Does your cat keep peeing on the bed? Lucy, my cat, is a member of our family and I’m not getting rid of her, so I’ve become somewhat of an expert on How to Stop a Cat From Peeing on the Bed and I’m sharing with you how to get the smell of cat urine out of sheets, pillows, blankets, clothes, etc. and how to prevent it from happening in the future!
Last year, my husband and I started playing the super fun game called “Hey, Does This Smell Like Cat Pee to You?” We had just moved into our newly renovated house which was a stressful experience for Lucy, my cat. She doesn’t like change and she doesn’t like boxes or furniture being moved or out of place. Needless to say, moving is a big change with a lot of boxes and furniture, so … she started peeing on our bed.
Plus, I was pregnant … I swear cats can smell those new hormones. Then, when we brought home our new twin babies, she began peeing on our bed AGAIN probably because of my changing hormones and scent AGAIN.
How to Stop a Cat From Peeing on the Bed
1. Take Your Cat to the Vet
First and foremost, you need to take your cat to the vet to rule out any medical issues such as kidney problems or a urinary tract infection. I know this isn’t what you want to hear, vet bills are expensive, but sometimes a cat pees on the bed (or the sofa, or laundry) because they’re in pain and peeing on top of a soft surface eases that pain. If the peeing isn’t “medical,” then it’s “behavioral” which is harder to determine. So, by ruling out any medical issues, you can then start to focus on behavioral issues. I took Lucy to the vet, they found nothing wrong with her, so I focused on behavioral issues.
2. Eliminate the Stresser
If you’ve determined the problem to be behavioral, try to eliminate the stresser. In my situation, Lucy was stressed because we had moved and there was furniture out of place and stacks of boxes everywhere, so we moved our furniture into more permanent or semi-permanent spots and removed the moving boxes that were stressing out the cat. I think she was also peeing because I was pregnant. And then obviously, when she started peeing again because of the twin babies. I couldn’t remove my twins, but I now make sure to play with Lucy more and give her more attention so she knows we still love her. (See tip #7 about toys below.)
I’ve also tried using calming cat scent diffusers and cat scratchers in order to give Lucy some stress outlets. Cats have nervous habits just like humans do – we bite our nails just like how cats scratch with their claws to relieve stress. I don’t know if the calming cat scent diffuser helped us at all (although some reviews swear by the stuff!), but she loves her cat scratchers and I think those have really helped with her behavior!
3. Litter Box
This is another big thing. Cats are picky about their litter boxes. You may want to experiment with the litter – scented, unscented, the size of the granules, etc. Cats are picky. It’s super annoying. I know. Lucy isn’t very particular about the type of litter, but she expects it to be clean. We’ve found that when my husband doesn’t clean out her litter every day, she voices her objections by peeing on the bed. Also, if you have multiple cats, it is recommended that you have at least one litter box per cat plus one extra so that one cat doesn’t guard the litter box so the other can’t use it (which results in that cat urinating elsewhere.)
Also, a reader sent me an email about a particular kitty litter she has used to get her cat to stop peeing in her living room. I have not used or tested this kitty litter yet (but I just purchased it, so a personal review will be coming soon), but the other reviews look legit and it looks to have helped some people! So, I’d say it’s worth checking out and I’ll definitely be trying it in the future!
Also, I got my husband the Litter Genie XL. He says “It’s a Game Changer!” He hated cleaning the litter (and to be honest, he still does), but he says that having the Litter Genie sit next to the litter box helps remind him to clean the litter every night.
Plus, he says it’s so much easier because he hated having to go grab a trash can, a trash bag, and the scooper before he could even start scooping. With the Litter Genie XL, it’s all right there. It’s an odor controlled trash can with the bag already in it and a scooper holder. Plus, we’re trying to do our best to make changes for the environment and my husband likes that it doesn’t waste a plastic trash bag for just a little bit of cat poop. I got the Litter Genie XL which is advertised to hold 3 weeks worth of one cat’s pee/poo, so using one plastic bag every 3 weeks versus a plastic bag every few days is a huge difference. Also, it works! You don’t smell a thing! It really does hold in all the bad smells.
4. Remove the Smell of Urine
But regardless of what is causing the problem, you have to remove the smell of urine. If the cat continues to smell the pee, they will continue to urinate in that spot. You must remove the smell of the urine from whatever surface the cat has peed on. To do this, I use Nature’s Miracle Just for Cats Urine Destroyer. (I’ve used Clorox Pet Urine Remover in the past, but I prefer Nature’s Miracle now.)
According to the manufacturer’s instructions, you can use it on both hard and soft surfaces such as sealed hardwood and tile, upholstered furniture, carpet, bed linens, and mattresses. Obviously, spot test it on an inconspicuous location to make sure it doesn’t stain or discolor your item.
It is safe to use around pets, but please do NOT be an asshole and spray it ON your pet. Buy it in the gallon size container (trust me, you’ll need it in the beginning as this process can take several weeks before the cat stops peeing and then you can hopefully size down to a smaller size to just keep on hand once you run out of the larger gallon) along with a spray bottle and Nature’s Miracle Laundry Boost.
For example, Lucy peed on one of my favorite blankets and I thought I would have to throw it away. I washed the blanket twice (I did NOT dry it between washings) and it still smelled like cat pee, so I gave Nature’s Miracle Just for Cats Urine Destroyer a try. I put the blanket in the bathtub, sprayed Nature’s Miracle Just for Cats Urine Destroyer on it, let it sit for a couple of hours, then washed the blanket again along with Nature’s Miracle Laundry Boost and it miraculously does not smell anymore.
So that’s my method, whenever we have discovered that Lucy has peed on the bed, we strip the bed and put the sheets, blankets, pillows, etc. in the bathtub or shower with the “pee spots” at the top of the pile. I then spray the pee spots with Nature’s Miracle Just for Cats Urine Destroyer and let it sit. It usually sits overnight because we typically discover her little present for us right before bedtime and our washer and dryer are located upstairs near my kids’ room and I don’t want to wake them up. So in the morning, I spray the pee spots again and then put the laundry in the washing machine along with Nature’s Miracle Laundry Boost.
Before drying, I do the sniff test to make sure it’s clean, if there is any indication that it still smells, I spray it and wash it again with more Nature’s Miracle Laundry Boost, but I’ve really only had to do that maybe once or twice on items she peed on that I didn’t know about.
I’ve also played around with my washing machine settings and sometimes I let the urine-stained item soak in the washing machine with Nature’s Miracle Laundry Boost for 30 minutes before washing. Check to see if your washing machine has any pre-soak settings.
Another example: my husband left his lightweight nylon jacket on the bed (please note, he did NOT follow my Step #6 below and I have repeatedly warned him about leaving stuff on the bed!) and Lucy used his jacket as her personal litter box. She emptied her full bladder on it, it was terrible. My husband thought he would have to throw the jacket away, but I worked my magic. All I had to do was spray it, soak it, and wash it a couple of times, and it’s now like new!
If your laundry now smells like Nature’s Miracle products, you can also “laundry strip” whatever items your cat peed on. The basic method of laundry stripping is letting your laundry soak for 4-6 hours in hot water and a mixture of 1 cup of powdered Tide, 1 cup of Borax, and 1 cup of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda. Stir every two hours and then wash in your washing machine with regular detergent and fabric softener.
5. Mattress Protectors
If your cat is peeing on your bed, buy a mattress protector! Sheets can be washed, but the mattress is harder to clean. A mattress protector will save you money in the long run. I have a mattress protector on every single bed (Main bedroom, Guest bedroom, the twins’ cribs, the twins’ playpen), and even pillow protectors on our pillows because I am not messing around with this cat piss anymore. Actually, I have three on our bed just to be sure nothing gets through.
Luckily, Lucy’s bed peeing habits have stopped, but there can always a new stressor in the future (like if I get pregnant again or if my husband doesn’t clean out her litter box one time) and I worry that she’ll start peeing again, so I’ve protected our investments because I got tired of throwing out pee soaked mattress toppers and pillows and having to buy new ones.
6. Remove Excess Blankets/Pillows
All that said, I’ve found that removing excess blankets and pillows from the bed (or making the bed) keeps Lucy from peeing on it. She likes to pee on super soft and fluffy surfaces, like if the comforter is balled up or folded over. So, I have to make the bed every day. For some reason, she doesn’t pee on the decorative pillows or the flat blankets, but just when they aren’t laying perfectly flat or if there are extra blankets that are thrown on top. So, now I make sure there are no excess blankets, pillows, or even sweatshirts or jackets on the bed. I don’t know why this works, but it does. Plus, it just looks nicer.
Here’s an example of what NOT to do – look at all those pillows and blankets just asking to be peed on!
7. Toys
Make the bed a play spot. I like to buy Lucy new toys every once in a while to make sure she is mentally stimulated and happy and I make sure we play with them on the bed so she associates the bed with a fun activity and not her own personal litter box! Toys such as the teaser feather on a stick, laser pointer, etc. are all great and you can always spray toys with a bit of catnip spray to get the cat’s initial interest.
8. Close the Door
Obviously, close the door to the room if you can. Cats are notorious for banging on doors and meowing loudly when a door is closed, so I know this isn’t always possible, but if you can close the door until the stressful situation is managed, it may help. Unfortunately, Lucy is a door banger and she is my little shadow, so if I’m in the bedroom, she thinks she needs to be in there, too. Otherwise, she will get her little paw under the door and try to jiggle it open. At one point, we were doing construction and we didn’t even have a door installed on the room, so we didn’t have this option, which is how I became such an expert at How to Stop a Cat From Peeing on the Bed in the first place.
We’ve also had to deal with a feral cat spraying the outside of our front door. I actually thought someone had spilled soda on our front door. Around the same time, I also noticed that Lucy was inspecting the inside of the front door – I thought maybe she was planning her escape since my twin babies had just been born because she usually never goes near the front door. But I eventually connected the two and figured out it was a feral cat spraying the front door. I used Nature’s Miracle Just for Cats Urine Destroyer on the door to remove the urine and the feral cat has stopped spraying.
Also, don’t make the same mistake and purchase a UV flashlight to light up the pee. I bought this one (and I now see in the description that it doesn’t work on cat pee) and it didn’t work, but if you read the top review of the flashlight, it does light up dog pee and toddler puke and that reviewer states that they used Nature’s Miracle on the stains and then used the flashlight and Nature’s Miracle had indeed worked to remove the stain because the flashlight no longer lit up anything gross.
Do you have a cat who keeps peeing on your bed? Do they do it at like the worst time ever when you’re exhausted and don’t have time to do a load of laundry, or is that just what my cat, Lucy, does? Also, a quick note: if you’re ever playing the “Does This Smell Like Cat Pee to You?” game, just stop. The answer is always yes. Cat pee stinks! If you even think you smell cat pee, it’s probably cat pee!
Let me know in the comments if you have any other ideas on how to stop a cat from peeing on the bed that worked for you!
2019 and 2020 Update: When I got pregnant again in August of 2020, the peeing started again. I had never really associated the first cat peeing episodes to my first pregnancy, I just thought it was because we had moved into a new house which is a stressful experience and then brought home twin babies, another stressful experience.
But now I definitely think that cats can smell those first trimester hormones and they’re marking their territory on the bed. Luckily, when Lucy started peeing again, I knew exactly what to do for the sheets and blankets. Our mattress and pillows are all protected with covers, so it just meant a lot of extra laundry for me. But now we’re in the second trimester and the peeing has stopped!
2021 Update: And again, she peed shortly after I stopped breastfeeding. Again, changing hormones and changing smells. But she has since stopped.
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Looking for more cat inspiration? Check out some of my other kitty posts:
Rachel
Tuesday 3rd of May 2022
Apparently this didn't work for us. None of these things applied or worked. Our cat has no medical problem, we can't take the blankets off our bed, we have a mattress protector. We have a little box though he goes outside and never has used it. We have scratching posts and we can't have toys. I can't eliminate thread since I don't know what it is I can't even wash all he's pees on since I don't know what all he's pees on and if I close our door he moves to a different location..I'm thinking the next step is he moves to an outdoor cat all summer...
Sophie
Thursday 30th of September 2021
My cat is also named Lucy! She has a bad problem with peeing on my bed and other beds. She does it when I leave her alone for long periods during the day and will even pee on my bed while I am sleeping!! I have removed any extra blankets but sometimes she will pee directly in the spot I sleep in. She refuses to use the litterbox if there is poop in it, doesnt like random jackets on my bed. and she also hates my dog. Even when I leave for a day or 2 with the dog, I come home to a bed full of pee spots. Vets say nothing is wrong medically, I own every pee cleaner known including the natures miracle line. I live in a house with roommates, but she likes all the roommates and will still pee on their beds if I do not give Lucy enough attention. I play with her every night and cuddle with her all night long, let her out during the day (she likes to go potty outside mostly). But I do not let her out at night. She still sometimes pees in her litterbox but I can do everything right to have to pee in the correct area, then the next day she pees on my bed and the next day back in the litterbox. I finally just removed all my bedding and got new bedding which seems to help until I leave a jacket on the bed and she pees on it, starting the cycle again. But she doesnt always pee on random clothes on my bed, she will ignore it most of the time then randomly empties everything on it. I have caught her a few times and had to lift her WHILE SHES STILL GOING and put her in the litterbox located very close to my bed (not even 4ft away). Ive tried calming oils, i have protectors for my bed but I am still so lost.
Linzi
Saturday 7th of January 2023
@Mags, I’m in the same boat! Please help
Mags
Tuesday 15th of November 2022
@Sophie, this sounds exactly like what I am going through with my female cat right now. Except I don't have any other pets. If you've found any other tips that seem to work please share! I have a secondary litter box in my room now, I treat with Nature's Miracle all the time. Nothing wrong medically according to the vet - I am at a loss.
Carol
Thursday 3rd of May 2018
Thank you for a good article. I'll try the Clorox products for areas that can't be saved from the bad pee cat. He's 12 years old and I love him dearly, in spite of himself. My other cat is a Stellar Good Boy, also 12 yo. They are my family.
Carol
Thursday 3rd of May 2018
OxyClean laundry additive does a GREAT job of getting rid of pee smell and cleans any laundry items, used along with your favorite laundry detergent. My cat has favorite pee spots, no matter how well they're cleaned and pee smell is gone. He always pees standing up, tail straight up. I use doggie pee pads (extra large, holds 7 cups) and blue painter's tape (doesn't leave adhesive residue) to attach them to those spots. Got sick of cleaning up after him. Just take them down and roll them up, throw away. I also line the cat carrier with pee pads. First I line the carrier up to the side seeing-out grates, covering the bottom. Then I fold up an old towel to fit the bottom of the crate, and wrap the towel in a pee pad. With that done, I put another pee pad on top tucking it around the sides of the towel and adhering top sides to the crate. Typically I can just pull off that top pad and the rest of the crate is clean; leaving the other two pads clean and intact. It works really well. All I need to do next time it's just put in another top pad. (My carrier is a small Veri-Kennel). I always take both my cats to the vet in the same carrier, even though only one may need to see the vet, so there's no fighting because one was left at home.
Trudy
Tuesday 1st of May 2018
I recently read an article that Prozac works really well for this issue when other things have been tried without improvement. I know some people might say they would never drug their cat. Which is their choice of course.