Weird cat habbit please help (cat people only)

[Shadow_Storm56]

So I have a new kitten.... it is doing the same thing that my familys one older cat was doing before I sent it up to my parents house whare it can get outside all the time. It was peeing on the bed between my feet, now my new kitten is doing this but the difference is the kitten only does it when I'm in the bed. Kitten also uses the box so I can't figure this out, I am trying to just keep it out of my room at night but it cries non stop because this breed hates being alone. So I'm hoping I can keep it out of my room at night until it grows a bit and hopefully stops this.

 

What I don't get is why my feet? Why are my feet such a comfy spot for a cat??? 

[Middcore]

Are these the same bad linens the old cat was peeing on? No matter how much you've washed them, the new kitten may still be able to smell the previous cat's urine and is trying to cover that scent with its own to mark territory.

 

How old is the kitten? Male/female? Spayed/neutered?

[wseaton]

Cats like your feet our head because they are warm and have the most smell.

 

Try putting a liter pan in your room close to your bed for ahwile.

[Shadow_Storm56]

6 hours ago, Middcore said:

Are these the same bad linens the old cat was peeing on? No matter how much you've washed them, the new kitten may still be able to smell the previous cat's urine and is trying to cover that scent with its own to mark territory.

 

How old is the kitten? Male/female? Spayed/neutered?

Born Nov 12 I believe, also the cat is strange it uses the box lots but then decides to pee there too.... I'm sure a kitten can smell anything, fresh new nose, crazy sense of smell. I wonder what I could do to stop it, hopefully just gets over it.... also it's a female that is not yet spayed.

[dalekphalm]

On 1/17/2023 at 8:52 PM, Shadow_Storm56 said:

Born Nov 12 I believe, also the cat is strange it uses the box lots but then decides to pee there too.... I'm sure a kitten can smell anything, fresh new nose, crazy sense of smell. I wonder what I could do to stop it, hopefully just gets over it.... also it's a female that is not yet spayed.

If the cat was born on November 12, 2022, that means it's over 2 months old already. Why isn't it spayed yet? You should contact your vet immediately to arrange spaying. While you're at it, ask the vet about the peeing behaviour - they might have insight into it.

 

When a cat pees outside the litter box, it's almost always either a medical condition (kidney issue or bladder infection, for example), or it's a behavioural issue, because something is upsetting the cat.

 

You didn't answer the question, are these the same sheets your old cat peed on? If so, step one: throw out those sheets, and put new ones on.

[Shadow_Storm56]

1 hour ago, dalekphalm said:

If the cat was born on November 12, 2022, that means it's over 2 months old already. Why isn't it spayed yet? You should contact your vet immediately to arrange spaying. While you're at it, ask the vet about the peeing behaviour - they might have insight into it.

 

When a cat pees outside the litter box, it's almost always either a medical condition (kidney issue or bladder infection, for example), or it's a behavioural issue, because something is upsetting the cat.

 

You didn't answer the question, are these the same sheets your old cat peed on? If so, step one: throw out those sheets, and put new ones on.

Sheets no, mattress yes and it appears it accidentally made a connection between my feet and a spot to pee. It can be in that bed from morning until late night and no issue but as soon as I lay down it goes to my feet to pee, we are working on it though..... obviously it dosen't stay in bed all day it just is there and has no issue, goes to the box ect.... until I lay down. Also you can spay a cat that tiny? It's like the size of a potato I thought they had to be bigger than that is why I haven't done anything yet. 

 

Every time it goes too my feet I just carry it to the box to do it's thing... but if I'm asleep I don't catch it obviously.

[dalekphalm]

53 minutes ago, Shadow_Storm56 said:

Sheets no, mattress yes and it appears it accidentally made a connection between my feet and a spot to pee. It can be in that bed from morning until late night and no issue but as soon as I lay down it goes to my feet to pee, we are working on it though..... obviously it dosen't stay in bed all day it just is there and has no issue, goes to the box ect.... until I lay down.

This could be problematic. I would suggest you prevent the cat from being in a situation where its on your bed and your feet are there at the same time. If that means locking it out of the bedroom, so be it. Another thing that might help is putting cat food/cat treats at your feet on the bed when you get into it.

 

Cats hate going to the bathroom near where they eat. They instinctively know this is bad behaviour that can hurt them.

 

You definitely need to ask your vet about it.

 

Also, take the sheets off and thoroughly check the mattress. When your old cat peed on the bed, did it soak through the sheets? Even a tiny bit? You might need to throw the mattress out and get a new one. You could also try getting the cat urine enzyme cleaner, which soaks into the material and breaks down any remaining urine. This stuff works well, but it's not perfect.

53 minutes ago, Shadow_Storm56 said:

Also you can spay a cat that tiny? It's like the size of a potato I thought they had to be bigger than that is why I haven't done anything yet. 

Absolutely you can spay a cat that young. The exact recommendation does depend on the vet themselves. Almost all Rescue cats will be spayed at around 12-weeks of age. As of tomorrow, your cat will be 10 weeks old. I'd highly HIGHLY encourage you to get the cat spayed in about 2 weeks. You definitely want to do it before the cat has it's first heat.

53 minutes ago, Shadow_Storm56 said:

Every time it goes too my feet I just carry it to the box to do it's thing... but if I'm asleep I don't catch it obviously.

That's great, but that won't solve the behaviour.

 

Speak to your vet about it immediately. Give them all the same info you gave us here, the pattern, it only happens when your feet are there, etc. Ask them for advice.

[Shadow_Storm56]

21 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

This could be problematic. I would suggest you prevent the cat from being in a situation where its on your bed and your feet are there at the same time. If that means locking it out of the bedroom, so be it. Another thing that might help is putting cat food/cat treats at your feet on the bed when you get into it.

 

Cats hate going to the bathroom near where they eat. They instinctively know this is bad behaviour that can hurt them.

 

You definitely need to ask your vet about it.

 

Also, take the sheets off and thoroughly check the mattress. When your old cat peed on the bed, did it soak through the sheets? Even a tiny bit? You might need to throw the mattress out and get a new one. You could also try getting the cat urine enzyme cleaner, which soaks into the material and breaks down any remaining urine. This stuff works well, but it's not perfect.

Absolutely you can spay a cat that young. The exact recommendation does depend on the vet themselves. Almost all Rescue cats will be spayed at around 12-weeks of age. As of tomorrow, your cat will be 10 weeks old. I'd highly HIGHLY encourage you to get the cat spayed in about 2 weeks. You definitely want to do it before the cat has it's first heat.

That's great, but that won't solve the behaviour.

 

Speak to your vet about it immediately. Give them all the same info you gave us here, the pattern, it only happens when your feet are there, etc. Ask them for advice.

Good information, hopefully I can figure out something and also she has to go to the vet soon anyways for the rest of her shots so a good time to ask. The unusual thing is usually it's an issue with the cat not using the box at all or going in a corner, in this case the cat associates my feet with the litter box and my feet do not smell that bad! 

 

Yes it got on the matress but I have used specific cleaners on it, like I said she goes to my feet regardless whare the remnants of the old spot are. 

 

Also I tried locking her out and just having my other cat there but shes a ragdoll cat.... they absolutely lose their minds if they can't get to you. Wailing non stop until you let them in, so that didn't go well, I keep putting her on the floor when she goes down by my feet trying to get her to realize she can't go there. She likes to dash to her water dish so I moved it near the litterbox room so she maybe is close enough to catch on and go there. I'll try the food trick, maybe I need some clone that makes my feet smell like cat food... lol

[dalekphalm]

7 minutes ago, Shadow_Storm56 said:

Good information, hopefully I can figure out something and also she has to go to the vet soon anyways for the rest of her shots so a good time to ask.

Yep, sooner rather than later.

7 minutes ago, Shadow_Storm56 said:

The unusual thing is usually it's an issue with the cat not using the box at all or going in a corner, in this case the cat associates my feet with the litter box and my feet do not smell that bad! 

I doubt it has anything to do with how your feel smell, unless they've simply associated your feet in general with "pee spot". You need to break this association. Maybe try rubbing your feet with Lemonjuice or something (gross I know but cats generally hate citrusy stuff).

7 minutes ago, Shadow_Storm56 said:

Yes it got on the matress but I have used specific cleaners on it, like I said she goes to my feet regardless whare the remnants of the old spot are. 

With the new cat, is any of that leaking onto the mattress? I'd be concerned about that too. If you don't already, you definitely need to pick up a liquid-proof mattress topper. Most mattress/furniture stores sell them, plus Amazon, etc. The good ones don't feel like plastic - they're topped with a thick cushion area on top and the plastic protection is inside.

7 minutes ago, Shadow_Storm56 said:

Also I tried locking her out and just having my other cat there but shes a ragdoll cat.... they absolutely lose their minds if they can't get to you.

Some people claim this is bad for a cat, but I'm not entirely convinced. Yes, they're gonna whine. But they'll eventually adapt.

 

We sometimes have to lock our cat out of our room because they sometimes get overactive and it's disruptive to our sleep.

7 minutes ago, Shadow_Storm56 said:

Wailing non stop until you let them in, so that didn't go well,

IMO I don't see this much different than a wailing baby. If you just give in, all the cat learns is that if they cry, you'll give them whatever they want. Cats, like any animal are hard to train or discipline because we can't speak to each other, so you have to pick up on their body language and other clues.

7 minutes ago, Shadow_Storm56 said:

I keep putting her on the floor when she goes down by my feet trying to get her to realize she can't go there. She likes to dash to her water dish so I moved it near the litterbox room so she maybe is close enough to catch on and go there. I'll try the food trick, maybe I need some clone that makes my feet smell like cat food... lol

Make sure to not put the water dish too close to the litter box. As I said, cats don't like to mix bathroom with food/water. In the same room is okay don't put it near the litter box.

[Shadow_Storm56]

4 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

Yep, sooner rather than later.

I doubt it has anything to do with how your feel smell, unless they've simply associated your feet in general with "pee spot". You need to break this association. Maybe try rubbing your feet with Lemonjuice or something (gross I know but cats generally hate citrusy stuff).

With the new cat, is any of that leaking onto the mattress? I'd be concerned about that too. If you don't already, you definitely need to pick up a liquid-proof mattress topper. Most mattress/furniture stores sell them, plus Amazon, etc. The good ones don't feel like plastic - they're topped with a thick cushion area on top and the plastic protection is inside.

Some people claim this is bad for a cat, but I'm not entirely convinced. Yes, they're gonna whine. But they'll eventually adapt.

 

We sometimes have to lock our cat out of our room because they sometimes get overactive and it's disruptive to our sleep.

IMO I don't see this much different than a wailing baby. If you just give in, all the cat learns is that if they cry, you'll give them whatever they want. Cats, like any animal are hard to train or discipline because we can't speak to each other, so you have to pick up on their body language and other clues.

Make sure to not put the water dish too close to the litter box. As I said, cats don't like to mix bathroom with food/water. In the same room is okay don't put it near the litter box.

I'm also gunna try the feeding her treats at the foot of my bed thing, build some residual cat food smell .......yay loll. It may help her figure it out though. I wonder if I have any lemons...

[Shadow_Storm56]

Not a huge fan of feeding cats at the foot of my bed but that does seem to be helping her learn. It's bizzare their sense of smell, fresh cleaned sheets and the cats look at me like I put food in her litter box. They can smell even just a tiny trace of the smell... most likely from the mattress since that won't fit in my washer lol.

 

Overall shes figuring it out slowly, my other cat is quite confused by it though lol.

[dalekphalm]

10 hours ago, Shadow_Storm56 said:

Not a huge fan of feeding cats at the foot of my bed but that does seem to be helping her learn. It's bizzare their sense of smell, fresh cleaned sheets and the cats look at me like I put food in her litter box. They can smell even just a tiny trace of the smell... most likely from the mattress since that won't fit in my washer lol.

 

Overall shes figuring it out slowly, my other cat is quite confused by it though lol.

A Cat's sense of smell is far superior to our own.

 

If there's any trace at all left inside the mattress, this might be a problem that you cannot solve until you replace the mattress.

 

I'll reiterate, I highly recommend you get a liquid proof mattress protector. Something like this:

https://www.amazon.ca/Premium-Hypoallergenic-Waterproof-Mattress-Protector/dp/B00MRH9NCK/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3C69KEGOATQSF&keywords=mattress%2Bprotector&qid=1674574164&sprefix=mattress%2Bpro%2Caps%2C112&sr=8-6&th=1

 

It goes right overtop the bare mattress, and then you put the fitted sheet overtop of it.

[Shadow_Storm56]

1 hour ago, dalekphalm said:

A Cat's sense of smell is far superior to our own.

 

If there's any trace at all left inside the mattress, this might be a problem that you cannot solve until you replace the mattress.

 

I'll reiterate, I highly recommend you get a liquid proof mattress protector. Something like this:

https://www.amazon.ca/Premium-Hypoallergenic-Waterproof-Mattress-Protector/dp/B00MRH9NCK/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3C69KEGOATQSF&keywords=mattress%2Bprotector&qid=1674574164&sprefix=mattress%2Bpro%2Caps%2C112&sr=8-6&th=1

 

It goes right overtop the bare mattress, and then you put the fitted sheet overtop of it.

Probably not a bad idea, cats are crazy