Help! My Cat Peed On The Bed!
Kahlua
For anyone who thinks cats aren’t emotionally sensitive animals truly hasn’t spent any time around them. They can be super independent and act like they don’t care; they can be super needy and clingy; or they can be somewhere in between. Personally I think it depends on how they’ve been raised. They are amazing sentient beings with the ability to touch your soul when you’ve made a connection. As cat parents it’s up to us to learn how to “read” our cats and truly understand them. When they are happy they show it by head bunting, purring, kneading or “making biscuits,” and wanting to be near you. When they’re not happy they can be very devious. They’ve even figured out the best way to get our attention: peeing on something that’s personal to us. This week I received a desperate message from Stefan: “Help! My cat peed on the bed!”
Why Do Cats Pee On The Bed?
When cats choose to pee on a couch, shoes, chair, bed, etc, there could be a number of likely reasons: they don’t like the type of litter or the location of the litter box, anxiety, or even a health condition. Or it could be because they’re really mad about something. (If in doubt it’s always a good idea to rule out a health issue with a vet visit.) Years ago when my husband first moved in to our apartment my cat Tosh decided he didn’t like sharing his mom with this newcomer. His passive-aggressive defiant response was to drag Rich’s socks in the litter box and pee on them! We still laugh about it to this day.
Cats are creatures of habit and love routine. When their world is disrupted with the addition of a new pet, a new family member, a move to a new home, or even a change to their eating schedule some cats are very demonstrative about their feelings!
Chaos In Kahlua’s World
When I got Stefan’s message about Kahlua peeing on his mom’s and his sister’s beds seemingly out of nowhere I knew it was serious. They’ve had issues of urine marking in the past which I helped them through, and all was going well until last week. This new incident could be a potential deal-breaker, and there was discussion of re-homing him. Stefan has a special bond with him and was desperate to figure out how to save their relationship.
What changed? Cats don’t pee on the bed for no reason. My first thought was he’s angry about something. Stefan told me that his sister just had a baby and was staying with them for the next two weeks so they could help with the new baby. Apparently after a few days his sister missed her own cat so much she brought it over to stay with her.
It quickly became obvious to me what happened. Kahlua’s world just got turned upside down! He now had a new baby in the house that disrupted his peace and quiet, attention was being diverted from him to the baby, and another cat was now sharing his territory. No wonder he was upset! He did the only reasonable thing he knew would get everyone’s attention: he peed on two beds.
Plan Of Action
When you learn to look at things from the cat’s viewpoint things clearly come into focus. He needed reassurance that he was still king of his castle, and he needed some emotional support. Stefan and I discussed several ways he could help Kahlua immediately:
- Close the door to his mom’s bedroom to cut off access to her bed.
- As much as his sister wouldn’t like it she’d have to send her cat back home.
- Give Kahlua more attention. Make it a point to show him affection first before showing affection to the baby when Stefan first comes home.
- When the baby is crying or being disruptive redirect Kahlua’s attention by engaging him with his favorite toy. This teaches him to associate these circumstances with something positive that he loves.
- Start using the flower essence formulas they successfully used months ago to support him emotionally.
I also did some energy work on Kahlua, too. I was able to confirm through muscle testing the emotions he was experiencing: jealousy, anger, territorial, and change. Through a technique called ECR (energetic cellular release) I was able to clear these sensitivities so that he would no longer hold on to these emotions. He could now release them and be free to heal emotionally.
Did It Help?
Several days later I checked in with Stefan to see how things were going. He was so excited to report that Kahlua seemed much more relaxed after using the flower essences and giving him more attention. Better yet, he hasn’t peed on the bed again!
This truly made my heart happy! Kahlua just needed to be understood, and once his family took measures to help him adjust he was a happy kitty again. Emotions like jealousy and anger are often displayed by inappropriate urination, but it doesn’t mean the situation is a lost cause. Using a custom flower essence blend, ECR, reconditioning behavior and reaffirming your love are ways to bring a successful outcome anytime your cat pees outside the litter box.
Want to learn more about how to help a cat who pees outside the litter box? Check out this great article here. To learn more about flower essences check out this post. Want to try them? You can find a great selection of Bach’s flower remedies in The Boutique for Cats!
