I have a 2-3 year old Bengal that I got from a responsible family who said they did not have time for the animal any longer. I have had the critter about 9 months. We have had problems with "inappropriate urination" several times (6-8x, perhaps), in the beginning, but it seemed to have resolved. Until last week--and last night. The cat ("Nala," a female), urinated on my bedroom mattress week or 10 days ago; I added another litter box in the bedroom and when she began using it (along with the original one), I thought the problem was solved. Last night, however, I detected a problem about midnight. She had peed a all about on a sweatshirt on the bed I had removed when I got warm. I got up about 4 am to urinate myself, down the hall. When I got back to bed and wrapped up in my blanket (I was gone maybe 3 minutes), I realized Nala had urinated on the blanket! I generally love this animal and treat her very well, so I am mystified at this behavior. I have read everything on this forum and elsewhere and do not see any overt causes. I realize it is a problem to be solved, but Nala is not long for my house unless things change very soon. Please help us!

Jeffrey.Rogg
Menominee, MI

Are you certain it was cat urine? Have you ever had night sweats in your sleep? That could cause the blanket to be wet and you may not realize when you return to the bed and your skin is dry. Of course if it smelled like cat pee, the kitty is to blame.

This is an issue I am now dealing with again unfortunately. My 2 were fully trained in my other apartment but since I have moved there have been 2 incidences, one each, where they have weed outside the litter tray. I am putting it down to a change in their environment and finding their feet, but I am placing some of the blame on myself. Im going to add another litter tray, and Im now scooping the tray once it has been used, which if Im honest I used to avoid! Its not pleasant, but I think its helping.

Has anything changed for her recently? How many litter trays do you have? Have to say I do feel for you because I know from when mine were kittens how unpleasant it is have cat wee on your bed! Maasai weed on my legs once when he was little while I was sleeping! Uurgh!

Im learning where my two will and wont consider as a potential alternative litter tray too. Have you noticed any pattern? Here it is generally anything squishy underfoot, like clothes strewn on the bedroom floor, pillows etc. Its always in a defined area though, something on the floor for example, but never the floor itself (this was the same as kittens) so Im trying to avoid giving them the opportunity by removing anything I suspect they might consider using! My house is looking tidier as well....

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The little monsters 3

Don't give up on her. She is territorially insecure and is trying to mix her scent with yours. There IS a problem somewhere, you just need to identify it. You need to have love and patience for her. Does she have a cat tree/beds in your bedroom. Somewhere she can call her own? Use feliway plug ins. Are there other pets that she has negative interactions with? Are there other cats she can see/hear that are causing her stress? Keep window blinds/curtains down in your bedroom. Another poster who had cats peeing on beds said never leave your bed unmade. cats like blankets and throws they can dig in. A made bed with covers pulled tight stops that happening. Use plastic dust sheets over your bed to stop it soaking in. I know a peeing cat is just awful to deal with. I had a good few months of peeing and spraying so I know what it is like. Think outside the box and just try to see if anything - however random, could be causing it. As Brian said, we need more detail as to her daily life to see if anything seems like it could be a trigger.

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Melissa

UK
Oscar - Rescue (Rascal!!!) Bengal

I am sorry to hear you're having this problem with Nala. This is the #1 behavioral problem with cats. Usually, stress is the cause. Once this issue started, you became stressed out as well, which continues to stress out your kitty. Adding a litter box to the problem area is fine. Naturally the FIRST thing you do is to make sure there no urinary tract infection or crystals in the urine that could be causing this situation. A check up at the vet is in order. If it's not medical, then it is behavioral and many things can cause this. If this peeing is happening in one room, I'd wonder about an outdoor cat that may be coming around outside of this room. Cats can smell another cat through walls and windows and bengals are highly territorial! You may never see or smell another cat, but Nala can.

Feliway may help the situation -- get the plug in and spray! Also note that when you clean the urine area, it must be cleaned completely or the cat will return there. And this is something that is not solved overnight! It takes patience and time and LOVE for the cat. I know owners get frustrated and discouraged. The easy solution is to just give the cat away to another home, but that will either compound the problem for the new owner or sometimes it can be the solution. I don't know what to tell you. Most of here have made a permanent commitment when we took in our babies, but only you can decide how much time and effort you want to spend on this. If you love your kitty, you'll do whatever it takes.

Good luck.