Why does my cat keep urinating on my bed?

Have you ever had her checked for a urinary tract infection? She certainly is trying to tell you something.

Make sure you\\\’re cleaning the area well with something like Simple Solution or Nature\\\’s Miracle. Even though you might not be able to smell urine after it\\\’s been washed, cats still can and will continue to go back to the same spot.

I can tell you from experience what has worked in our household as we’ve tried everything I’ve listed and we have litter box harmony.

Cats are fastidious animals and if the litter box is dirty, they’ll look elsewhere for a place to go. Think of how you felt the last time you were faced with a dirty public restroom, and you can probably empathize!

The first thing you need to do is take your cat to the vet to rule out any medical problems. Please note that if your cat is straining in the litter box and can\\\’t pass any urine, he has a medical emergency and needs immediate veterinary care.

What not to do….
Do not punish your cat by hitting, spanking, or slapping for spraying. Do not take the cat to the area and admonish him. This might well teach the cat to be afraid of you and the litter pan. The cat may actually spray more if he is stressed by the punishment.

Do not rub your cat’s nose in it… Not only is rubbing your cat\\\’s nose in it\\\’s urine/feces cruel, it serves no constructive purpose. All this type of punishment will do is frighten the cat. Sometimes, owners think they are teaching the cat a lesson by rubbing it\\\’s nose in it\\\’s urine/feces & then placing the cat in it\\\’s litter tray. The cat will start to associate punishment with it\\\’s litter tray & avoid using it all the more.

You can also place toys, food bowls, water bowls or a litter pan in the area where your cat has been peeing to discourage any future activity. If your cat has been spraying a wall at this site, try attaching a liner to the wall and drape it down into the litter pan.

Make sure your litter pan is large enough to accommodate your cat. We have the largest pans we could find. 18×20 with a 10 inch back.

Drug therapy can help resolve a spraying problem. There medications are effective in individual cases—Valium, Prozac or Elevil are a few options.

Starting Out Clean…
Even if the box you bought is brand new, give it a good scrubbing with hot water and soap, then a bleach rinse , rinse well, and let it air dry. Cats have a much better sense of smell than we do, and they may be put off by the odor of a new box. Old boxes hold the smell of urine.

A word of warning about using bleach. Diluted bleach is a safe disinfectant but straight bleach is deadly when ingested by cats. We have 5 cats that love the smell and come running when I’m bleaching. I do my bleaching in the bathroom with the door closed (in the winter and outside the other 3 seasons) and rinse, rinse, rinse well! The bath tub words great to soak the litter pans in. Then I rinse the tub well to make sure there is no residue of bleach left.

If the box has been used before, follow the dish soap-and-water scrub with a bleach soak - one-half cup to a gallon of water will do - and then rinse, rinse, rinse and allow to air dry. Other types of disinfectant shouldn\\\’t be used - their lingering scent may cause more harm than good.

Ammonia, for example, shares some chemical properties with urine and can make a clean box smell dirty to a cat. Bleach leaves a fresh clean smell that cats like.

Lysol and PineSol for example, are highly toxic to cats.

Keeping It Clean
All the scrubbing in the world isn\\\’t going to help you if you offer your cat a clean box and then don\\\’t bother to keep it that way. Some cats are so fussy that a box that has been used even once may be unsuitable. If you can\\\’t scoop immediately - and honestly, not many of us can\\\’t - try to scoop twice a day or daily at least.

When in doubt, clean it out!

You can almost always offer your cat a clean bathroom if you provide two litter boxes, placed side by side. Some cats even prefer the two-box system: They urinate in one and defecate in the other.

Some cats show a preference between covered versus uncovered litter pans. If you have more than one cat, it’s recommended to have one litter pan per each cat plus one. We have removed the covers from all but 2 of our litter pans.

It may be necessary to put out more than one litter pan, each with a different type of litter to see what your cat prefers. Some cats will not use heavily scented litters or litter made out of things other than clay.

Cleaning…
If you use a non scoop able litter, you should discard all the cat litter from your pans at the very least on a weekly basis and soak the litter pans. We used non scoopable litter for our feral cats when they first came home to us while they were crated. I dumped it daily because the pee would soak to the bottom of the pan. Being in a new place they usually spilled their water and scoopable would get caught in their paws. I also use non-scoopable for very young kittens.

We have 30 inside cats but only have 15 boxes but we clean, clean, clean. The boxes are scooped several times a day and then bleached twice a week or more if needed. Pee gets stuck on the side at times and must be cleaned.

Privacy…
Cats like privacy when they\\\’re doing their business. Because cats are vulnerable when they are going to the toilet, they like to ensure they have an escape route, and some cats will refuse to use a covered pan.

If she was ambushed by another cat or startled by something while she was using the litter box, she may have decided that it\\\’s too scary to go in there, and she may start using a place that she thinks is safer. Try to put her litter box in a place where she can see people or a dog or another cat coming.

Other reasons for litter pan problems:
Moving to a new home.
Moving the litter box to a new location
Any new change in the cat’s life
A new addition to your household-new baby, kitten, or puppy

Neighbor or stray cat entering your yard…
Some inside cats will react to a neighbor’s cat entering your yard and rebel by spraying. Block your cat’s view from these intruders. You may even have to remove your shoes before entering the house. Discourage cats from hanging around outside your house. Motion-activated devices, such as the Critter Gitter, the Scarecrow, or the Scraminal, all function to frighten outdoor cats away.

Comments to Answer

1

Plus!! Plus give it a plus!!!! this answer is totally accurate!! Bravo Catsofmany!!

By: dafatcat2122   507

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dont be mad at her i understand because my cat went through a similar phase but remember its not her fault she is trying to tell you something is wrong, i read an amazing book called cat confidential by vicky halls, that gave me some really good insight into why she might be doing it and how to prevent it, she has a website so its probly worht looking at that too x

Source Link: http://www.vickyhalls.net/

dont be mad at her i understand because my cat went through a similar phase but remember its not her fault she is trying to tell you something is wrong, i read an amazing book called cat confidential by vicky halls, that gave me some really good insight into why she might be doing it and how to prevent it, she has a website so its probly worht looking at that too x

Source Link: http://www.vickyhalls.net/

Thanks for the feedback! I\\\’m going to take her to the vet to hopefully rule out anything medical.

maybe that your cat is pickey and dont like the litter. my cats like their litter a sertain way and if they dont like it they will use the bathroom in the closet

May I say that the thing you should do is put the cat near the litter box. I did that to my cat when I got him and it works just fine.