Help! My cat urinates in bed

[Mari]

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Very uncommon for cats - my 6 yr old has been urinating around the house since he was a kitten. On carpets, in plants, on clothes and worst of all on the bed. Last night he urinated between my legs while I was asleep.

I have spent a small fortune on veterinary bills trying to fix the problem - we have tried so much! Following advice from my local vet he had a procedure a yr ago to cut the penis in order to help him urinate.

It's been 6 yrs of patiently dealing with this but now my partner and I cannot accept this any longer - most of all it's terribly un-hygienic.

Is it time to put him to sleep?

Hoping you can understand the gravity of this please advice what is best.

[TacoGrl]

Is he fixed?

A friend of mine used to have a Hymalayan (sp? ) who used to pee everywhere...she got him fixed and the problem stopped...

[sugarcatmom]

I'm assuming he had a urinary blockage in the past, thus the PU (perineal urethrostomy) surgery. What does he currently eat? What sort of meds have been tried?

Do you have any other cats or pets?

[Mari]

He's been doing this since the very first day I took him home at 4 months old... and he was fixed when he was around 1 yr old.

Yes, he used to have urinary blockage hence the surgery. He was on metacam and I will have to check with my Vet what was the name of his medication.

I have a 3 yr old cat and a 1 1/2 yr old dog.

[sugarcatmom]

The Metacam would have been for pain – was he on that in relation to the PU surgery or at some other time? Just a word of caution on Metcam for future reference: it’s been implicated in causing kidney damage in some cats, so if you have other options (like Buprenex or Fentanyl) I would avoid using it.

I’m still curious about what your cat is eating, as diet plays a huge role in bladder/urinary tract health. The PU surgery may help prevent him from blocking again, but it does nothing to address that original source of the blockage, which is due to the formation of uroliths (clumps of urinary crystals). It’s likely that these crystals are still present in his bladder and they could be causing irritation and inflammation to the degree that it makes him uncomfortable. He may associate the litter box with pain.

The best way to deal with urinary crystals is with a meat-based wet food diet. This works for 2 reasons: it increases urine production and therefore flushes out any crystals that do form before they can clump; and also because the higher meat content of wet food creates a more acidic urine (as opposed to the high plant content of dry food that is more likely to result in alkaline urine), which is a hostile environment for struvite crystal formation (the more common type).

There are a few other factors that may or may not be playing a roll. How is his relationship with the other cat and dog? Stress can sometimes manifest as a condition called idiopathic interstitial cystitis. As well, cats, even neutered ones, can be strongly territorial. How many litter boxes do you have? Are they covered or uncovered? What kind of litter do you use (scented or not? clumping? pellets?)? How often do you clean the litter box? These are all variables that may have an effect on inappropriate elimination in cats. Instead of going into huge detail about each one, I’ll give you some links to check out and perhaps you’ll find info that applies to your situation.

In a nutshell, I’d suggest changing to wet food if you haven’t already, adding more litter boxes around the house, perhaps with a different litter (definitely unscented), and maybe trying a couple Feliway diffusers (feline appeasing pheromones – can help with both stress and territorial issues) if you can find them (online might be your best bet). Make sure you clean any accidents (past and present) with an enzymatic cleaner.

http://www.catinfo.org/litterbox.htm
http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/inappro-elim.html
http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/inappro-elim2.html
http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/inappro-elim3.html
http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/marking.html
http://www.messybeast.com/toileting-problem.htm
http://www.hdw-inc.com/litterbox.htm

[Hazmat]

One of my three does on occasion pees on my bed or even poops. She is my little one. I took her in about a year and half ago. She looked like she was about 6 months old but the vet estimated her age at 2 to 3 years.

It took me a year to get her to get her to the point where she would not pee or poop everywhere. I have been through the urinary infeaction Vet. syndrome.

After a year and a half I have finnally got her to use the litterbox 98% of the time but even then she will still sometimes pee or poop on my bed (even when i am in it sleeping). Not a full pee or poop. Little pees or poops rather. By little I mean that she will do one one or two small poops or a very small (silver dollar size pee).

For me , she will do this action when the litter box is not totally clean. I have been using "Simple solution: 'Ensyme cleaner where she goes and that usually stoppes the action for a while. as well as washing sheets and bedding( and spraying the matress with enzyme cleaner).

Making up the bed with clean bedding usually deteres her since she does not get up on a tight bed. Also if I do not oversleep and disturbe her routine she is usually ok.

But I have come to the conclusion that she is simply a runt of the litter semi retarded perpetual kitten type and there is nothing I can do. She is a perpetual kitten like a child with down syndrome.

I am a 53 year old single guy. it is hard for me to actually make the bed every day, keep the house clean as well as the litter box. HAHA!

The Vet. sais that he suspects the cat has an auto immune disease. I suspect she is just retarded. In any case I don't have the heart to lose her by turning her over to someone else since I know someone else would put her down ( which is probably why she ended up on my doorstep (starving) in the first place).

I still have high hopes that a few more years of training will get her to 100% compliance

[Mari]

Sugarcatmom thank you for the feedback - I will bring it along with me to the Vet on Saturday and see what is her feedback. I suspect we might have a problem again with urinary tract infection.
I will also try changing the sand in the litterbox and add a couple more around the house.

It's just that the Vet is costing me so much money! It's become expensive in Dubai!

Hazmat thanks for your feedback I also don't have the heart to lose him even though so many people are telling me I have done all I could and it's time to let him go....

[sandyrivers]

Hi, I can see the inconvenience of the problem!!! Perhaps in the meantime, you can keep your cat from going in your room, or at worst buy a waterproof matress cover, couch cover... hardware stores sell large blue tarps that can be cut to your need and duct-taped to furniture, I know its not too pleasing to the eye, but it can be a temporary solution until your cat is doing better. If you preffer to keep your cat away from certain areas of your house, any citrus (orange,lemon) smelling spray should do the thing, orange and lemon peels work good to keep cats away from sensitive areas, they don't like the smell at all, and it's a natural/ecological way to deal with the problem.
I am not one to believe that pets should be put to sleep because they cause us humans 'constraints' or 'too much trouble'... Have you looked into vet schools/universities that may charge you less for the visits...Some universities here in Canada do take new 'patients', tho the wait can be long. I myself have a cat with a recently diagnosed heart condition, which may lead to very expensive treatment and frequent visits to the vet. Perhaps you can do some fundraising on your own (it only takes one pet lover with a big heart to 'sponsor' your cat) it may be worth a try.

Good luck, and keep on loving him! Surely, he will never let you go!!!
Sandy