My sister is having trouble with a cat, the kitten is peeing on their bed, sometimes when they are in bed. She wants to get her to stop with something natural, she has tried the No Go stuff; it doesn't last, you have to re-spray and it stinks. Please help her.
Thanks,
Jen from Eau Claire, WI
I'm sorry you are going through this with your kitties. Until someone comes up with a solution, you could put a large plastic drop sheet, plastic shower curtain or vinyl tablecloth on the bed. Then place a sheet on top for them to lay on and absorb any wet accidents from them. The sheet can be thrown in the wash as well as the plastic. (06/14/2005)
Get the thickest clear plastic you can find at WalMart in the Sewing /Crafts/Fabric department in a Bedspread sized piece. Cover your bed with it and put old newspaper on it .
We have cats and dogs and have used these for bed covers for years . I just hang them on the line, spray them with some kind of suds and scrub and rinse them off every once in a while. Of course we clean up when mess happens too.
By Linne Dodds
Your cats know it's your bed and may be trying to send you a message about something that's upsetting them. Perhaps they are up in age and have bladder or kidney problems? Once they get into the habit of urinating someplace, it tends to continue. Have you changed anything in the place in addition to the new dog? Like their litter or anything? A great spray to use to neutralize these accidents is hydrogen peroxide, baking soda. Only mix what you will use at one time, it doesn't keep, will leak from spray bottle. 1 quart peroxide, 1/4 cup baking soda, 1 tsp liquid hand dishwashing liquid. Mix, spray and air dry. Adjust recipe according to the amount you will use. Good luck. (06/17/2005)
By kidsNclutter
Rather than go along with this behavior, you need to take action. First, a vet visit to find out if they have any bladder or urinary problems. Then, keep them out of the bedroom. They most likely are upset with your new canine neighbor, and letting you know. If you can't keep them out of the bedroom, try laying strips of aluminum foil on the bed. They HATE it, and will likely jump off the bed right away. Where is their litter pan? Near where the dog lives? If so, you need to put it somewhere else where they feel safe. Don't allow this bad potty habit continue. (06/18/2005)
Like some others have said...
1. Take to the vet. Cats frequently urinate in unusual places when they have a bladder infection.
2. There are certain pheromone sprays (like feliway) available from petsmart and most vets, that help calm your cats if they are doing this out of stress (like the new dog someone mentioned). Making sure they have toys, catnip, and lots of calming influences (like a good hiding place?) will also help if the problem is stress.
Since she's not elderly, and this is a new problem, I am quite sure that it will be one of these. Especially the first. Communicate with your vet, ask what else you could possibly do.
Also, buy cleaning products that are specially designed to neutralize cat urine specifically. Many cleaning products actually seal in odors. (09/29/2005)
By Amanda
We have the problem every once and a while with these cats and what i have found makes a difference is to shut them in a room with litter and necessities for 2 to 3 days to remind them where the liter is. Sometimes it takes more than one trip to their room but eventually they get the hint to not do it on the furniture.
The others are tight to make sure no medical problem then use some drastic measures to deal with the problem.
Didn't say if changed other things in the house or different litter and she objects. Good luck and don't give up on kitty too easily. She needs someone to love her. The plastic also works. (09/29/2005)
By Sandy
We have that problem as well and it always happens when DH forgets to clean the cat's litter box. As they grow older, they're much more finicky. Tempest, my cat, refuses to do his business in a dirty litter box, and I don't blame him -- we always flush the toilet after each use, right? So just make sure you're cleaning the litterbox regularly. We scoop it once in the morning and once at night.
As for cleaning up the mattress and loveseat, we can't afford to do that. I usually spray it with a mixture of vinegar and water and the smell cleans up well. (10/01/2005)
By Tempest's Mom
I used to have a rescue cat like this. We tried changing foods, litters, etc. Have you had previous cats? Your current one might be smelling them and trying to mark his territory. Get a cleaning product like "Urine Gone" that totally wipes out every trace of it. If that doesn't work, maybe the cat wants more attention.
Make sure the cat knows that you love him. When cats want attention they tend to go to a bed because it has the strongest scent of their owner. Do toy visit another cat often? Your cant might smell him and become jealous. You can try changing foods or litters also. Cats like to go to the bathroom on soft things so try putting the litterbox in the bathroom and then after the cat eats put him in there and close the door. If that works then make it a usual thing after he eats. Keep the house smelling as fresh as possible at all times. (10/13/2005)
By Maura
Maybe since your cat is an infant (you said kitten), it can't get to the litter box in time. Are you sure you have it close enough to where your kitten can get to it? Also, is your bed too high for the kitten to jump down... Your kitten will naturally prefer the litter box if it is clean. Maybe it will help if you think of it like potty training a toddler. It has to be easy enough to get to... Frankly, my cats have always preferred sleeping in their own beds. They come to visit in the morning. Best of luck. (12/20/2005)
By carol
One thing that worked for us is, every time the cat was good and used the litter box instead of the sofa, we gave him a little piece of turkey or ham for a treat and praised him. He learned Fast! Now he goes into the kitchen and expects his treat after he uses the litter. It's helped a lot. (01/03/2006)
By Stacie
My husband and I had the same problem with our kitten. She pees in the sink instead of going to the cat box and she was also peeing on the bed. Because she only pees in the sink when we are home (I check the sinks after we have been gone), the vet said that it is possible the she has separation anxiety. We found her when she was only a month old and the vet said that she is so attached to us that she doesn't want to leave us. We started taking her to the litter box when we are home and that has helped a little. As far as peeing on the bed, she was doing it at night. We took her back to the vet because I thought she had an infection. The vet said he didn't see one but gave us medication anyway. We gave her the meds and she stopped peeing on the bed! (02/26/2006)
By Shea
I have the same problem with my cat peeing on my bed! I have been surfing the internet as to why she is doing this. I have two cats, and only the one does this! I will tell you what I have noticed in my many hours of searching the net- Almost everyone that has this problem, including me, has a down feather comforter!! I think this might be because of the smell of the feathers? I have gotten rid of my old smelly cat drenched down comforter and gotten a new non-down comforter, maybe all having the same problem should give this a try. Good luck. (05/15/2006)
By Sara
Hello! My cat was having the same problem, and is still peeing beside his litterbox instead of in it. Ended up, right before I was going to get rid of him, that he had a urine infection. Better have him checked out. (or, neutered, if he is a male)
Hope that helps! (06/16/2006)
By Helena
I thought I was the only one who had this problem with cats going on the bed. It's nice to know that I'm not alone. Four of my cats aren't fixed, but they live in the house and it usually happens when they come in heat. I've placed a thick plastic on the bed and if they do have an accident, it's quickly soaked up and washed off. (07/07/2006)
By Amelia
Wow! Lots of people with this problem. I, too, had a cat that stopped using the litter box. I did two things that made a BIG difference. I switched to an open litter box and began using a brand of cat litter called CAT ATTRACT. The only place that sells it in my area is PetSmart, but it is truly worth it! It works!! (07/08/2006)
By Melody
I have two cats, a male and female, both neutered, neither de-clawed, and both from a shelter, when they were about 7-8 months old. Only one cat is the problem right now, the male. For the last couple of months, the male cat occasionally (once every 2-3 weeks) will pee on my bed... and he will always pee on my wife (haha), or wife's side! The female cat is fine. I have been reading posts, on other web sites, suggesting that it is due to de-clawing. Although this may be true in some rare cases, I believe it not to be true in the majority of cases. However, I have noticed a pattern in posts as I have been researching this problem, and will post what I have found after my story.
The problem with him peeing on the bed started only a couple of months ago. The first time, was after a visit to the vet (we have been to the vet prior to this, but no change in behavior.. until now). The vet gave him all sorts of vaccines... distemper and a couple other shots I don't remember. That night/morning, our cat peed on the side of my wife in bed (through the comforter). Each and every time since then (a total of 5 issues now), the cat has ALWAYS peed on the bed when we are in or on the bed... never has he peed in the bed when we were not home or in the room.
Ok, so we thought it had something to do with the vet visit. We figured he would eventually forget the trauma of the shots, and wrote it off to him being upset and/or stressed. We dry cleaned all of the sheets and comforter, and thought we were fine. A couple weeks later, we went on a 4 day trip. Came home, and all was okay. But at night, again he peed on her. Later, we went on a honeymoon for a week, came home, all was clean.. then that night, or night after, he peed on her again! Each time, of course, we washed the sheets and/or dry cleaned the comforter.
At first, we thought maybe we were not cleaning the litter box right, or sometimes forgetting to fill up the food and water bowls at night. So, in an effort to eliminate that as a possibility, every day we made sure to clean the liter box, and made sure there was ample food and water at night. Almost two weeks pass, and no problem. Then, last night, he did it again.. on my wife! This time, he had plenty of food and water, and my wife had cleaned the liter box that night... so I think we can rule that out... as I have been doing research, I found some common threads (the last one is the one I think may be many peoples problem):
1. The cats are stressed/upset about a change in their living situation.
2. Urinary Tract Infections
3. DOWN COMFORTERS!
On many other sites, reading stories, and asking questions, I tried to find out "where" the cats were peeing. Many said the "bed"... but where on the bed I asked? Most said on or near the comforter... seems obvious, since the comforter is on top... but what kind of comforter? In most of the replies, when the cats peed on the comforter (other places where sheets or clothes), is was a DOWN COMFORTER. Funny, I thought, I have a down comforter... and a down mattress topper. I recently bought the mattress topper several months ago... could there be a coincidence here? Not sure, but seems like a possible connection... maybe something in the DOWN is causing my male cat to get territorial... so, this time, we are removing all down from the bed, and will see what happens. Wish us luck, and I hope this e-mail has helped others.. try removing your down comforter.
Prior, the mattress topper would prevent the pee from penetrating to the mattress. Now that we have removed that, we needed additional protection. In the meantime, we bought $0.97, 0.7mm painting drop cloths from Home Depot that cover our queen mattress quite nicely... a cheap investment may save our whole mattress!
Anyhow, I noticed one other poster here had suggested it being the down mattress. I really think there is something to this. HTH. (07/11/2006)
By Bryan
Someone told me today that eucalyptus oil will repel cats. She suggested putting 10 drops in a spray bottle of water and spritzing that on areas, such as the bed, where you don't want the cats to go. Has anyone heard of this or used this successfully?
I'm another cat owner at wits end with my 2 cats who in the last week have started peeing on my side of the bed while I'm in it late at night. They've also been guilty of ruining a down comforter & peeing in baskets of clean laundry. Clearly they are trying to tell me something because they continue to use & seem happy with their litter boxes which are kept clean. We have been dog sitting most of the summer without problems but maybe the cats have had enough & are telling me that it is time for the dog to hit the road. Shame because they did seem to be getting along for weeks & we had plans to adopt a dog of our own soon. (07/25/2006)
By Autumnal
Just to let you guys know. I have a 3 year old cat who wouldn't use the litter box to save her life! For 3 years, she would always poo beside it, and pee in it maybe once, then pee all over the house on clothes, rugs, etc. All this time I would just clean the poo, wash the peed on items, etc. I loved my cat and wouldn't get rid of her.
Then I found cat attract, which is a miracle. She finally uses the boxes 100%. I want to know how it works now, I don't understand how herbal scents can change her life-long habits. No complaints tho! I love it, and you should try it. Now, onto other things. I just got another kitten, a male. He's about 14 weeks now, and we've had him about 2 weeks, so he's still getting use to us. He hides a lot, but the past 2 nights we've been able to get him to sleep in the bed with us. Last night he peed on my feet (the comforter and the mattress). We don't have a down comforter. But I don't understand why he did this.
But I do remember my 3 year old cat, when she was a kitten one day in bed she peed on my chest (on top of same comforter). Is it possible he picked up the smell after all this time? Why would he do it this time, and not the night before? What to do, what to do.. I'm wondering if he was afraid to leave the bed (we have a crate with 2 big dogs at the foot of the bed at night). And decided he had to go. I'm not sure, I'm at a loss. But for people with pets going all over the house, get Cat Attract. Amazing amazing. (08/02/2006)
By LaLa
We have been having this problem too, peeing on soft surfaces that the cat does not usually pee on (she regularly uses her litterbox) seems to be directly a response to stress, and especially to times when we are away from home more than usual. (we have a very finicky cat!)
Things that have helped:
1. Tinfoil tinfoil tinfoil! Seriously, it works!
2. Keeping her out of the room in question when we're not in it to supervise and place her in her litterbox as soon as she starts scratching.
3. Cleaning with nature's miracle - we have bought the gallon jugs and after soaking up as much of the pee as possible, dousing the offending area with the stuff, even before putting it through the wash. expensive, but has saved many a comforter.
4. Placing cat treats and kibble on the bed... cats don't eliminate in the same places they eat, so this is an attempt to transform the bed into an "eating" place instead of a "peeing" place.
5. Giving your cat more attention and stability wherever reasonable. play with them lots - and remember it's not their fault, they're just trying to communicate their unhappiness however it will get your attention. as the owner of an indoor cat, i believe we have a responsibility to enrich their lives as much as possible with lots of stimulus and play and attention since they can't have adventures outside.
Good luck, and try not to get frustrated/mad... cats can sense this and just get more stressed out! (08/16/2006)
By pee-ved
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