Why does a house trained cat take a liking to peeing on my bed?

Kitty Katz - They meow meow meow and they dance dance dance!
Australia
February 12, 2007 3:07am CST
Why does my cat use her litter tray every other time, but if we accidently leave our bedroom door open, she gets up on the bed and pee's on it? Shes done it twice now. I am getting really angry about it! What if we desex her will this help? I dont want to have to give her away because of it. Is there a medical reason for her doing this? She had a litter of kittens last year. She runs a mile when found, like she knows not to do it, but does it anyway. Please help!
2 people like this
13 responses
• United States
12 Feb 07
There could be a number of reasons for her to be doing that. One is that it's a medical problem so you should have her checked out by a vet to eliminate any medical reasons. She could have some sort of infection that's causing that behavior. The second is because she has not been fixed that she is marking her territory. Female cats, although not as common as in male cats, will mark their territory by spraying certain areas with urine. The third could be because she is annoyed with you for some reason, maybe she doesn't like being locked out of the bedroom. Before you give her away, I would have her taken to the vet and have her checked out and also spay her. A lot of times just spaying a cat will stop that particular behavior.
1 person likes this
@clownfish (3272)
• United States
12 Feb 07
Hi! This is pretty much what I was thinking, too. Specifically, kidney and urinary infections will make a cat urinate where they are not supposed to. We had a cat who always went in the bathtub, clothes stored in a closet, on the carpet, etc. We loved her and most of the time she was the sweetest cat, so we would never had dreamed of giving her away. Years later we found out she was having chronic kidney and urinary infections. So, that's definitely something to check. :-)
• Australia
12 Feb 07
My last cat had kidney/urinary issues. It wasnt like this. She specifically targets the bed. In fact, after I posted this message, I found that she had snuck into our spare room and pissed on that too! Perhaps fixing her will help.
• Australia
14 Feb 07
And that smell will never leave...even when WE cant smell it anymore...they still can! Two mattresses...totalled!
• United States
13 Feb 07
It sounds to me like the cat is trying to mark a territory that maybe another cat had utilized. They will do this to spread their smell and get rid of the smell of the other animal. Did you have another cat sleeping in your bed? The best way to correct this issue is find a spray called "Bitter Apple". Spray it on the spot your cat has been going as well as the rest of the bed. The cat will not potty there again. "Bitter Apple" can be used to stop problems such as going to the bathroom where they are not supposed to, clawing things up and chewing things up. It is a great invention that not enough cat owners know about. You should be able to find it in your local petstore or the pet section of Walmart. Hope this helps, good luck to you!
1 person likes this
• Australia
14 Feb 07
Thanks Tara.
• Australia
13 Feb 07
Many thanks for your help on this one. Im not in USA but Im sure I can find one of those bitter sprays.
1 person likes this
@taramoon (740)
• Spain
13 Feb 07
Adding to this comment i've bought a spray the other day from my local pet store its called GET OFF, i bought it in SPain but it's an english brand
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
12 Feb 07
Since she has alreayd gone into heat, spaying her now probably won't help if she is marking her territory. Odds are she is mad at you for something you have done. My MIL has a cat that urinates on someones bed everytime they go out of town because he doesn't like being left alone.
1 person likes this
• Australia
12 Feb 07
She could be annoyed with us. Her old owner said that she used to sleep with her daughter everynight, but given the circumstances, why would I take the chance in letting her sleep on the bed?????
@multisubj (451)
• India
14 Feb 07
Kitten learn from experience. I study street cats. Even they enter bed rooms and excrete on beds (My encounters with cats started by trying to prevent their entry into bed rooms). Solution is, we can fix nets to windows. If possible we can have spring doors to bed rooms which close automatically. Pl. sympathise with the urinating and defacating kitten. Even humans make mistakes in spite of best education and cultural boastings. How can we expect the kitten to know hygiene? In the process of their growing up, I found that kitten learn to live neatly. Around 10 street cats which visit my house three times a day, often defacate in a corner in the bath room. My wife dislikes it and consider them a nuissance. We can always say that street cats can defacate in streets or roof/tree tops. I believe they have their preferences. summary: Pl. do not worry about your cat. It will change for better. Kindly tolerate it. At the same time, pl. do not allow it to enter your bed room, till it changes its habits. It will change, once it knows that you do not like it to sit on your bed and defacate.
• Australia
14 Feb 07
Thanks for your input. What is she isnt a kitten anymore???? She is over 12 months old and has already had a litter of kittens with her old owner. Shouldnt she be out of kitten habits by now?
@bkfuels (1603)
• Canada
14 Feb 07
One of my cats does the same thing. I think it is when she is mad at me. I get so mad. One time she did it right on me when I was sleeping. I think this is common.
• Australia
14 Feb 07
Great. :(
@nic_knick (739)
• China
13 Feb 07
weird world, isn't it? well, i think i have to say you have to just enjoy your life, and u have to let the cat enjoy its life. maybe he just likes to piss on it, huh?
• Australia
14 Feb 07
Hmm of no help and borderlining a negative rating.
• Australia
14 Feb 07
Hmm of no help and borderlining a negative rating.
@k1tten (2318)
• United States
12 Feb 07
It's most likely a territory issue. All animals do it at one point or another and this instance proves it. I'm not sure how you can fix it though. I haven't had that problem. I've only had male cats inside.
• Australia
12 Feb 07
I've only every had one other cat and he was male. He was the best cat ever and this new cat, being bad all the time, is just making me miss him even more. Thanks for your response.
@taramoon (740)
• Spain
12 Feb 07
Awww huni i have exactly the same problem with my male cat it's driving me insane all of a sudden my bathroom sink, or my dogs food bowls are being used by him, i wnet out this week and bought those silicon cystals beads for his new inclosed cat litter try cause i thought he might need his privacy, he is now using the tray and litter, but if you come across a good answer please let me know. Good luck
• Australia
13 Feb 07
Many thanks for your input and your best wishes.
• United States
13 Feb 07
I had this problem with my darling Thaddeus (he past away two summers ago - he was 19 years old). When he first started doing it, I freaked out because when I was a little girl, I had a 3 year old cat that started peeing in odd places. He ended up dying of lukemia. So, with Thaddeus, I spent $400 in vet bills for all sorts of tests to make sure he was healthy. The diagnosis was that he had an attitude problem. When he was mad at me, he would pee where I sat or slept. He was fine when we were around, so we started just closing off rooms when we left. Thinking back, I'd rather deal with that than not having him around at all. Sure do miss my "monster-kitty".
• Australia
13 Feb 07
Im starting to think mine needs a little attitude adjustment.
@ja_mez_x (20)
• Philippines
13 Feb 07
I'll just share my cat experience. When I was a child we had a family of stray cats. The fat one, a male, usually go out of the house by climbing up the roof, and then in the afternoon, it will come back meowing very loud. At one time, this alpha male climbed the rooftop as usual. I'm down below playing with his kittens, you know what he did? Sprinkled me with his urine from above! I looked up to see this big cat with his bottom on me before disappearing. Now, our house has been renovated. There are walls now to keep stray cats out of our house. Those cats are no more. But I surely would not forget the fat cat that pissed on my face. hahaha!!!
• Australia
14 Feb 07
Oh ...my.....God! Thats pretty bad!
• United States
13 Feb 07
Maybe shes marking it so no other cats will come around? Or maybe there is a problem call your local vet tomorrow and ask him about it.
• Australia
14 Feb 07
Spoke to vet yesterday. She says one of 3 things, 1)Hormonal, 2)Bad attitude, 3)Covering up old cat smell.
• China
13 Feb 07
just like my cat did, I think he just like it. now when I go to work ,I have to locked my bedroom...
• Australia
14 Feb 07
Im not locking the bedroom.....i'm locking the cat. Shes been living in our laundry for two days.
• United States
14 Feb 07
Some cats do not like going to the bathroom when the litter box is full. My cats refuse to go their unless it is relatively empty. Make sure the litter box is empty, and maybe that will get rid of the problem. Good Luck!
• Australia
14 Feb 07
I clean the litter tray every 2-3 days and when she cant get in the bedroom she happily uses the tray. She doesnt poo, just pees.