# 5 month old BSH kitten weeing on bedding



## AshCat2020 (Aug 29, 2020)

Hi,

We adopted Bobby, our BSH Tom at 10 weeks old. He's been fine ever since we had him in regards to eating, playing, and going to his litter tray.

However, at around 4 months old though he started weeing on the bed. At first, it was my bed, and then in my daughter's bed. He still used his litter tray for both weeing and pooping as normal.

We took him to the vet, and he told us it's more than likely a behavioral issue and suggested getting a Feliway diffuser.

We tried that, but after around a week the behavior started again, on my daughter's bed, and then on our bed, whilst still using his litter tray as normal.

We then tried changing our litter tray from wood pellets to fine sandy clumping litter. Bobby adapted to it right away. But again, after a week or so he started weeing on the bed again.

We then tried getting a different additional litter tray and moved it around various locations to see if this would solve the problem. Bobby continued to use both litter trays as normal, but if he got a chance he would wee on the bed also.

We've cleaned the bedding and mattress with an enzymatic cleaner. We've even swapped the bedding and mattress to one's he hasn't wee on before. He even went to stay at my mother-in-law when we were away, and he weed on her bed too.

We've also tried Feliway spray on the bed, and he still weed on it.

Bobby is not neutered yet (we'll be getting that done at around 6 months). But it's definitely not spraying, or stress, so I don't believe that's the issue.

I don't feel like it's an issue with the litter trays either, and he has no problem using them. It almost feels like he just likes weeing on the bed.

Apart from locking him out of the bedrooms on a permanent basis, we have no idea what to do?

Any ideas?


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Hello @AshCat2020 and welcome 

I am sorry to disagree with you, but the soiling is very likely indeed to be caused by the fact he has not been neutered yet. Sexually mature kittens and cats do not always spray when they want to scent mark, Quite often they just pee to scent mark.

Kittens can become sexually mature at the age of 4 months old. Is there a reason (e.g. a health problem) why you want to postpone castrating Bobby until he is 6 months old ?

If the vet wants to leave the neutering that late, I'd advise finding another vet to do the op sooner. There are plenty of vets these days who will neuter at 4 months old. International Cat Care and all members of the Cat Group recommend neutering of owned pet cats at the age of 4 months.

I am sure the vet will have ruled out a health issue such as feline cystitis or a urinary tract infection.

Beds are where the scent of the human owners of the beds is strongest. Cats like to mingle their scent with the scent of the humans with whom they live. This is a way of Bobby showing that he sees himself as part of your family.

The problem is the longer he remains un-neutered and scent-marks with urine the more it becomes habitual behaviour and the less likely to stop when he is castrated. It will not be likely to stop for about a month after neutering anyway because that's how long it will take post-neutering for the level of his sex hormones to fall.

I think until after he has been neutered it is best keep all the bedroom doors closed and ban him from the bedrooms.

You could try giving him a calming supplement called Zylkene which is good for relaxing cats who are soiling due to anxiety. But as Bobby is not soiling due to anxiety as far as you can tell, Zylkene may not be effective. His hormonally driven urge to scent mark may overpower the effect of Zylkene. But it may be worth a try... The capsule can be opened and the powder mixed with his wet food.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vetoquinol-Zylkene-Capsules-Small-20-Count/dp/B00K06MAK2/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3BGGZQWHA3KW1&dchild=1&keywords=zylkene+75mg+for+cats&qid=1598746940&sprefix=zylkene+,aps,141&sr=8-4

EDIT - it's good you're providing him with 2 trays, as it's the minimum number of trays for one cat. Cats like to pee and poo in different trays though which of their trays they use for which deposit may vary from one day to the next.


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## AshCat2020 (Aug 29, 2020)

Thank you @chillminx for your welcome and response. 

In regards to litter trays, at the moment, Bobby doesn't seem to be fussed about which one he poops and wees in. Just whichever is closest, whenever he needs to go.

From everything I read online, I was not aware the cats may also mark their scent just by peeing. So thank you for that. It sounds like a plausible explanation. And I was hoping it may be due to the fact he was not neutered yet.

The only reason why I said he will be neutered at 6 months, is because that's what our vet suggested normally.

I am not sure if this has anything do with it, but Bobby is on the large scale (from what I understand) for a BSH tom. He's over 3Kg at 5 months. I've also noticed that his testicles seem to be growing at a larger rate, than anything else (although I am not an expert). Could the extra testosterone levels be a cause for this need for marking his scent?

I will be contacting the vet tomorrow to see If I can get him in early for neutering. I am hoping that will resolve it in the long term. In the short term, I will be keeping him locked out of the bedrooms, so that he can break this habit.

I may also try Zylkene as you recommended and see if that helps too.

Thanks.


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## AshCat2020 (Aug 29, 2020)

This is Bobby BTW...


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

@AshCat2020 - he is a very handsome fellow and I love his colouring! x

BSH cats are my favourites - 2 of my previous cats were BSH (a silver spotted and a silver tabby). They were my soulmates.

He does sound like quite a big kitten - weighing 3 kg at 5 months; and his testosterone levels may well account for the size of his furry pom-poms. His development is perhaps quite advanced for his age.


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

Looking at those photos he is well overdue for neutering!


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## AshwinR (Jun 18, 2020)

He's got some big ball for sure. Mine was also neutered today at 5,5 month. He also started spraying outside the box. Here in the Netherlands the vet do it at 6 months, not sure why. I asked my vet and she rather does it at 6 month. I think she said at 4 month they are too young. Some vets do do it a 4 months as some breeders don't want their kittens to be bred with.


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## AshCat2020 (Aug 29, 2020)

Hi,

Just an update on Bobby...

Bobby got neutered well over a month ago, and up until now, we've locked him out of all the bedrooms.

Because it had been some time, we decided to open up one of the rooms (that he has not weed on the bed) yet, and even put a plastic sheet over the bed. However, today he did it again (on top of the plastic sheet)!

I'm all out of ideas on how to stop this.

He's still using his litter trays as normal. There is even one just outside the bedroom he did it.

Are there any other suggestions? Things I can try, deterrents, etc?

I don't think we will be able to lock him out of all the rooms forever.

Also, since his neutering, I've not noticed any change in behavior.

I'm not sure what to do next? Please help.

Thanks.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

@AshCat2020 - I am glad you got Bobby neutered.  It can take at least a month for hormone levels to drop after castration. It would be best to give it longer before you allow him access to your bedrooms. Maybe another couple of months.

However, it is the case sometimes that once cats are in the habit of scent-marking by e.g. peeing on their owner's beds, they do not always stop once they have been neutered, I'm afraid.

It may be a habit that Bobby finds comforting or it may be that it gives him a sense of belonging to your family by mingling his scent with your scent (human beds have a strong scent of their owners). It is unlikely he is using your bed instead of using a litter tray, as you are providing plenty of trays for him.

Cats do sometimes soil soft places such as beds and sofas if they have a urinary tract infection (UTI) or feline cystitis. UTIs are not common in kittens.

Feline cystitis is a possibility, which you could discuss with your vet. Keeping Bobby on an all wet food diet (no dry) will reduce the risk of cystitis because research has shown a wet food diet increases the amount of water a cat drinks so the volume of his urine will increase. This will result in him peeing more often, nice big pees which flush the bladder through regularly preventing sludge or crystals in the bladder..

It is best to protect his bladder with a wet food diet, even if cystitis is ruled out.

I find Zylkene supplement helpful at reducing feline scent marking. One capsule a day, open capsule and add the powder to food. Give a course for a month and then take a break. It can be given long term if needed.

https://www.petforums.co.uk/threads/elimination-diets.509821/

I would also put a waterproof cover on your duvet, as well as a waterproof cover on your mattress so your bed is protected in case he gets into your room by mistake and soils the bed again. Waterproof covers are made to be 'breathable' these days, and are more comfortable than they used to be years ago.

You may find as he matures the scent marking/bed soiling will gradually stop. Sometimes it can be a self confidence issue. I assume he is your only cat so there are not territorial issues in the home, with feline housemates? .


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## Summercat (Oct 8, 2017)

Hi @AshCat2020 
I know you said earlier that you cleaned with enzymatic cleaner but I would do a few more treatments on all beds and use a steam cleaner as well if you can. 
And as @chillminx said, keep him out of the bedrooms a bit longer to see if the habit breaks.
Maybe use a scent like lavender or rose water made for linen on the mattress and sheets. It will make the bed smell less like humans, which would appeal to a cat who is co mingling scents.

Does your vet think he is the age you were told by the breeder? I wonder if he may have been a little older by a month maybe.


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## AshCat2020 (Aug 29, 2020)

Hi,

Thank you for the advice @chillminx and @Summercat .

Yes, Bobby is the only cat in the house.

Yes, we have been using enzymatic cleaner. But Bobby pee'd on a bed yesterday that he never done before. And even on beds he has done, he has stilled pee'd after swapping the mattress and bedding to ones he hasn't. For me it feels like a habit, or he just likes the soft bedding. However, I will look at using lavender or rose water scent on the bedding to see if that puts him off peeing there. Thanks.

We reserved Bobby when he was a couple of weeks old from the breeder, and we monitored his progress weekly until we brought him home. So I'm confident of his age.

I do find Bobby to be a bit restless. He's not a nervous cat, but sometimes he can be a bit jumpy. And he can never stay in one spot for a long time, unless he having a proper nap. I did put that down to just being a kitten, but was expecting him to be a bit more chilled after his op. That does not seemed to have changed. Maybe he still has high levels of testosterone? And yesterday before he did it, I could feel that was going to do it because he was being a little erratic.

It did cross my mind, that maybe because we are keeping Bobby locked out of the room, he feels the need to mark his scent when he does get access, to re-claim it again. Not sure if that's a thing?

I am hoping the need for doing this will wear off in time as he matures.

In the meantime our plan is to lock him out of the bedrooms for another couple of months and give him a course of Zylkene for a month to see if that relaxes him a bit more. Failing that, I am out of ideas.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

@AshCat2020 - you make a good point about shutting Bobby out of the bedrooms possibly making him more inclined to scent mark beds when he is allowed in bedrooms. It is certainly a possibility and now you've added that his behaviour is a bit 'jumpy' and erratic sometimes, it adds weight to the idea that he is peeing on beds to comfort himself or accentuate the bond with you and your family. .

He may feel an overwhelming compulsion to scent mark the beds to help him feel better. You have perhaps noticed he seems calmer, less jumpy, once he has marked a bed.

Shutting a cat out of certain rooms is a simple way of dealing with one who soils beds or sprays furniture. One of my cats (a rescued stray, who was late neutered) is not allowed in my living room because he can't be trusted 100% not to spray or pee on the soft furnishings. He rarely sprays anywhere else indoors anymore, just occasionally when he is frustrated if not allowed out at night he will spray by the door in protest. Probably he would no longer spray in my living room, but I am not yet willing to trust him.

However, keeping a cat out of certain rooms is sometimes impractical when you have children at home. In Bobby's case perhaps his bed soiling would reduce once he had full access to the bedrooms. But as you don't want beds smelling of cat pee you'd have to protect all the beds with waterproof covers and then put a fleece on top for Bobby to use, so that if he did pee on it, the laundering was easier to do.

My experience is that once a cat finds it comforting to scent mark around the home, (whether it is beds, sofas, floors etc) they do not stop entirely, but the habit can be managed with use of calming supplements for the cat, enzymatic cleaners or laundry liquid, and being quietly resigned to the fact the cat may be the odd slip-up now and then..

If you were to get cross with Bobby for soiling, or even to comment on it to him, it would not help. If, as I suspect, he is soiling as a way of comforting himself or helping himself bond more with your family, he will not understand why people get annoyed with him for soiling, and it will confuse him and make him more anxious.

EDITED TO ADD: are there plans afoot for Bobby to have outdoor access when he is a bit older, e.g a cat-friendly/cat-proofed garden. or a cat enclosure he can access from the house through a cat flap on the back door? Having some outdoor access, even if not free roaming, will encourage him to be a bit more independent of the family and give him something else to focus his mind on, so he is less preoccupied with wanting to scent mark indoors.


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