Picture this scenario.
You woke up late to work due to a bad hangover from last night’s party with your friends. You barely have time to dry yourself properly as you get out of the shower. As you put on your work clothes, you noticed a horrendous stench that made your eyes water.
You wondered if a raccoon has died in your closet.
Upon closer inspection, you noticed that the odor is coming from the clothes you just put on and it smells strangely familiar like your cat’s litter box.
And it clicked.
What you are smelling is cat urine and this isn’t the first time you have caught your cat peeing on your stuff.
Does this sound familiar?
You must be thinking “Why on earth is my cat peeing on my clothes?”
“Is it out of spite or the lack of attention?”
Let me explain.
Why Does My Cat Pee On My Stuff?
When your cat pees on our stuff, it usually signifies a deeper medical or mental issue. Cats with litter box problems will tend to display such a behavior.
You might think that your cat might be trying to get back at you for accidentally throwing away its favorite toy last week.
Your cat definitely has a much bigger heart than that.
Here are some valid reasons as to why your cat is behaving like a fire hydrant on the loose at home.
Urinary Tract Infections
Cats are prone to urinary tract infections as they are not regular water drinkers. This urinary condition is more common in cats who are overweight, indoor cats, cats whose main diet is mainly dry food or kibbles and homes with more than one cat.
When your cat is having this problem, you will find your cat going in and out of the litter box many times. Urinating becomes painful for your poor cat and can even be bloody.
All these factors make cats see their litter boxes as the enemy as they start to associate the litter box with pain and discomfort.
This is why they tend to not use their litter box and start peeing in your laundry basket or all over your stuff.
Marking Its Territory
Animals are territorial in nature and cats are no different. Unlike humans where we can safeguard our belongings and property with a lock, cats have to use their pee.
Cats urinate on objects to signal to other cats that this area is taken. This action is called masking or spraying.
It is a rather pungent odor that contains the peeing cat’s pheromones for other cats to pick up on.
During mating season, this action is even more prevalent in cats. A male cat will go around the block pissing on stuff to warn other male cats of their presence and to send a direct message to female cats that it is available to mate.
Female cats will also practice this behavior to inform male cats that they are ready to mate.
In general, cats that are not sterilized tend to engage in spraying a lot more than cats that are. And male cats tend to spray more than females and neutered males.
So if you have cats that have yet to be neutered or spayed and they have been peeing on your clothes, it is best to get your cat sterilized.
Your Cat Is Feeling Stressed
When a cat is feeling stressed, it can end up indulging in many weird cat behaviors like chasing its own tail, hissing at nothing and even peeing outside of litter boxes.
It can be hard to determine what is stressing your cat as they are masters at disguising health issues. But changes in their behavior and body language will leave clues.
If your cat has only recently started peeing on your clothes or outside of its litter box, a recent event must have spooked it.
It could be a change in environment, a new human that just moved in or even a new pet.
If you have a few cats at home, the peeing cat might be stressed and fearful of being bullied by another more dominant cat.
Make sure to keep a lookout for bullying behavior and stop it right away. You will also need to get your cats better socialized.
Your Cat Doesn’t Like Its Litter Box
Cats are very fussy and finicky pets and can have an adverse reaction to the slightest change. If your cat has been peeing on your clothes recently, it could be due to a litter box change.
One thing to note when changing aspects of your cat’s litter box is how different is the change. A cat’s litter box preferences are very personal and should not be taken lightly.
Don’t forget to allow your cat to have access to its litterbox during the night. Otherwise, it will start peeing anywhere it seems suitable.
Change In Litter Box Type
If you are switching to a litter box that is enclosed or with a flap when your kitty has been using an opened lid box all this while, the sudden enclosed area might scare it away.
Automated cleaning litter trays are really convenient for pet owners but can be viewed as contraptions of death by your cat.
Hearing weird mechanical sounds in the litter box can be a daunting experience for your feline friend.
Change In The Type Of Litter Used
The type of litter is also very important. Some cats don’t do well with scented litter as they have a very keen sense of smell. What smells good to you might smell bad to your bad.
There are also many litter types available for cats. If you have been using paper pellets for years and have now decided to change to silicone gel, your cat might not like how it feels when it steps into the litter box.
Unclean Litter Tray
Cats are generally clean pets that take pride in their physical appearance. They also have a thing for clean litter boxes.
If you have started slacking on your cleaning duties out of laziness or being too busy, your cat won’t be too happy about it.
Make sure to at least scoop out the waste once a day and change out the entire litter weekly.
Forced To Share Litter Boxes
In general, most cats don’t like sharing litter boxes. A cat’s waste has scent signatures that can scare off another cat from using the same litter box.
Change In Location Of Litter Box
Privacy is very important to cats when using the litter box. If you have recently moved the tray to another area of the house where there is more human traffic and noise, your cat would be too happy using the toilet at its new location and will seek out another spot that it prefers.
All these above changes to your cat’s litter box can cause a change in its litter tray behavior. Therefore don’t be surprised to find your cat urinating outside the litter box.
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)
Older cats are prone to chronic kidney disease of CKD as they age. This condition makes the cat drink a lot more water than usual which also results in them peeing more.
This sudden surge in the amount of pee can catch the cat off guard, making it pee wherever it is. If your cat has a weak bladder, it can even make it worse.
If you notice that your older cat has been drinking and peeing more, you should get it to the vet for a blood test and any veterinary treatment.
How To Get Cat Pee Out Of Clothes?
If you have ever smelt dried cats’ pee on your clothing before, you’ll understand how bad it smells. Trying to get rid of the stench can feel like getting rid of the ‘white on rice’.
But it can be done with the right stuff.
You can try soaking the affected clothes in baking soda, vinegar and hot water overnight to see if that helps remove the odor.
When washing in the washing machine, don’t mix the rest of your unaffected laundry in as the odor can be passed on in the wash.
Use washing solutions that are designed to remove pet pee or odors as these solutions usually contain active enzymes that can help break down the scent particles.
If everything above fails, strongly consider throwing away those clothes that have been peed on. You don’t want to scare off the entire cabin in the subway or have strange horny cats following you all around.
Use the same above method if your cat has been peeing in your shoes as well.
Why Is My Cat Peeing On My Bed?
For cat owners whose cats spend a lot of time in their bedroom, waking up or finding damp blotches of your cat’s pee on your sheets or floor is also a common occurrence.
Cats like to be in areas that feel safe and familiar to them. These are areas that they have rubbed their scent on.
And since your bedroom is full of their pheromones, it is the next best natural place to relieve themselves if they are having the above issues.
Do Cats Pee Out Of Spite?
Cats have gotten a bad rap in the media and movies by portraying them as evil villains or sidekicks. Contrary to what most think, cats do not have an ‘evil’ or spiteful side to them.
They won’t pee outside their litter box just to piss you off or to show you who’s the boss. Cats can feel a range of emotions but doing things out of spite isn’t one of them.
It is usually a cry for help that your cat could be having some health issues or something is not right in its daily life.
Do Cats Pee On Things For Attention?
Cats won’t pee on things just to get your attention. If a cat wants your attention, it will come to you for pets and affection, meow non-stop or even get in between you and your laptop while you’re working.
It won’t devise some evil plan to rebel against the owner just for attention.
Conclusion
If you have started noticing changes in your cat behavior like it peeing outside the litter box, try to pay more attention to see if it occurs a couple of times.
This usually signifies a bigger problem and should be addressed as soon as possible.
If catching your cat peeing on your clothing is a one-off thing, then it is a good excuse for you to get some shopping done.