My 17-year-old cat is peeing in bed. What's causing this new behavior?

Hi there. Yes, you could certainly try leaving the litter box in your attached bathroom so that it's closer and easier for her to get to, as a starting point. But in a cat this age, I would be very suspicious of an underlying medical issue causing this behavior - this can be true even if she appears generally healthy otherwise, on the outside. Possible causes would include hyperthyroidism, a GI problem such as chronic pancreatitis or inflammatory bowel disease, or arthritis making it difficult or painful for her to get into the litter box when she needs to go. I would recommend a vet visit for a thorough physical exam and some basic lab work to check for these issues. If she has a medical problem of some kind, having it treated appropriately will often resolve the unwanted accidents.

It sounds like Maxi may be having some incontinence issues. Especially if these puddles of urine are left behind after he is sleeping on the bed. However if he is actively urinating and squating on the bed, then he is just spraying, which could be an caused by stress, usually from an underlying illness that isn’t being managed well. In Maxi’s case his kidney disease may need to be re-evaluated. I would even suggest getting his blood pressure checked because high blood pressure can stress out cats. I would recommend starting by getting his urine checked by your vet again to ensure there is no active urinary tract infection or crystals seen in his urine. Urinary incontinence isn’t very common in cats, so there likely is an underlying condition causing this (ie UTI, bladder stones, stress). Once we know the cause then the appropriate treatment can be implemented to help stop this behavior. I hope this helps and that Maxi gets well soon. Best wishes and take care.

It is possible that he has a urinary tract infection, urinary bladder stones, or a tumor in his bladder that is causing this, though often we see urgency to urinate, pain with urination, etc. Its also possible that its a neurologic problem resulting in him not knowing that he's urinating in his sleep. Does he have any other symptoms? Ideally, take him to your vet for an exam. Your vet will probably recommend doing a urinalysis and perhaps some bloodwork. If a cause is found, the treatment is targeted for the cause. If no cause is found, your vet may recommend a prescription that helps him to tighten his urethra (Proin). However, this is a very rare problem to see in male cats; so we would not want to assume that something like that would help if there is an underlying cause. Additionally, to use a mediation like Proin inappropriately could cause a problem with preventing him from urinating when he should. I hope thats helpful, sorry I don't have more specific answers for you!! Best of luck.

This isn't a behavioural problem, it's probably a bladder inflammation which cats get due to stress, which he obviously had because of the dog. You will need to take him to the vet in rder to get some medications to reduce the bladder inflammation, he will also need to be on a special diet for about a month to help reducing the bladder inflammation.

It is possible that adding a new kitten to the house could be causing stress on Tyler, leading him to urinate on the bed and mark his territory. If the kitten wants to be on the bed, he may feel the need to let the kitten know the bed is his space. One way to reduce marking behavior in dogs is to neuter them. Territorial marking is hormonally driven, and a way to stop it is to remove the source of the hormones: the testicles. Other reasons could be a UTI or bladder stones, and I would have Tyler seen by a vet for blood tests and a urinalysis to rule this in or out.

Sometimes, cats will return to the same location where they have had an accident previously and continue to urinate there - this is often because there is still some lingering odor that they can smell, which acts as a signpost saying "pee here!" He may also have learned that the bed was a pleasant place to use the bathroom, so in his mind it's a convenient option when he needs to go. I would recommend closing the door to your bedroom to block his access to the bed for the next month or so - this should be long enough to break the newly-formed habit of urinating on the bed. You should also make sure that all of the bedding has been washed, and the mattress has been treated with a deodorizing product that is made for getting rid of urine odors, such as Nature's Miracle or Urine Off. If he continues to have accidents in other places around the house even with the bedroom door closed, I would be suspicious of an underlying medical issue causing this behavior. In that case, it would be best to take him to the vet for an exam and urinalysis to help determine what's wrong.

It could be that Mostafa is suffering from a UTI, and that's why he urinated on the bed. I would have him seen by a vet today. Your vet can do routine blood tests and a urinalysis to see if he does have a UTI or bladder stones. If he has a UTI, he will need antibiotics to treat it. Bladder stones may need to be removed surgically, or can be managed with diet.