New kitten peeing in my bed while sleeping - help!
October 25, 2022 8:00 AM   Subscribe

YANMV. I have a wonderful new kitten, who is three months old and a happy, energetic little imp. She’s been peeing in my bed at night. How do I make this stop??

Kitten was spayed last week and I adopted her the next day. She’s been confined to my bedroom with food, water, and a litter box while she recovers and we try to SLOWLY get her and my adult cat used to each other, but she has escaped for wild chases around the house a few times. She’s litter trained, eating and drinking normally, etc.

Kitten is a big fan of me and likes to sleep cuddled up with me at night. This is great, except that she has been peeing in the bed one time each night. This happens while I’m asleep and she may also be asleep. It’s gross and distressing and I want it to stop!

Other relevant facts: I have a pretty tall bed, other rooms with doors that close are the bathroom, my second grader’s room, and my office, and there’s no evidence of other inappropriate peeing.

The vet gave her antibiotics in case of UTI and gabapentin to slow her down while she heals. Those both started this morning. What else can I do about this?
posted by centrifugal to Pets & Animals (8 answers total)
 
She might be too young to control her little bladder all night long. Maybe place her on the litter tray as late as possible at night, before she goes to sleep?
posted by Zumbador at 8:34 AM on October 25, 2022 [6 favorites]


Best answer: I've experienced this sometimes with very small kittens -- not unlike human babies, they are still in a learning period about where to go and when they need to go. I second putting her in the litter box (maybe even more than once) before bed, and even potentially waking up in the middle of the night to do it again. I've never had this last more than a little bit of time so I bet you'll be through it ASAP.

But also - make sure you're using an enzyme cleaner like Nature's Miracle when you wash the bedding. You don't want it to retain the kitty urine smell, which will just attract her to pee there again thinking it's the correct spot.
posted by BlahLaLa at 8:38 AM on October 25, 2022 [7 favorites]


If this is roughly same time each night i would actually wake her and put her on the litter box, possibly go myself as well (my Mimi loves using the litter box which is in the bathroom while i use the toilet, being old i tend to go once each night and she joins me on her own).
And if you don't have them yet, get the kind of incontinence pads for bedwetting children or incontinent adults to sleep on for now. Look If possible for the kind that does not make a rustling sound, forgot what brand says that on the package, so as not to provide exciting stimulation...
posted by 15L06 at 8:54 AM on October 25, 2022 [1 favorite]


I’m sure she’s been wormed but consider checking again and worming again? Imx kittens are highly susceptible to re-infesting w their immature digestive systems and the worm load can make it difficult for them to recognize their urge to urinate or fully empty. Data point we’ve had a couple of cats who got worms again and again through their first year despite being treated and indoors only. Frequently this resulted in peeing outside the litter box, even though they were also using the litter box as trained. After they passed their first birthday, it never happened again.
posted by toodleydoodley at 9:16 AM on October 25, 2022


No suggestions to add, but I wanted to mention that gabapentin might make the problem worse temporarily because it might make her loopy. We were prescribed gabapentin for an injured foster and he wet himself a couple times because he was so out of it. He also had problems remembering where his litter was and peed in a corner. But his dose was probably on the higher side because of his injuries.
posted by rawralphadawg at 9:30 AM on October 25, 2022 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Our Freya did this at about the same age. (She’s 16 years old now.) It wasn’t so much that she didn’t know better; she was just a goofy baby who would fall asleep between us and then her bladder would relax.

We put her, a litter pan, and a water dish in the bathroom overnight for a few weeks; she never missed the box in that time. Then, we returned her to probationary bed privileges, and she seemed to have outgrown her bedwetting. (If only it had been so easy for me as a kid!)

Nth-ing that this phase is likely to pass. The specific Nature’s Miracle formula you want in the meantime is the Urine Destroyer. Good luck!
posted by armeowda at 6:10 PM on October 25, 2022 [1 favorite]


Set an alarm for some time in the night before she's likely to pee, get her up and out of bed and into the litterbox and encourage her to use it (gently and positively). For whatever reason she may be reluctant to get out of bed in the middle of the night, but that needs to happen. Even if she doesn't pee in the box the first few times you're making her aware that getting up and jumping down to pee is a thing she can do.

Highly recommend this stuff- Thornell Cat Odor Eliminator. It's a concentrate you mix up and it works better than any of the other things I have used over the years. I even use it in the laundry by adding a teaspoon to the "fabric softener" compartment. I hate the smell of most cat pee remedies but this one doesn't bother me and dissipates after a day at most. YMMV.

Always wash cat stained things in cold and air dry. Heat will set the smell.
posted by oneirodynia at 2:18 PM on October 26, 2022


Response by poster: Thanks all! Kitten is sleeping in a towel nest in the bathroom next to her litter box at night for the time being, and I bought some Nature’s Miracle laundry booster. Easier access to the litter box seems to be helping, but we’ll give that a few weeks and try again.
posted by centrifugal at 11:10 AM on October 28, 2022 [2 favorites]


« Older Dining options near NY Penn Station/Herald Sq.   |   💥👇Metafilter Wants You - The Fundraising Post!... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.