Cats are known to be fundamentally the cleanest animals in the world. So what can you do if suddenly your cat starts peeing on the bed instead of using his toilet normally? In this article we show you what can be the causes of this type of cat behavior, we explain how you can help him to overcome this unpleasant situation and how you can, in the meantime, protect your bed from cat urine.
Summary
- Why do cats urinate on the bed?
- The importance of transmitting safety to your cat
- How to protect the bed from cat urine
- What if it’s the toilet’s fault?
- When should you go to a feline psychologist?
Every cat owners who have experienced this unpleasant situation know it: the cat’s urine gives off an extremely strong and persistent bad smell. Of course, they exist on the marketspecific cleaning products that you can use to make your mattress clean and odorless again, but more often than not the cat tends not to stop at a single “bout of urine” on the bed.
What can you do if your pet suddenly refuses to use the litter box and goes to the toilet in your bedroom? Closing the door to the room cannot be considered a permanent solution. Especially since probably thethe cat will then go to find another cozy corner of the apartment to urinate. To be able to manage the problem, you must first understand the causes behind this behavior on the part of your dog.
Why do cats urinate on the bed?
In fact, there is usually a number of reasons for this unusual behavior on the part of the cat: it is an unpleasant behavior that however should not be dismissed superficially as a simple “bad habit”. When a cat pees on the bed, it is often a serious sign of stress, insecurity, or a symptom of an illness.
In this context, in fact, the cat deliberately chooses to pee on his human’s bed. At first it may seem simply strange, but on closer inspection there is a good reason for this choice, on the part of our pet: for the cat, the bed is a sort of ideal “replacement litter box”, because it is not only absorbent and soft but it is also secluded, which allows it to do their business in peace.
In addition, the bed has the reassuring scent of its human and gives the pet a feeling of safety and protection. The very fact that your bed is raised makes him feel even more comfortable. But what causes a cat to suddenly feel insecure about using the toilet? Why do you feel the need to find a source of safety using your bed?
Does this conduct hide a pathology?
Before starting to look for the cause of this unpleasant change in habits on the part of your pet, in order to shed light on his mental condition, you should first check with your trusted veterinarian that your cat is physically healthy.
There are indeed cases in which this abnormal behavior can be traced back to a physical pathology. For example, in the case of diseases affecting the bladder or kidneys such ascystitis , kidney problems or the presence of calcium oxalate crystals in the urine. The constant urge to urinate and the additional insecurity experienced by the cat due to the severe pain cause it to pee on the bed. There, our cat feels safe and the mattress, so absorbent and comfortable, gives an additional feeling of comfort and well-being.
The vet will then perform a thorough examination to check your pet’s health condition and check for any pathology. He will likely have your pet’s blood and urine analyzed by a lab – this is the only way to make sure your cat is healthy.
If the examination reveals any ongoing pathology, often the treatment prescribed by the doctor also eliminates the problem. By taking antibiotics, other medications or changing the diet, the pain when urinating disappears, and after a while the cat gets used to using the toilet again. In practice, the negative litter = pain association is gradually reduced.
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If stress and fear lead the cat not to use the toilet
If, on the other hand, your cat is healthy, there are probably psychological reasons behind his abnormal “bedwetting attacks.” Don’t worry, it’s not necessarily a deep psychological trauma: often it’s a reaction to a ” problem ”which could easily be considered insignificant.
Cats are creatures of habit and very sensitive. Even the smallest changes in their daily life or in the environment around them can make them feel stressed or uncomfortable: the reaction could be to pee on the bed.
The renovation of a room in the house, the purchase of a new piece of furniture or an unusual event, such as i New Year’s fires , they are all small-large all changes that can make the cat nervous and frightening. Sometimes it is enough to have washed his blanket, which consequently no longer has the usual reassuring smell, for there to be uncomfortable reactions.
And it goes without saying that there is also a whole series of significant events, difficult to avoid, which inevitably put the cat in a situation of great stress. For example, the family move to a new home, the loss of a family member, the arrival of a new baby or other pet.
Even trivial changes in your behavior can upset your little pet feline’s sensitivity. Such as, for example, if you have less time to devote to it due to a new job or a new partner, Sometimes even simple boredom or often being alone can cause the cat to feel emotionally overwhelmed.
The importance of transmitting safety to your cat
To gradually re-educate your kitty to use his toilet again, you first need to think about how you can eliminate stressors from his life. The goal is to be able to make him feel safe again. If, trivially, it’s just the new detergent or a scented candle that smells unusual, it won’t be difficult to fix the problem.
The situations in which the cause of the animal’s discomfort cannot be removed are very different. In this case it is necessary to help the cat get used to the new situation, reassuring him. So the advice is to be very patient, without expecting the cat to stop peeing on the bed overnight.
How can cat stress be reduced
Once you have identified the cause of your cat’s abnormal behavior, you can help him get used to the new circumstances that are likely to be causing his stress. The advice is to give him a lot of affection and attention during this delicate phase. Reproaching him, if you realize that he has peed on your bed, would be useless and would be counterproductive.
The act of wetting the bed is almost always linked to feelings of insecurity, regardless of whether your dog is experiencing psychological distress or a physical condition.
This does not mean, of course, that if you find him doing business on your bed, you have to stroke him as if he were doing something pleasant. Such an attitude certainly wouldn’t help you. In this case, you can show your displeasure with your tone of voice and gestures instead. Keep in mind, though, that if your reprimand comes too late, your cat won’t be able to report it to having wet your bed. The reprimand must always be contextual to the behavior that you want to report as unwelcome.
Bach flowers and pheromones
To try to restore your cat’s habitual feeling of security, special calming fragrance diffusers can also be useful, to be inserted into the electrical socket. These are synthetic pheromones, that is to say a copy of the pheromones produced by animals and which are “messengers of body odor”, therefore able to promote the well-being of the animal.
The pheromone of the mother cat, for example, is transmitted from the mother to her kittens during breastfeeding: the task of this pheromone is to send the unconscious message to the little ones that everything is fine and that they can relax.
During particularly stressful phases of life, i can also be useful Bach flower remedies , for example when you move house or renovate your home. Bach flowers are a mild herbal sedative that naturally relieves cat anxiety. Also in this case, our advice is to always first discuss with your veterinarian, to evaluate with him the opportunity to resort to this type of remedies.
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How to protect the bed from cat urine
Creating an atmosphere of well-being in the house and having the right attitude, that is, waiting patiently for your cat to relax and spontaneously go back to peeing in the litter box, will obviously help you with the problem of “accidents” in your bed only at medium. and in the long term.
In the meantime, you can take some steps to protect your bed from the unpleasant cat urine problem. There are special remedies designed to make the cat uncomfortable when it tries to pee on the bed. In addition to using a waterproof mattress cover that you can easily wash in the washing machine, therefore, during the day you can protect your bed with a gold and silver isothermal blanket (the one present in the classic first aid kit), with an outdoor waxed tablecloth or simply with a few sheets of newspaper.
Cats like the surface to be soft and welcoming: if they notice that it is rough or noisy, they quickly give up. Another option is to move your cat’s bowl of food to your room, near your bed – cats usually don’t like to do their business near where they eat.
What if it’s the toilet’s fault?
If you can exclude that some pathology or psychological discomfort is at the origin of this problem, in this case there could be a third possibility, as the cause of the fact that your cat has suddenly changed its usual behavior: the litter box itself. .
Depending on whether your cat refuses that litter box from the start or has started to do his business on the bed after some time, the problem may be that your kitty doesn’t like that kind of toilet or litter box.
For example, some cats don’t like closed toilets, but the type of litter box may also be an issue. Have you changed it recently? What type of litter do you use? You could try a different variety and see if you get the desired effect.
Even any highly scented cleaning product that you may use to clean your pet’s toilet could cause your pet to refuse to use it. A toilet that has been cleaned too infrequently or has been placed in an uncomfortable spot in the apartment can be plausible reasons for a cat’s refusal to use a particular toilet.
When should you go to a feline psychologist?
Sometimes it takes a little insight to find the reasons for this abnormal cat behavior. Of course we humans tend to overlook changes that appear to our eyes particularly insignificant, excluding that they may be relevant to our feline friends.
Conversely, small changes can become a triggering factor that induces the cat to do its business on the bed. The best thing, therefore, is to try to empathize with your dog, paying close attention to his signals. In this phase of obvious discomfort, your cat needs you and will certainly appreciate the extra attention you give them. Try to relax and avoid anything that could make your pet even more insecure and stressed. Sometimes the problem goes away on its own after some time.
On the other hand, if time passes and your cat continues to use your bed instead of the toilet, and if you find that you can’t solve this problem on your own, the best thing you can do is ask an expert for advice. In almost every city there are feline psychologists who can help you and your cat in this unpleasant situation, allowing you to resume a carefree life with your beloved feline.
