&*%#$! Cat peed on my bed!

[Caoimhe]

:rant:

I am so pissed off right now I can hardly type.

A little background. We have about 8 cats, most of which now live outside because of territorial "spraying". We have two kittens that were abandoned and given to us (gee thanks) that live inside almost exclusively, and we've had no problems with them using the litter box. They are clean, well mannered and healthy.

A few weeks ago one of our outside older orange tabby male cats somehow ended up with a lacerated eyeball (probably fighting). It was pretty gruesome, and I took him to the vet. The vet gave me medications to administer 4 times a day. That meant I had to find a place for him in the house (don't have a garage), or hope that I could catch him 4 times a day. I also work full time so it is nearly impossible to run home that much. So.... we took almost everything out of the computer room except for the computer and table it is on, and he's been in there for the last two-three weeks. I fixed him up his own litter box and food and water, a nice fluffy bed and some toys. His eye has slowly but surely healed but we were going to keep giving him meds until probably Friday. (his eye looks like it has a piece of saran wrap stuck on it) I run home on breaks and lunch to put salve in his eye.

So I go home for lunch today and my husband walks in and says he was just there about a half hour before and accidently left the computer room door open. We search the house and can't find the cat anywhere. I figure he is under a bed or bookshelf (fairly harmless) and I sit down to eat lunch while my hubby heads back to work.

I notice there are no kittens playing nearby. They are ALWAYS playing nearby when I eat lunch. I investigate. They are in the bedroom...and..interested in something... Lo and behold.. there is a giant steaming puddle of urine on our bed!!!! Soaked THROUGH my down comforter, through the mattress pad and sheet! (way.. way more piss than a kitten or even two could ever hold) I want to kill someone, not sure if it should be my husband or the cat or both. I dropped the comforter off at the dry cleaner within 10 minutes, and heaved the cat (whom I found trying to jump on the bed - probably to add to his puddle) at least 20 feet into the back yard. No, I didn't hurt him. But I want to hurt him. I really want to hurt something.

I called my hubby's cell phone and UNLEASHED on him, which probably isn't fair. I am just so sick of being the one who has to clean up such things. Thus it seems I am the only one who actively tries to AVOID such things. Lucky for hubby he is coaching a game so won't be home until like 8:30 tonight. It always works out like this.

OK, sorry about the rant. Why do boy kitties always seem to piss on my life? We've had several pissers and they were ALL neutered males. When we got the kittens I made sure they were girls (one turned out to be a boy though GRRRRRRR). I am tired of it. And cat pee is horrible! Before we banished all of them outside... one of them jumped up on the stove and peed on that! Yes, guess who got to clean that up! You guessed it. Plus it went down the vent pipe in the back right burner.. so the stove had to be cleaned out as well. And of course the smell was absolutely nauseating.

Sorry, I am so angry I actually see red. I really do love my cats (and my dog).. but if I had had a vial of sodium pentathol in my possession about 20 minutes ago.. at least one kitty would be in kitty heaven right now, and probably a husband too. I've cleaned, steamed and dried ..flipped the mattress so many times because of this type thing..it's time for a new mattress! Guess I will go shop for one- by myself! I am seriously thinking I need to be gone somewhere when hubby gets home tonight. Let him deal with it.

:rant:

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Whew! Great rant! I totally understand. I have had cat pee on my bed,

my couch, my guest futon, and several other areas that I have (luckily) forgotten by now. The smell IS horrid, and the cleaning is a real pain in the butt!
I have no idea why they do it..but truth be told..no reason is good enough.
Glad you did not kill the cat..or your husband.

Hope you enjoy the new mattress. While you are out shopping for one, get something else really nice for yourself.

[Caoimhe]

5. lol thanks

I think some new high thread count sheets would be nice, or some new pillows. I'm much calmer this morning. :)

[sadinred]

2. I have a sprayer too .

He's neutered but sprays when he's stressed and occasionally just for the hell of it. I use "Feliway", it really works! It's a bit expensive - I paid $25.00 three years ago and the bottle is almost, but not quite, empty. It's supposed to smell, to your cat, something like a big protective Momma Cat and it makes them more comfortable and makes them BEHAVE. I spray the Feliway where my cat likes to spray and, as long as I remember to do it, it keeps him away. I got mine at Petsmart and recommend it highly!

[Caoimhe]

6. I have heard of that

I love Petsmart, this gives me a reason to run down there. Something so fun and freeing about taking your dog in a store! :) $25 for 3 years worth is pretty good! I used to use Kids N Pets that we got at Safeway (it was around $6 for a 24oz or so bottle) but it really just covered the smell briefly, didn't do anything to prevent them from doing it again.

If we get a new mattress I definitely want to keep them from doing this again, though the outside kitty has been told that he is no longer welcome inside. Last night when hubby got home orange kitty was sitting on the front porch, waiting to be invited in! They are so full of themselves, aren't they? I guess they have a short memory. I only wish mine were so short!

[demnan]

3. No good deed goes unpunished

and you have done a good deed tending to a semi-feral cat and offering them your home.

Just remember it is just an animal and your husband is, well, just an animal too! ;) Hope you feel better.

[Caoimhe]

7. I'm a sucker

I used to volunteer at the Humane Society shelter and the woman in charge of the place HATED cats. Hard to believe but true. She left me in charge of the dozen or so various unwanted cats/kittens. I did what I could but we didn't have anything in our meager budget (by donations) to give them anything but their shots and a lot of love. Several of the smaller ones were snotty nosed and sick but would follow me everywhere I went. Of course, working full time can put a crimp on your volunteer activities and I had to be away from the shelter for a few days. When I came back, all of the older cats were gone! She had called the vet in to euthanize them. She told me the rest would be put down the next day if they didn't get adopted. I lived alone but had my own home and I went home and cried and cried until I decided that I had to save them, so I drove to the shelter, let myself in with my key... put the last 4 kitties in my Honda, taped my key to the counter with a note saying I took them and I quit because I thought it was bullshit to kill all the cats for no reason. Locked up and left. Those kitties have all brought me great pain and joy. The orange pee-er is one of them.

Am I a sucker or what? I won't go near Animal Shelters now, my heart can't take it.

[SiouxJ]

4. You need to get yourself a waterproof mattress cover

I have an incontinent dog that I got from a rescue group (I think that's why she was turned in). She's not old; she was only 18 months old when I got her. Anyway, she only "leaks" when she falls asleep, and not always but you just don't know when it's going to happen so I went out and got a waterproof mattress cover. You can always wash all the linens but not the mattress, so this is a really good idea, especially if you're going to invest in a new mattress. These type of covers are expensive but worth it in the long run. You can find them at Linens & Things (a good Blue company).

[Caoimhe]

8. I have been thinking of that

But don't know anyone who uses one. When she leaks in the bed do you wash the waterproof cover too? Does it make you sweat at all? Sure sounds like a great solution. We will look when we shop for mattresses.

Not sure if we have a Linens and Things near but will look it up. I love to shop BLUE! Thanks for the ideas. DUers ROCK! :hi:

[superconnected]

9. My grandmother told me to use a white trash bag.

So, as a teenage I got in the habit of putting a large white trash bag between my fitted sheet and the mattress, because obviously women can also stain a mattress. I don't notice the trash liner is there and I've always had one since being a teen.

I've never found a water proof mattress cover but I also haven't actively looked for one.

now, kitty stories of my week,

Last night I cleaned up vomit a few times from my older cat. I'm always cleaning up vomit from one of the 6.

Then stopped a topple accident of a book shelf - one of my cats was hanging off one of my paintings(?)- about 5'x3' and was taking down the bookshelf that he had grabbed on too (??) and was swinging back and fourth to take it down- when I saved his little (okay hes a very big 9mo old) life and my nick nacks and the shelf, and painting.

This weekend the white lace table cloth was destroyed because the kittens (3x9mo olds) noticed the lace holes and decided to "swing" on that and ripped a giant - over a foot wide - hole in it, so there went the new table cloth. Luckily I'd just placed a computer monitor on that cloth, which kept it in place so it could rip and nothing else got knocked off the table. I had also piled it with plent of thing including puzzles etc. that i was going to put in a closet.

They jump on the counters and knock things off in the kitchen all the time. And no, they are not allowed on the counters.

Sasha got the toilet paper again a few days ago. She just loves shredding rolls.

Then there's the stolen stuff. My new cat blackie - showed up a few months ago, steals my chapstick which I use quite a bit. I'm always under the bed retrieving it. Sasha steals my jewerly - seriously, I never see it again, oh and watches, and believe it or not, nilla now goes for the cell phone, the little portable cd player, head phones, basically he takes any elelctronic equipment he can haul.

Oh and Nilla stole a donut yeterday too. My mom was eating it and jumped up to see why her cat was barking. Donut - gone. She chased nilla down for it.

And that's what happens when I'm home from work after 12 hours a day.

I don't care. I love my cats. They never make me mad.

[Caoimhe]

13. LOL!

Sounds like you have a circus! The donut theft story brought tears to my eyes. Isn't it weird how they don't notice something and walk right past it for weeks on end then suddenly notice it and obsess over it?

The garbage bag idea is a good one. I've never heard of using that, but it sounds like a good option for a small area (under me) or if the cat keeps trying to mark the same spot.

[SiouxJ]

12. Yes, you can wash the covers, that's what's so great

there are several different types. I had one that was really thick - like a pillow top. Used it for years and never had a drop go through it. The only problem with it was that it took a long time to dry in the dryer (you had to dry it on low heat). It didn't make me sweat at all, it was just like a normal mattress cover.

If you are worried about that though, you can get a Teflon coated cover which is thin and feels just like a cotton sheet. Liquid will bead up on it. They are really amazing but tend to lose their effectiveness after a lot of washings. I actually use one of these, on TOP of my comforter (I cut off the fitted part) sometimes - that's how breathable they are.

You can shop Linens & Things on line, though I don't know if you can get the mattress covers there; I haven't looked.

http://www.lnt.com/home/index.jsp

[Caoimhe]

14. Thanks!

I appreciate the link:)

I am excited by the prospect of never having to spot steam clean my mattress again~!

[Beaverhausen]

17. Ok - I heard Bed, Bath & Beyond is blue but Linen's & Things is red

Ok I just checked BuyBlue.org and L&T is back in the blue column.

nevermind

[SiouxJ]

18. Yeah, I know. It surprised me too. I'm glad because

I don't have a BB&B here; just L&T and I spend a fortune there.

[MsTryska]

20. that would be wierd - because if i understand correctly...

they are the same company.

[MsTryska]

10. maybe he's pissed that you locked him up

for the last few weeks. no friends - no outdoors, no interaction except for you sticking stuff on his eyeball.


I've had the cat pee on my bed a couple of times - so much so that i've invested in a waterproof mattress cover.


one time it was because he was sending me a litterbox is dirty message.


the second time was when he was first experiencing his constipation (it coems with cramps) and i think he got so confused by the pain that he just let go and peed where he was becuase he was huddled up for comfort against me. (in the early days before the homeoptahy it used to make him really confused - he even tried to poo in his food dish once, thinking it was a litterbox.)

the last time was because i took him to the vet, and had to give him pills - he was not pleased.

[Caoimhe]

15. I think I know what happened

The kittens are so damn curious about him. He has been in that room now for so long, and they can smell him under the door. Every time I go in that room they try to sneak in. I've let them come in one at a time to see him but after a few minutes he starts making sorrowful yowls, I can tell they are stressing him out, so I take them out (they just try to get close and sniff him).

I think when the door was left open, they went in or he came out, either way.. but the kittens were right there in his face. He took the first right down the hallway, being the bedroom, and with the two right behind him, was just stressed out enough that he let loose on the bed.

He is fine outside, I caught him last night (it isn't hard, he's fat and slow :)) and put the goop in his eye. I am so amazed that something so delicate as an eye can heal so well after looking so gruesome. The key was using a blood serum made from his own blood. The surface of the eye needed a blood supply to heal, and it had to come from the drops we provided. Now the stuff he is getting is just a steroidal ointment to clear up the cloudy spot leftover. My vet is wonderful!

[MsTryska]

21. that might be it.....

seems like cats get very confused when they get stressed out.

[Kashka-Kat]

11. yuck!

cats dont piss to get back at you-- they do not conceptualize things like "six hours from now my human will find my pee and get mad at me."

It's more like they do it because it seems like a good idea at the time. I'm afraid if there is cat pee already in the house from previous cats (perhaps even previous occupants before you moved in)that tells them this is an ok place to pee. Same with bed--Mr. Orange probably was more interested in just covering up the previous cat's odor than making a statement to the humans. I'm afraid the steaming and flipping or whatever may not be enough to eliminate the smell. Enzyme cleaners (which neutralize and not mask the odor) may not even be enough unless it can get way deep inside the mattress.

I hear how discourage and disgusted you are-- here you are trying to do a good thing by providing them a good home. My best wishes for a good resolution (if only that he resumes a happy outdoor life--- do they have a shed or something to live in out there?

I can post some articles if you wish but it sounds like maybe he's just returning to outdoors eventually, correct?

[Caoimhe]

16. Yeah he is back in the jungle

which is my enclosed back yard. It is fat cat proof fencing, we stacked rocks at the bottom so they can't dig under, and it is nice and tall so only the ones who are in decent shape can climb up and over. Colby (Colby Jack is his nickname) is way too fat to get out. I have been thinking of getting one of those garden sheds and converting it into a cat home/feeding station. Right now I put their food in a large self feeder in the back of my husbands old pickup. This keeps any dogs from getting in (including our own) but doesn't prevent the neighbor cats from dining at our house. Funny that my outdoor kitties don't defend their food at all. They just sit there and watch strange cats scarf it down.

The fighting is between several of my males. I try to keep their claws clipped but it seems that at least once a year someone gets an abcess or other injury from scrapping. I just hope he closes his eyes from now on... !

Thanks for your reply. Colby is very loved, my anger was temporary. I chose to come here and vent instead of doing harm to him or anything else. I did, however.. throw my keys across the house. That felt kindof good.

I think we are just gonna get a new mattress. I bought the house new, so all the kitty pee is from my own pissers. I would hate to be the one to move in after we leave. Replacing the carpet with hardwood floors would be a good first step. There is one corner by the front door (how nice, eh?) where several kitties marked over and over. I have steam cleaned it but the stuff seems to work it's way right back up. If we replace the carpet we are gonna have to rip up the padding and maybe even the floor boards depending on how much has soaked through.

Lovely, eh? Don't you just love being a pet owner? lol

[MsTryska]

22. i'd have to disagree....

i've had an angry cat pee on my bed before.



other places I can chalk up as "mistakes" but peeing specifically on the bed we all sleep on, is a very strong signal.


and i refuse to believe they don't hold grudges. just watching mine interact - there's a lot of emotional baggage that gets acted on between the two from time to time.

[friesianrider]

25. I'd go along with that...

I have a cat who had his mother hit by a car when he was VERY young so has some...er..developmental problems. But still, when he gets mad (like when he cried for attention and everyone is too busy) he will act out by peeing on the carpet. Thankfully we needed new carpet anyway, but still. I agree with you that cats can get angry and "act out" in a way they know will get a reaction from you.

[Kashka-Kat]

27. yeah but

Sure it can be an expression or attention-getter, but youre projecting human motivations if you assume they are doing it to "make you angry." animals don't have the same associations w/ pee and poop that we do-- in fact to them their smell can be a good thing, comforting to them if they are feeling particularly threatened . In case of your kitten needing attention it sounds like a kid doesn't it, who decides that negative attention is better than no attention at all! what often looks like "anger" both in humans and animals can actually be fear or frustration.

Oh well. I think it's worth trying to figure out what exactly is going on in order to solve the problem bc if you just assume "they're angry" and you respond in kind (get angry back) then it could just escalate the problem.

[TrogL]

19. One of mine hates me

Pees:

• in my sock drawer
  
• on my coat
  
• in the laundry basket
  
• on power bar for the computer (eeeek!!)
  
• on my leg and/or shoe
  

[MsTryska]

23. is it possible that its got a Bladder infection?

it might be hurting if it consistently pees everywhere but where it's supposed to.

[superconnected]

24. WOW! You must be a saint

not to kill that kittie. Thanks for letting him live.

It is always "he's" that have this problem, right?

[Caoimhe]

26. Sure seems so

I've never had a girl kitty pee on my things unless the litter box was insanely, inexcusably full.

One of my two kittens (the boy of course) peed on their new fleece bed on Friday. I watched him do it. I was so mad, I had bought the bed the day before, and those things aren't cheap (it was like $20). Then yesterday I was home at lunch and went into the bedroom to grab something and he came running in, launched onto the bed and started pissing on my comforter!

Back to the dry cleaner. I just don't know what to do. He may be going outside with all of the other boys. It's so disgusting, and it makes me so sad!