My cat...

[VRBeauty]

decided to mark my bed as his territory. While I was in it.

Any suggestions on what I can do to get it through to him that this is not OK?

Said cat is 19, but this was not an accident and not an issue of senility. He saw my other cat move into a portion of the bed that he apparently considers to be his territory (near my pillow) and just did it...

He''s now confined to the enclosed back porch. I''m off to shower and get ready for work (and feed the washing machine...

) so I probably won''t be able to respond until tonight, but I definitely welcome any and all suggestions.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 3/11/2010 9:10:10 AM
Author:VRBeauty
decided to mark my bed as his territory. While I was in it.

Any suggestions on what I can do to get it through to him that this is not OK?

Said cat is 19, but this was not an accident and not an issue of senility. He saw my other cat move into a portion of the bed that he apparently considers to be his territory (near my pillow) and just did it...

He''s now confined to the enclosed back porch. I''m off to shower and get ready for work (and feed the washing machine...

) so I probably won''t be able to respond until tonight, but I definitely welcome any and all suggestions.

I would get him checked by a vet ASAP VR as this is out of character, especially at his age it would be best to get him checked for UTI and maybe some tests done on organ function etc. Often weeing in odd places can be a sign of an UTI or other discomfort so it would be best to get him looked at.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Ditto Lorelei.

 

[VRBeauty]

Thanks Lorelei and Hudson Hawk. He was checked out and tested for UTI just a few weeks ago. No infections, just the usual kidney function stuff -- he''s been on a kidney diet for many years now. On the behavior mod side, I walk him outs back two or three times each evening. I walk to the back of the yard, he follows and selects a spot to wee, takes a few minutes to check out the rest of the domain, and we go back inside. I alsways feel like I''m training a new puppy, though I guess I''m the one who''s been well trained! I repeat the routine before I leave for work in the morning, and there are two litter boxes in the house. He didn''t have a lot of urine to get rid of -- I''m pretty sure this was a deliberate thing.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 3/11/2010 9:35:58 AM
Author: VRBeauty
Thanks Lorelei and Hudson Hawk. He was checked out and tested for UTI just a few weeks ago. No infections, just the usual kidney function stuff -- he's been on a kidney diet for many years now. On the behavior mod side, I walk him outs back two or three times each evening. I walk to the back of the yard, he follows and selects a spot to wee, takes a few minutes to check out the rest of the domain, and we go back inside. I alsways feel like I'm training a new puppy, though I guess I'm the one who's been well trained! I repeat the routine before I leave for work in the morning, and there are two litter boxes in the house. He didn't have a lot of urine to get rid of -- I'm pretty sure this was a deliberate thing.

I think I would still get him checked especially if he has kidney issues ( as you know not unusual in the older cat). UTI's and other conditions can come on pretty quickly.

Sounds like you take excellent care of him!

 

[movie zombie]

sigh: this is a problem we are familiar with. at age 19, he''s older and grumpy. making sure "his spot" on the bed smells of him and is not invaded by "the other" cat is going to paramount. while not attractive, we keep a water resistant cover over the bed even when we are sleeping....it cuts down on the amount of bedding needed to be laundered. my experience is that once a cat starts this behavior....especially an elderly cat....its not going to stop. he''s pissed off and he''s telling you about it. eliminate why he''s pissed off and you won''t be pissed on. we''ve found that that is about the only thing one can do. by making sure our cat in question has "his place" and gets lots of attention, we''ve reduced the occurrence to once every 4-10 weeks......but we won''t remove the water resistant barrier as we know that we can''t be awake 24/7 to make sure "his spot" on the bed is always available.

mz

ps please don''t get angry with your elderly cat. he''s needing the reassurance and love, not more displacement within the household.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Regardless of age, once a cat starts, it''s nearly impossible to stop. Ours pees on the couch and luckily when I washed the covers, oxyclean got the scent out. Now all the paddings is wrapped in plastic so that is protected.

My peeing cat is only four or so. He pees all over the garage.

 

[VRBeauty]

Thanks everyone for the input... even though I'm not crazy about the prognosis!

Date: 3/11/2010 11:30:05 AM
Author: movie zombie

my experience is that once a cat starts this behavior....especially an elderly cat....its not going to stop. he's pissed off and he's telling you about it. eliminate why he's pissed off and you won't be pissed on. we've found that that is about the only thing one can do.

mz

ps please don't get angry with your elderly cat. he's needing the reassurance and love, not more displacement within the household.

The stressor is the other cat, and she's not going anywhere. If anything, she's the one who has a right to be pissed off... fortunately she hasn't tried used this technique to mark her territory (that I know of!). She just takes swipes at Squeaky to try to let him know who's boss. But Squeaky is the number one cat in the house and everyone knows it. Earlier this winter when he was in really sad shape I started putting him under the bed covers when it got cold, and I got used to it and continued it. That's the spot he peed on this morning (though on top of the covers, so he could get the quilt my mother made me as part of the deal) so I'm probably complicit in having let him think that he had ownership of that part of the bed.

Thank goodness for washing machines!

If anyone has any other ideas, I'm all ears!

MZ -- This cat is also getting sub-q's every other day and ointment in both ears twice a day, none of which he likes, and those could also be causing him to "act out." I really do think this morning's incident was an intentional display of some sort, and I want to make sure I don't do anything that would reward or encourage repeat performances. But don't worry, I wouldn't react in anger, and in any event I couldn't stay angry at Squeaky for long if I wanted to!

Date: 3/11/2010 12:10:11 PM
Author: MC
Regardless of age, once a cat starts, it's nearly impossible to stop. Ours pees on the couch and luckily when I washed the covers, oxyclean got the scent out. Now all the paddings is wrapped in plastic so that is protected.

My peeing cat is only four or so. He pees all over the garage.

Only four? Oh my, I'm so sorry MC!

It can't be easy living with that, even if it is confined to the garage!

 

[waterlilly]

not fun, i feel your pain.

rather than restrict him to the porch - can you just close off the bedrooom to him?

like others have said - once it starts it is near impossible to stop.

i'm all for giving an elderly pet the "right of way" so to speak. but when it comes to cats peeing on the bed - i'm not so forgiving

our old lady is restricted to one room when we are not home because of her "issues". it's the only way i can keep my sanity and my husband keeps the peace between me and his beloved pee-machine cat!

never again - (i'm 100% a dog person anyway) - SO many people I know have cats with peeing issues - we will NEVER have a cat again after she passes!

 

[movie zombie]

VR, if we move the furniture we go on "pee alert"....if we have a catsitter in and return home we gon on "pee alert"..., etc.

we have 5 cats now, down from 9. moving into a bigger home helped. trying to be aware of what are his triggers has helped. unlike some of the others, Spikey is not geting subq nor is he on meds. however, he has "issues" going back to before i had him...including but not limited to being abandoned. he''s a great cat. luckily, for me the man i married loves Spikey as much as i do......

yes, letting your Squeaky under the covers has allowed him to claim territory. put a protective covering on the bed. you don''t have that many years left with him. locking him away on the porch will only piss him off more. lock him out of the bedroom when you''re not there, cover the bed, and love him lots before going to sleep making sure he''s in "his spot". again, not that many more years for a 19 year old cat.

mz

ps i know its frustrating and no fun to change sheets in the middle of the night.....be thankful that you don''t have to wash your hair, too.......

 

[VRBeauty]

Date: 3/11/2010 10:36:22 PM
Author: movie zombie

be thankful that you don''t have to wash your hair, too.......

 

[Imdanny]

I'm sorry this is happening. I've thought about what that must be like. We had cats growing up that did that. I've only had two cats, both females, both fixed, and neither one did. The one I have now would rather explode than go anywhere other than her litterbox *with* the litter she's used to.

I hope you find a solution.