but it’s best to get the health issues checked first.
The other thing is to make sure all remnants of urine smells are gone, so that she doesn’t go there again. And I mean gone to her, not just gone to us. My vet recommends washing anything that’s washable in a strong solution of vinegar in hot water.
Urinary infections are common in domestic cats. When that happens, they have trouble peeing and my theory is they think it’s the place, not the biology. So they try other places like bathtubs or beds.
Get her to the vet. I forget the pills I gave my cats, but it took about 2 weeks of medication and all was fine. Discipline does NOT work and you’ll both be frustrated.
Supposedly a low-ash diet is indicated to reduce future flare-ups.
While UTI is certainly very common, given your pet’s age, there are several other things that could be causing her to urinate inappropriately. Be prepared to go in to the vet an be told that you need to do some diagnostics, like bloodwork, ultrasound, x-rays or more, to uncover the true problem. More importantly, be prepared for the associated cost of the tests.
Also, talk with your parents about their feelings should the vet uncover something fatal.
The parents have abdicated all responsibility for her (it’s a long story, she was originally my sister’s cat, who sort of got left behind as sis moved on). She is a sweetheart, and in pretty good shape, but I do have limits on how much I’m willing and able to spend. Sigh.
None of my sheets are white so I unfortunately can’t see if her urine is discolored.
She doesn’t do it every day, and she does use her box. And on days when I’m at home she pees in the box (except for one time).
I know, I know - hie me to the vet. She hasn’t had a checkup in years anyway.
Tell the vet right away that you are a poor student and can’t afford big bills, but you were afraid that your cat was suffering.
Most vets will take that into consideration, and try to minimize the tests & stuff they do. And many will reduce their bill somewhat. If nothing else, they probably have a payment plan available that has lower interest charges than the rapacious credit card companies.
A blacklight will help you find the places she has missed the box, if you can smell them but not see them.
Carecredit is basically a credit card that only work for veterinary stuff (and dental stuff). You can apply at carecredit.com in a few minutes. If you pay it off 3 months, there is no interest. If you need longer, the interest rate is around 18%. Not great, but way better than some of my cards.
You might try putting a white towel on the bed, then. Also, if money is a problem, check out if your local animal shelter can help in any way. They usually have an in-house vet who works for reduced prices. And if you don’t really care much about the cat, maybe it’s best you give her to the shelter (provided it’s a no-kill shelter) so she can find another home.
Everyone else has given the good advice, so I’ll give the useful advice: Get a plastic sheet or a couple of plastic tablecloths and cover your bed when you aren’t in it (maybe with a towel so she doesn’t move somewhere else). It makes clean-up much, much easier and, I found, makes it easier not to be mad at the cat for it. And then you can just dump them in the hallway and your bed doesn’t smell like cat piss.
Whatever you treat your bed with, make sure you use it enough times to get all the smell out. It’s a giant pain in the ass, but it’ll help prevent her from doing it again because that spot now smells like a litterbox.
(Ours does it because she’s mad at my sister for being gone. Or if the litter box has gotten too dirty.)