Feline Behaviour

Soiling the Bed/Inappropriate Urination

Cats use elimination of urine (and sometimes faeces) for communicating. This can be the first and most obvious indicator that something is not right in their world.

Firstly, have you noticed this is a new behaviour? It is advisable to get it checked out with a vet. It could mean a medical issue, such as cystitis which is brought on by stress. It could also be Diabetes, Kidney issues, or crystals – it would be advisable to rule this out first. If your vet check concludes healthy, then it’s behavioural.

When did it start? Is it in a specific area of house? Is it the same area each time? Start looking for triggers; does something happen immediately before the behaviour? Do you have enough litter trays? Are they clean? Have your changed Litter type recently? Is there at least 3cm of litter in each tray; look at the location and type of tray, and are the trays big enough for example?

What was your reaction? If a cat urinates beside you in bed you are shocked and you scream or shoo the cat away.  Any reaction we make positive or negative is the cat getting attention. This may be all they are looking for… something to be mindful of. i.e. if they get noticed for this by your reaction, they may keep doing it. It’s best not to react, no matter how angry or shocked you may be. The cat may be insecure and it’s urinating where it smells your scent the strongest to help the cat deal with the uncertainty of being home along or separated from you.

One solution could be to start locking your cat out your bedroom, make a fuss of them before you go to bed and first thing in the morning, build bonds and reassure your cat. Perhaps consider a pheromone plug in or moving a litter tray to where they are eliminating; placing food down at the spot is also an idea as cats should not normally eliminate near a food resource.  This is not a simple fix and will take time to resolve; there could be numerous reasons for this behaviour.