Stress and Anxiety Can Cause Inappropriate Urination After medical conditions, stress and anxiety are the most common causes of inappropriate urination in cats. Cats can be stressed or anxious about many things that humans might not immediately recognize. Poor litter box conditions are chief among these.
But while it might be a biological problem, says Dr. Eatroff, cats usually pee on a bed due to an issue that is rooted in anxiety and stress, which can affect several hormonal and chemical balances in the body.
Marking territory with urine is your cat's way of dealing with stress. They feel anxious and are trying to relieve their anxiety by staking out their boundaries. Leaving their urine scent is the most emphatic way to say, “I'm stressed.”
Although female cats as well as neutered and spayed cats can urine mark, unneutered males have more reason to do so. One function of urine marking is to advertise reproductive availability, so unneutered males may urine mark to let females know they are available.
Sometimes peeing on the bed has something to do with your cat wanting to mix his scent with yours (or with someone who shares your bed). If this is the case, it isn't out of anger or spite. Instead, it's about marking you all as part of the same community.
If your cat is peeing on the bed, place treats there. Cats hate peeing near places where they eat. If you change the places where your cat pees to where they eat, they will stop peeing there. If your cat is peeing outside the litter box, make sure you clean the box regularly.
The most common reasons a cat urinates outside of its box: Urinary tract infection. Idiopathic cystitis. Increased urine production such as diabetes or kidney disease.
Odd scents can repel cats, and many felines prefer clumping litter to regular clay. Place a new litterbox near where the inappropriate urination is occurring to encourage your kitty to use it. After several days, move it two to three feet closer to the original location every day until it is back where it belongs.
There is good news: spayed and neutered cats generally have less strong-smelling urine, and the type of litter you use and your litter box maintenance habits play a big role in how much of the pee odor makes it to your nose.
Vets say that a cat peeing on the bed or couch might have separation anxiety. Sensitive kitties can become anxious when their favorite person is away from them for an extended period of time. And they might respond by peeing on beds or couchs that is saturated with their human's scent.
Spaying a female cat will decrease the likelihood that it will spray but a small percentage of cats will still spray after having this surgical procedure performed. According to the Cornell Feline Health Center, 5% of female cats will continue to spray even after they have been spayed.
Stress. Frustration, stress and anxiety are common causes of inappropriate urinating in cats and can be a way for cats to show they are not feeling too happy about something. You should try and work out what could be causing your cat to feel stressed so that you can remove or at least reduce, the stressor.
Cats with UTIs try to urinate very frequently, they may pass only small amounts of urine, they may strain to urinate, they may cry out or whine when urinating, and there may be blood visible in their urine. Urinating outside of the litterbox is also a red flag that something is wrong in the bladder.
When cats choose somewhere besides their litter boxes to urinate, veterinarians look for health concerns such as such as kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, diabetes, crystals in the urine (a potentially life-threatening situation in male cats), bladder stones, or bladder inflammation caused by an infection or even stress ...
In a spray bottle, mix 16 ounces (about 500 ml) of warm water with 10 drops of peppermint essential oil or two tablespoons of peppermint extract. Spray all of the areas that you think your cat may have urinated or marked. Within a few hours the scent will be gone.
In addition to your detergent, add a quarter cup of a white vinegar to your washer's bleach dispenser. Use the natural power of baking soda to help neutralize cat urine odor in soiled bedding and clothes. Add a half-cup directly to the drum with your clothes, or use a detergent that has baking soda in it.
Urinary incontinence can affect up to one out of five spayed female dogs and develops an average of 2.9 years after the dog has been spayed.
Depending on where your cat spends his time, he may view your whole neighborhood as his territory. Female cats can be just as territorial as males. The behavior patterns in this type of aggression include chasing and ambushing the intruder, as well as hissing and swatting when contact occurs.
Cats urinate by squatting onto a horizontal surface; spraying occurs standing up. The cat makes a treading motion with her back feet and quivers her tail, leaving her scent mark on a vertical surface. If your cat has begun urinating outside of her litter box, be sure that the box is regularly cleaned.
You see, dear reader, cats have scent glands on their heads, lips, chins, and tails, and when they rub these parts of their body on you, what they're really doing is marking you with their scent. This scent is undetectable by humans, but other cats are hypersensitive to it.
A solution of 1 part white vinegar and 1 part water can be used to neutralize the smell of cat pee. Soak the area then let it dry. The smell should disappear over a few days.
It's possible they're feeling stressed out and anxious
This brings us to one of the main reasons for cats soiling your precious sleeping area…a whole lot of anxiety and stress. According to PetMD, anxiety in cats can trigger some unpleasant reactions, including peeing in places that they're not supposed to.
This usually happens if the cat is not fixed, or if they've had a significant change to their surroundings (new cat, dog, move, etc.) most often a cat has a strong, instinctual desire to go inside a litter box and "cover up." If your female cat is not spayed, this could be the reason.