# Bengal cat urinating on sofa problem



## goldwillow (Aug 31, 2009)

I hope someone here can help apart from offering the usual advice about checking out health at the vets, moving litter trays, cleaning with certain cleaning fluids because we have been there done that and still have a problem. 

Our cat, is a Bengal x with a British Blue (apparently) which was given to my kid as a late christmas present. 
He was fine right up until may. Then he started urinating on the sofa. Fortunately for us, we managed to prevent the actual sofa from being marked because its a futon and we had a foam mattress on it and several throws. Once he did this I covered the futon with plastic to prevent any further accidents from getting to the mattress. We have binned the foam and got new throws. So there is no smell there whatsover. The futon has also been reversed. 
I am at the end of my tether because it is still going on. We have done all the help files say, we have done exactly as the vets have said and to no avail. I have put things on the sofa over night as this is the only room down stairs that has a door, we are open plan for the rest, and he has slept in that room since he arrived. He has two litter trays, he has toys and 3 kids who adore him. He isnt allowed upstairs because he urinated on my daughters bean bag when it was down stairs and when it went upstairs he found it and messed on it on the only time he was allowed up stairs. I will not give him access to the house at night for safeties sake because the children are so young still.
All this urinating appears to be territorial marking rather than anything else. The only times he gets up onto the sofa is when the plastic cover is now off(I keep it covered over all the time which has made it a no go area for the family) or when we have been using it and then he scratches the plastic off and urinates on it or the plastic in any space he can find. I have it piled high with boxes, toys and anything else to make it difficault for him to get to. I did what the vet said and left it 6 weeks, not the recommended 4 before removing the barrage, and he went straight in up on and urinated within 5 minutes.
I am at a loss as to what to do. The vet has checked him over, he has been neutered and he has access to an enclosed back garden. He also has a toilet patch out there which he uses as well as the litter trays. 
Canac doesnt work nor does citronella. I was given some herby stuff for the garden to use that keeps cats off the lawn, it doesnt work on my sofa! The Canac works fine on the furniture its stopped him scratching brilliantly! He is what the vet calls puddling, not spraying.
I draw the line at buying a pheremone plug in because of the cost. The vet seemed to feel there was only a small chance of it working. 
We tried the food on a card which also did not work.
He is well fed, has a balanced diet of Iams and trays (he had a bit of tummy touble like a lot of bengals do, so it was a case of finding the right food) and well loved but he does bite me. No one else, just me, so I dont insult him by trying to stroke or ingratiate myself with him anymore.
He is now 9 months old, we had him at 8 weeks in january and no problems until may. I have now got to the point where I want to have him rehoused or keep him outside all the time 
Any help would be gratefully appreciated, ie a recommended fail proof way of keeping him off the sofa without getting rid of him or leaving him out at night.
Thank you.


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## kittykat (Nov 2, 2007)

I really don't know what to suggest as it seems you have tried everything - its quite baffling! Hope someone else has some suggestions for you.


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## Janee (May 4, 2008)

Has anything changed at all, even minor stuff? Is there a new cat in the neighbourhood? Anything that could have caused stress?

Obviously having had the vet check him out it isn't cystitis or other health problem, so could it be stress?

Although you say that you don't want to go down the diffuser route that may be the answer. It has helped in situations similiar to yours.

Alternatively try Cat Attract litter.


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## Guest (Aug 31, 2009)

I am sorry you are having this problem with your young cat.

"puddles" usually indicate a urinary tract problem of some kind. You didn't say whether his urine has been checked for bacteria and crystals? Even irritation and inflammation can cause this problem. An x-ray or ultrasound may be needed.

You might ask your vet about putting him on cosequin for cats. this is an arthritis medicine, but it also helps to keep the bladder lining smooth to keep debris from sticking and building up.

A cat with crystals or bacteria in his urine, or inflammation in his urethra or bladder, feels like he has to go pee all the time. And it hurts to pee, so he blames the litter box for his pain, so goes elsewhere. Cats with this problem need to be on a special prescription diet.

If the problem has gone on too long, even after it is being managed, the cat may need to be retrained. This is done by keeping him in a small enclosed area, a small bathroom is ideal, with his litter box, and food dishes and some toys. Cats don't like to urinate where they eat, so he will be forced to use the litter box.

Two weeks is usually the duration.

And the Feliway plug in diffusers are worth the money.

You can find them for relatively inexpensive in an on line store called entirelypets.com google entirelypets.com coupon for a code to save a little more.

_ disclaimer: I do not work for, nor receive any benefit from recommending this site, but have ordered from it and was happy with both service and prices._

My final suggestion is that you seek a second opinion with another vet practice. Repeat visits to the same vet for the same problem can become frustrating and unproductive.

A fresh look at the problem from another viewpoint can be very helpful


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## lollipop11 (Aug 31, 2009)

Hi there! I have two bengals and have had similar problems to you. They're now completely barred from upstairs as they will always pee on the bed or the carpet if they get up there! What I've found makes a bit of a difference is the type, smell and amount of litter they use. I guess I'm lucky in that I can just shut the door to upstairs. Here are the things I'd suggest trying to at least reduce the problem (and have worked for me). Apologies if you've already tried these and you're still equally as frustrated by the time you've finished reading!

1. Buy more litter trays - that way if they soil one or other whilst you're out, they have clean alternatives to use. My two are so fussy that if a tray has even the smallest amount of poo or urine left over in the tray they won't use it.

2. Make sure the litter trays are the largest, deepest size possible and fill them as much as possible. I find the deeper-filled their trays are, the happier my two are. They even yowl at me until I put more in sometimes before they'll go! Also, the more litter in their tray, the less likely their feet are to slip about when they're going and I've discovered that this slipping seems to really put them off using their tray.

3. Ensure you use clumping litter as this is the best way to ensure you remove all traces of what they've just done. 

4. Use a litter made of natural fibres or clay that is unscented. My two will not go if the litter is even remotely perfumed. I've found that Cats Best Oko Plus seems to be the favourite of my two. Two other brands are World's Best and also Everclean clay litter (make sure you buy the unscented stuff). 

5. Try placing a litter tray in exactly the spot they go and then gradually move it bit by bit each day to a more convenient spot.

6. Reward them with a treat and lots of praise immediately after they use their litter tray if you spot them going. Get all the family to follow this too. Reward is probably the most powerful tool you have in training a cat.

7. Make sure they have litter trays in fairly private places so they can go out of the way of people watching. Like us, they don't like to be watched! 

I hope some of this helps. My two do still go in bizarre places now and then (such as the kitchen top!) but on the whole we've cut the problem down in the most part!


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## Jantrix (Aug 31, 2009)

I have a black tabby-siamese male who does the same thing. However he likes to go in objects that resemble a litter box. A cardboard box, laundry basket, a square carpet, luggage, etc. This has happened off and on for years now, but lately has been geting worse. I've read these replies and I'll be getting him to a vet to get checked out.


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## sue.armitage3 (Jan 4, 2010)

My cat lets me know when he wants his litter tray changing by trying to get into the litter bag and scratching it


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## fluffosaur (Dec 10, 2009)

You could try putting food bowls down in the place he is messing. I know this is on the sofa but this will indicate to him that this is NOT a toilet and force him to eat his meals there (yes, on a sofa!) until he figures this out.

I am currently fostering a bengal who had some messing issues (poop AND pee) around the same area so now I feed him in that area and he's using the litter tray nearby instead !


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## goldwillow (Aug 31, 2009)

Hi there! thank you for all your responses, they are very much appreciated 
I have left it before replying because I wanted to go through the ideas and make sure we had a working solution before spamming the board with my moans and groans about it all. It became quite demoralising and heartbreaking and we really didnt know what to do.
But anyway I am PLEASED to report, Jez is still part of our family, and the weeing stopped. We tried three things all at the same time so I have no idea what worked (touch wood it stays that way as we bought a new sofa!) 
1 ) we moved his litter tray to a far side wall in the corner between the tv and the dvds.
2 ) we changed his eco friendly litter to not so eco friendly boring old clay.
3 ) I disposed of the top foam mattress on the sofa and uncovered it and dared to use it, let him on it for cuddles and generally showed him who was the sofa boss.
Prior to all this we felt he had taken over the living room and is was his, on discussion with a friend of mine who has more cats that I could count, we decided maybe we needed to take back what was ours.
After the school summer holidays, I took the plastic and boxes off and we used it for what its supposed to be for.. us, and sitting on, the filthy looks he gave us, lol, oh dear me, but eventually he got used to it all and in Novemeber we bought a new (to us anyway) second hand suite, no I am not risking a new new suite with 3 kiddies and a cat with history! Well Cat was in second heaven, he lounges out on it between the kids if they are watching a movie, he stretches out and he just takes over if no one else is there to share it!
He has settled down now very well, we did have a flea problem (i bought cheap flea drops, silly me) but that is now eradicated, and he has a bombing round the house moment in the morning, sees the kids off to school and sits by the hedge waiting for them to come home if he is out or spends time waiting out the window for them. He sleeps on their beds (not the baby's) and then makes his way into our room and ends up taking up my end of the bed. He flatly refuses to jump over the stair gates and will actually wake me up if he needs to go down stairs to the tray, and we dare not be late up or we know about it... anyone who has seen simons cat on you tube will know what I mean... so far he hasnt found the baseball bat...(!)
So there you go, hopefully this will give anyone else hope regarding similar peeing issues.. it took MONTHS but we got there!  
Thank you very much for your help, I will go and wander round the other messages now


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## viobunny (Dec 30, 2009)

When the male cats reach maturity, they tend to pee everywhere. Your cats' problem is main the behavior one. Cats hate the smell of lemon and orange, so I guess you can try that.


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## loopbg (Jan 27, 2012)

Oh my! I just read this and I'm shocked.

Well, my boyfriend found this cat abandoned on the street, right next to a walking bridge above a motorway. She was left in an open cage in case she decides to go out. But he only saw her because a dog was sniffing the cage and the petrified cat was hissing from inside.

He brought her home. At that time my cat was gone missing just a few months ago, after a month with us, because I relocated house. I cried a lot, search, but never found her.

The new found cat - we decided to adopt, was cuddly at the beginning and purring to both of us and loved us for rescuing her. She doesn't have a particular breed - a bit tabby, but has some spots and markings similar to a bengal, only a bit though. Despite that - she's lazy, sleepy and loves eating.

Vets said she mst be over 2-3 year, was neutered, etc. One day, she just decided she's too scared of my boyfriend and avoids him or hides away. No reason, as I'm in the house most of the time and can say for certain he hasn't done anything to her.

One day I went in the bedroom for an afternoon nap, when she cuddled with me and while I was sleeping, she pissed on my boyfriends half of the bed! Jealousy?! He's never been a cat lover before and is trying because of me, but she's not helping at all.

Since that happened I made him feed her once a day, she cuddles with him and purrs, etc. But now... if I leave the bedroom door open, she still would go there and would pee in the middle of the bed (not hit spot any more)! That's a lot of washing a work for me when he's at work, because I don't want him to find out at all, otherwise she might end up on the street again.

Once I left some of my clothes on the sofa for ironing the next day. When I moved them the next day, there was poo on them! No idea why. This evening she simply went there in front of my eyes and started urinating. My boyfriend is not home for a week and I immediately thought - his spot on the sofa. Is that possible - marking her territory over his?! But the sofa i leather - and I clean it occasionally with some sprays, so you can't say there is some particular smell.

It drives me crazy, why is she doing it and what can I do to stop her. We live in an apartment with one big living room and kitchen in one, where she stays, and a bedroom that is permanently closed now. I can't keep an eye on the sofa all the time, because that's the room she is in even when we are not there. So frustrating!

My last cat was a grey/white tabby and would use the same litter for a week or would simply come and ask me to change it. My parents are still living with my first queen - a Siamese and she's always been accurate (almost). This one that doesn't look much of a breed just keeps doing staff like this.


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