cat problem???

Question

Okay..so my cat is great. Lovable. Harmless. Lets you do nething to him and will never harm a fly. Anyway...I have a feather bed that I sleep under. And today...he peed...or tried to pee in it...but i caught him before he did alot. What does this mean? and how should i make sure it doesnt happened again? And how do i punish him?

YES HIS PAN IS CLEAN

As funny as it may seem...i actually sleep under the featherbad.....I get cold...and well its warm...its not like its a matress or nething :\

HE IS NUTERED

Answer 1

Hello! From experience (I had a male cats that would do this now and again - pee on piles of clothes or on beds even when a litter box was available to him) and I thought it was because he wasn't neutered and he was "marking his territory". However, I never neutered him and he has stopped this behaviour.

I am positive it has stopped for 2 reasons:
1. I started cleaning his litter box after almost every use.

---- Cats are very particular about their 'toilet'! (Just the same as you or I wouldn't want to go in a toilet full of someone elses exrement, for example). They usually don't like to share litter boxes. If you have multiple cats, he may dislike the smell of other cats feces/urine in the only available place he can go. Or, if a litter box is at all even slightly filled up, animals will find a 'fresher' place to go. Likewise if the litter box is too small for them to comfortably use. (Imagine trying to use a soup bowl to go to the bathroom in instead of a toilet) :P


2. My cat (possibly yours) began developing urinary tract infections and urinating elsewhere was possibly a beginning sign of an infection and discomfort for him.

--- Cats feel something is wrong but don't know what it is or how to correct it, and they get reactionary and try something different to help relieve their symptoms.

It is possible your male cat is developing crystals in his bladder. You might want to consider changing his diet immediately.
Taking him to a vet, unless the stones have already begun to form, will show no sign of trouble.
When my cat started doing this, he was approx. 2 years old. About 6-8 months later, he needed emergency surgery to remove stones and it cost me over $500.00.

After this he went on a special UTI prescription diet - no more cheap, junky food - and fresh, purified water is ALWAYS available for him. He's never had problems since.

I would suggest you go to a health food store (if one is nearby) and buy a product called Wysong: Uretic. It's what we use now. It is the only non-prescription diet for cats with Urinary problems, it is low in magnesium ash (which is concluded as a major attributing factor to urinary tract infections/forming of crystals). It's expensive but it's worth it!
Don't feed your cat wet food like Friskies or 9Lives nor cheap dry food or fatty treats.

Try it for 2 months, keep the litter box free of 'deposits' as often as you can and go from there. Hopefully his urge to urinate elsewhere will be aleviated because his bladder irritation will be gone. (If that is the problem).

However, before you go THAT far, you may even want to try something so simple as changing the type of litter you use. Give it a quality change up and set him inside, take hold of his paws and dig for him like a cat normally would. It's a way of training kittens to use the litter box. See what happens. It's worth a try!

As far as punishment, since you do not know the reason for him urinating in your bed, punishment seems quite unnecessary.

If he continues to urinate after a litter change and continues after a diet change and effort has been made to keep his litter box clean, then you may want to purchase a cat book of some kind that will help you re-train your cat to use the litter box or proper ways of disciplining him when he doesn't.

But typically, a sudden change in behaviour is more of a health concern than a behavioral concern.
He may need a veterinary physical for illness.
But that, I think, would be a last resort. Sometimes things are pretty simple problems and need pretty simple fixes. :)

Good luck!

Answer 2

OK first of all i assume you sleep on the feather bed not under it, but here are some sauggestions with the cat.

#1 if you cat is not peeing in the litter box it's either because your not cleaning it enough or you have it blocked when he needs to go.

#2 if you have things you don't want your cat to mess with don't let him into the room where those objects are located, because cats are curious.

#3 is he nutured because if he isn't he may just be marking his territory, had this happen, and it's not pretty! He needs a snip snip!

#4 Punishing your cat? Thats sad, if you feel you need to "punish" your cat try getting a small spray bottle and fill it with water and when your cat does something you don't like give him a gentle squeeze of it

Besides that, thats all the help i can give you, hope it helps!

Answer 3

I had a kitten that did the same thing, I didn't punish him because he didn't know any better. I washed the feather bed, don't think you're supposed to, but I did. I put baking soda on the mattress and let it set for an hour or two and vacuumed it up...worked pretty well.

Answer 4

feathers and cats, ummm. are you sure he wasn't trying to mark it as his, after all everything belongs to them anyway. if he was trying to pee, is his pan clean, some will not use their pans unless they are clean (others could care less). is he trying to do this anywhere else? if so maybe another problem and might want to see a vet. if this is only place, well a step forward in understanding. if you have a vet can ask them, if not get some books from library and they might have ideas of what it is or how to handle (short of getting rid of feathers).

Answer 5

IF YOUR CAT IS PEEING OUT OF HIS LITTER BOX OR WHERE EVER HE GOES NORMALLY IT COULD BE THAT HE HAS A URINARY TRACT INFECTION OR MAY HAVE CRYSTALS IN HIS URINE WHICH COULD END UP CLOGGING HIS BLADDER. NOT GOOD.
KEEP AN EYE ON HIM IF IT TAKES HIM FOREVER TO GO POTTY THAT COULD BE IT. IF HE DOES HAVE A UTI HE NEEDS ANTIBIOTICS SO YOU SHOULD TAKE HIM TO THE VET.
OR HE COULD BE MAD AT YOU FOR SOMETHING LIKE YOU LEFT FOR A WHILE OR YOU HAD SOMEONE STRANGE IN YOUR ROOM. THERE COULD BE MANY REASONS TO WHY HE MIGHT BE MAD AT YOU IF THAT IS WHATS WRONG W/ HIM THAN GET A PLASTIC BOTTLE PUT SOME GRAVEL IN IT AND WHEN HES DOING SOMETHING WRONG SHAKE IT CLOSE BY HIM AND IT WILL SCARE HIM ENOUGH TO STOP WHAT EVER HES DOING.

Answer 6

He either did it because he wasnt feeling good (seriously), or he loves you so much he wanted to mark your territory as his own! But like I said, seriously, when cats are very ill, they wont want to get up and they will just go right then and there. He shouldnt be punished unless he tries to do it again in the same place.

Answer 7

The kitten is marking territory because it loves you:

To get the kitty trained to go to its litter box only, you must catch it in the act, put their nose in it, then give a fair swat to it, and then take it to its litter box, so the kitten can understand the litter box is the only good spot to go...

Answer 8

Dont punish him, hes marking his territory, its a cat like response, its how they grow up, all hes doing is making sure no other cat or pet comes in & takes his place. He wants to make sure to let any animal know "hey this is MY terriroty!

Answer 9

When cats pee in inappropriate places (suddenly when they never did so), it is often a way of communicating to you that something is the matter with them - the most common complaint is urinary tract infection or stress.

Answer 10

You can lightly spray white vinegar on it or start using a store bought product. Then he won't want to sleep w/you. If u put him in his litterbox when u caught him that hopefully is enough punishment.