Question for you cat owners

So my GF has a cat. I am a dog person, and I like to talk smart about cats, but when it really comes down to it, I don't mind them at all. I even had a couple when I was a kid.
The question about this particular cat is- how do you keep the cat from pi$$ing on the bed? The damned thing pi$$es on the GF's daughter's bed a couple times a week. It is a male cat, and he has been fixed, if that makes any difference. They are fed up with this, and have asked me to take him, but if he does that in my house he is going to the humane society. Is there something that can be done to stop this behavior?

.22

is there a time he normally does it? hide out in the room and blast him with a spray bottle of icy cold water while he's mid piss.

Do that a few times and the litter box will start looking pretty good again.

Did she have the cat before the daughter?

Is the litter box scooped regularly?

Is the litter box completely emptied and washed somewhat regularly?

How old is the litter box?

Homercidal said:

.22

Click to expand...

I agree. Take 22 meters of barbed wire and surround the bed with it.

Problem solved.

You need 2 litter boxes. He is doing that to prove that he isn't happy. Make sure that there isn't blood or anything in the piss either. When was the last time that he went to the vet?

lustreking is on the right track. My wife's cat used to used the bathroom on the couch and the bed and pretty much anything that she could stand on top of. The problem was that the litterbox was not being cleaned enough. Scoop at least once a day. Twice would be better.

I agree, look to the liter box and make sure it is regularly cleaned. I know some people say you need 1000 liter boxes per cat but I have two and they share one box without problems as long as its clean. When it gets dirty one keeps using it no matter what. The other will use the carpet. So after losing a couple apartment safety deposits I learned I have to clean it every 1-2 days.

Check and make sure there's no blood or weird gelatinous residue when the cat pisses. Male cats rarely get bladder infections but it is possible. When cats have bladder problems they learn to associate the pain with the box and quit using it. Last November one of my cats got a bladder infection and I spent a week chasing her around trying to clean urine/blood mixtures out of the carpet.

The most probable situation here is that at some point in the past the cat pissed in the bed for some long forgotten reason. Didn't like a smell in her bed (maybe one of her friends has other male cats, laid on the bed and he decided to mark his territory), the liter box wasn't clean, was sick and pissed wherever he was, etc. The problem is once a place smells like cat piss the cat always goes back to that spot and keeps pissing. I bet the cat even pisses in the same places on the bed. If it was carpet I'd say replace the matting and treat the carpet with a long soak of pet enzyme neutralizer and probably a good oxyclean soak afterwards, but it's hard to do that with a mattress. Once a smell gets in the mattress padding it's hard to get out. Replace the mattress and rearrange the girl's room so the cat won't associate the bed or location in the room with pissing.

If you replace the mattress and stop the problem now it probably won't happen at your place.

Tape his eyes open with duct tape, then piss in his face while yelling, do you like apples?!

wildwest450 said:

Tape his eyes open with duct tape, then piss in his face while yelling, do you like apples?!

Click to expand...

That never works. But a duck tape kitteh depends has an entertainment value the whole family will love.

Make a potato gun...stuff the cat inside...light fuse

Look for Bitter Apple spray (pet store, Walmart, etc). It's more for biting/chewing problems, but worth a try.


I have 2 cats, and they will be the last 2 cats I'll ever have. Dogs are so, so much better pets.

I'd have to agree with others to first check out the litter box situation. I have two cats, one male, one female, both share one box which gets cleaned every week. The litter box is emptied, wiped clean with a Clorox wipe, and a fresh 5lb bag of cat litter put back in. There was one time I forgot to clean the box out, it went about 10 days between being emptied out, and the male cat relieved himself on our only carpeted room in the house. He has never done it again as I've made sure the box is consistently cleaned out and I now check on it every few days, and I cleaned it up with some carpet shampoo cleaner. A mattress is a lot harder to clean, as another poster said, I'd get her a new mattress and rearrange the room and it probably won't be an issue again, as long as the litter box stays clean. Cats are funny creatures--they are very picky about certain things being clean.

Wolfhound180 said:

You need 2 litter boxes. He is doing that to prove that he isn't happy. Make sure that there isn't blood or anything in the piss either. When was the last time that he went to the vet?

Click to expand...

aside from all the comics, this is correct. He's not happy but he can't talk human, so he has to tell you somehow.

If not addressed, you'll see more than piss.

His litter box is clean. The GF's daughter is 18, but I can say that she and her boyfriend are abusive toward the cat, especially when he pisses on the bed. I have no idea when he was last to a vet.

As I have said, they asked me to take him, and I would be willing to do so, but I don't want those issues at my house. I have a dog, and they get along pretty well.

I'd make sure he doesn't have any blood in his urine like another poster said. It's a sign of urine crystals which are common for male cats, and they'll start pissing everywhere. It has to do with too much dry food in their diet.

Bernie Brewer said:

His litter box is clean. The GF's daughter is 18, but I can say that she and her boyfriend are abusive toward the cat, especially when he pisses on the bed. I have no idea when he was last to a vet.

As I have said, they asked me to take him, and I would be willing to do so, but I don't want those issues at my house. I have a dog, and they get along pretty well.

Click to expand...

This is the problem. When cats are pissed at you they let you know. I've seen cats piss in clean laundry when they are still in the basket. If the daughter is abusive to the cat then the cat does not like her. tell the daughter to close her door when she is not in it. If you get punched in the face are you going to just stand there or at least defend yourself? Problem might be the daughter and not the cat.

I have 2 male cats and gave a third male to my parents. My 2 never had this problem because we clean the litter box. The cat my parents have used to do this too me cause I didnt keep his litter box clean. once I cleaned it out problems stopped.

Physically abusing a cat does nothing to it either. It has no clue that its getting scolded for pissing on the bed unless you happen to catch it in the act, and even then, hitting the cat won't solve the problem. I'm not trying to sound like some animal activist, but if its not the end of the world, I'd just take the cat. It sounds like it would be a happier animal living with you, and as long as you provide it with a clean litter box, since it would be coming into a new environment, I don't think it would be too likely to piss around the house. Just make sure that while it may like your dog, it still has a way to get away from it and have its own room or perch, away from the dog.

Fennis said:

Physically abusing a cat does nothing to it either. It has no clue that its getting scolded for pissing on the bed unless you happen to catch it in the act, and even then, hitting the cat won't solve the problem. I'm not trying to sound like some animal activist, but if its not the end of the world, I'd just take the cat. It sounds like it would be a happier animal living with you, and as long as you provide it with a clean litter box, since it would be coming into a new environment, I don't think it would be too likely to piss around the house. Just make sure that while it may like your dog, it still has a way to get away from it and have its own room or perch, away from the dog.

Click to expand...

Totally agree. If the cat isn't sick than a change in ownership and scenery might be just what he needs. Just make sure if you do adopt him to transition him slowly to your house. He needs to learn where the litter box is and where is food/water are. Once he has that down, give him full range.

Try to put the litter box in a location that is out of way from your dog. You don't want the cat to get stressed out by the dog every time he goes to use the box. Also, some dogs (my mom's dachshund) will get into the box and eat the **** (f-in disgusting). The cat and dog will need to learn some boundaries - usually a couple swats from the cat are enough.

Some people will talk bad about cats, but I enjoy the two we have. They're tuxedo cats which have a good reputation as a whole.

Cats (and dogs, for that matter) can sense change in dynamics in a household. It sounds like 1) the current situation is in a pseudo-vicious circle and is stressing the cat, and 2) you appear willing to provide it a new environment/attitude. If/when you decide to introduce the cat to your household, I agree with the slow transition comment and suggest you do it over a weekend where you will be home a majority of the time. Towards the end of the weekend, leave the house for short periods of time so it will be used to you coming and going. Also 100% agree about having a dog-inaccessible space for the litter box and food and water; no dog-related stress will give you a better chance of the cat knowing it's safe when eating/#1/#2...

When we had 2 (male) cats we would occassionally have urination problems (more with one than the other) and they almost always traced back to health or "emotional" issues...

Darwin18 said:

Try to put the litter box in a location that is out of way from your dog. You don't want the cat to get stressed out by the dog every time he goes to use the box. Also, some dogs (my mom's dachshund) will get into the box and eat the **** (f-in disgusting). The cat and dog will need to learn some boundaries - usually a couple swats from the cat are enough.
.

Click to expand...

Yeah that is another thing. I need to find a place to put the litter box and the cat food because my dog will ( and has) eat out of both.

Bernie Brewer said:

Yeah that is another thing. I need to find a place to put the litter box and the cat food because my dog will ( and has) eat out of both.

Click to expand...

Seems to me like the perfect symbiosis.

The box gets cleaned regulary. You save on dogfood. The cat stops peeing on the bed and the dog has a reason for that **** eating grin.

Blech. Plus, I don't relish the idea of rushing the dog to the vet on a regular basis to have an obstruction removed.

A little piece of lead in the ear will fix everything

Wolfhound180 said:

You need 2 litter boxes. He is doing that to prove that he isn't happy. Make sure that there isn't blood or anything in the piss either. When was the last time that he went to the vet?

Click to expand...

Go Blue!

I love my cat (and always have had a cat) but I wouldn't tolerate ANY urinating out of the litter box.

Since it's only on the GF daughter's bed, I'm inclined to think it's a behavioral thing that would be fixed with a simple close of the bedroom door. Moving the cat to your house might be another stressor and cause the same issue.

My cat had issues with crapping outside the box. I locked him in the laundry room with the clean box for about a week. Problem fixed, as long as I keep it relatively clean.

If he started pissing in random places, I think my wife would off him. I might too when I saw the carpet bill. I like the guy, but not THAT much.

lustreking said:

Did she have the cat before the daughter?

Is the litter box scooped regularly?

Is the litter box completely emptied and washed somewhat regularly?

How old is the litter box?

Click to expand...

or did you get a new little box that it just doesn't like.