It’s the middle of the night and an awful stench rips you from your sleep. You can’t place what it is in your sleepy state. All of a sudden the realization seeps in.
Your cat has peed the bed! There are probably few things worse than that feeling. If your cat has peed the bed before you will know exactly how it feels.
It’s hard not to be upset after your cat has had another accident after a long day. It can be so confusing when your cat is litter trained. Lucky you for, prevention is possible!
Being able to prevent a cat from peeing the bed can avoid lots of headaches. There are lots of reasons your cat may be peeing the bed so therefore, there are lots of possible solutions.
You can prevent your cat from peeing the bed by looking for the source of the problem and changing some things in your cat’s life.
How To Prevent A Cat From Peeing On The Bed (10 Ways)
There are a few measures that can be taken to prevent your cat from peeing on the bed. To prevent your cat from going on your clean linens, you need to examine what might be causing this strange behavior and try to fix it!
Check The Litter Box
One of the first things you should do is look at the litter box. Consider if the box is clean enough or if it has the litter that your cat prefers.
If you recently switched litters, then this could be a sign that your cat doesn’t like it. Cats are clean creatures and prefer for their box to be clean and tidy.
If the litter box is lacking that, this could be why your cat is going somewhere else. You also want to make sure that the box is filled appropriately and is in a private and secure area.
If your cat’s litter box is somewhere they don’t feel secure they may be going in your bed because that is where they feel the safest.
Clean Your Bed
Most likely, you have already cleaned your bed after your cat has had an accident. However, if you didn’t clean the bed properly and your cat smells this, they may go on your sheets again!
The thing about cats is they will pee where they smell pee. So, if they can still smell their pee on your bed, they will probably go again.
Make Your Bed Uncomfortable
Another way to deter your cat from making your bed their personal box is to make it uncomfortable. During the day, you can line your bed with aluminum foil.
Cats don’t like the crinkly feel of foil and won’t be tempted to be on your bed if it’s on there. At night, placing a shower curtain on the bed is a good idea to keep your cat off of it.
Make Your Bed Smell Bad
Now don’t worry, our idea of a bad smell is much different from cats. Cats don’t like smells like lavender and citrus.
Spraying your bed with those scents will keep your cat away. You can make a homemade repellent or buy one at the store!
Create A New Meaning For Your bed
It could be that your cat is thinking that your bed is their litter box. A great tip is to play with your cat on the bed to make him or her associate the bed as something different than a litter box.
Giving treats and other small cat foods can also change the way your cat is viewing your bed. Cats don’t like to eat where they relieve themselves so giving them food is a great tip.
Use Pheromones!
It’s possible that your cat has anxiety or is stressed. Yes, cats get anxious just like we do. The anxiety could arise for many different reasons.
Anxiety and stress can cause cats to have unusual behavior. A common reason cats get anxious is due to a big change in their life.
For cats, a big change could be something like moving or the addition of a new pet.
Either way, trying to calm your cat down can help to stop unwanted accidents. Calming pheromones help to do this. Pheromones are a calming aid that is designed to recreate the natural pheromones that cats have.
You can buy pheromones in the form of a diffuser and plug it in near your bed and other areas in your home.
Get Another Litter Box
If you have more than one cat, it could be that your cat feels like there aren’t enough boxes. It’s recommended to have one more box than the number of cats that you have.
So if you have three cats, you would need four litter boxes. As simple as it seems, getting another box could be the solution to your problem.
Close Your Bedroom Door
Your cat won’t be able to pee on your bed if they can’t get on it. If you close your bedroom door at all times, then this will prevent your cat from peeing on the bed.
This is great to help your cat to detach from your bed. This can also help you figure out if your cat just doesn’t want to use their box or if they have an attachment to your bed!
Use A Pet Odor Neutralizer
Pet odor neutralizers are designed to neutralize your pet’s scent. If you spray the neutralizer on your bed, it will remove any trace of your cat’s scent from it.
The reasoning behind this is that cats are more likely to pee where they smell their scent. Therefore, if you remove their scent, you might reduce their urge to pee on the bed! It’s definitely worth a try!
Go To The Vet
If nothing seems to be working, it is probably time to visit the vet. There could be an underlying medical condition that is bothering your cat.
Some cats suffer from bladder issues and simply can’t make it to their box in time. Booking an appointment at the vets will help you rule out any medical issues.
If your cat does have a medical condition, your vet will be able to help by providing prescriptions and a treatment plan.
Medical Issues That May Cause Unwanted Urination
If your cat is constantly peeing on the bed there is room for concern. It may be that your cat is suffering from a medical condition that is causing them to urinate on the bed. These are common medical conditions associated with unwanted urination.
Urinary Tract Infection:
UTIs make it difficult for cats to urinate. They may not be using the box because they are linking the painful urination to their litter box.
Kidney Or Bladder Stones:
Cats that have kidney or bladder stones are in an extreme amount of pain. The stone physically stops a cat’s ability to pee. All this pain can make it very hard for a cat to walk all the way over to their box to pee.
Kidney or Liver Disease:
A cat that has kidney or liver disease will typically drink more water. Cats drink more water to try and flush toxins out of their body. Naturally, this leads to increased urination and accidents!
Dealing With A Cat And Unwanted Accidents
The thing is, cats aren’t peeing the bed to get their owner upset. So it’s very important to deal with a cat and their accidents tactfully.
Something to remember is to never yell at your cat! If your cat has an accident and is met with screaming, this may cause them to stress out.
Yelling will definitely not stop cats from repeating certain behavior. No matter how upset you get, it will cause more harm than good to yell at a cat for a mistake.
Although it’s extremely difficult when trying to figure out why your cat is peeing the bed, you will need to remain patient. It may take a while for you to get your cat to completely stop unwanted behavior so a little tolerance is needed!
Conclusion
The worst thing a cat owner can come home to is a bed stained with cat urine, especially if you cat was litter trained. They can write horror films about that exact experience.
However, as terrible as it is, you can prevent your cat from peeing the bed by finding the root of the problem. It may not be easy and comes with trial and error, but it can be done.
There are cases where nothing seems to work. If you find that your cat is constantly peeing on the bed, take them to the vet!
There are medical conditions that may be causing unwanted urination! Even if a cat doesn’t have a medical reason behind peeing the bed, it’s important to stay patient.
Dealing with a cat that is misbehaving is hard but yelling and punishing a cat does more harm than good. Hey, no one ever said being a cat owner was going to be easy!