Cat's Bedwetting

by Monica Webb, Forum Moderator - DoItYourself.com/pets

Q. I need a home remedy to put on my son's bed to stop my cat from peeing on it. I read of it one time, but can't remember what it was.

A. I don't know the details of your house but the easiest remedy may be to close the door to your son's room.

Put lemon extract or fresh lemon juice. This is also, good in areas that you do not want them to scratch. The lemon sent is not something they like. Also, If you mist the cat with the bottle of water "plain" when he gets on the bed or any other areas the you do not want the cat to be on it will re-direct him but wont hurt him. 

If your son has "peed" the bed at any time, the cat will definitely smell it and try to scent it himself. There are two options that I am aware of. There is a product that you can buy at any Pet Supply called Simple Solution. This sprayed onto the mattress - you will have to pretty well soak it - and then put the mattress in the sun to dry, should neutralize the odor. If this doesn't work, then it may be necessary to purchase a new mattress and use a deterrent spray on the mattress for several nights until the cat decides he doesn't want to 'claim it'. I would suggest that you give your son a sleeping bag until that happens, just to be sure he isn't inhaling any irritants. Good luck.

Here is another thing you can do: You may wish to keep your cat off of the furniture or off of a particular piece of furniture. Or to keep them off the counters and or tables. Because of a cat's ability to climb and jump, this isn't always a practical thing to do -- but you can sometimes train them to stay off very specific pieces of furniture or locations by covering it with aluminum foil. In most cases, a month of leaving the foil on when you leave the house will be effective.

There are other ways to keep a cat off of a bed by making it undesirable, but first ask yourself WHY the cat is peeing on the bed. If the cat is known to pee all over the house, that's an obstreperous pet, but if it's a new behavior the peeing could indicate that the cat has a health problem. It could also be your cat's way of telling you that its litter box is dirtier than it likes, or it would like an additional box, or the box is too close to where it eats, or it doesn't like something your son is doing (like not cleaning the litter box or behaving in a dominant way to the cat).

See also our article on Litter Boxes

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