Augh! That's so gross!

[Trieste]

I ... I need help. Okay. So. My cat ... craps on my bed.

Yes, you read that right. Don't even ask about the circumstances under which I tend to discover that she's done it, because I don't want to talk about it.

What I would like to know is if anyone else has any suggestions, because here's the thing. During the summer months, I can keep the door to the bedroom closed and just keep the cats out of there, but the heating here is not all that efficient in the bedroom, so I would like to be able to open up the bedroom door. I'm serious - last night, the bedroom got down to 56°F while the rest of the house was a toasty 62.

The circumstances are these: it's always the same cat (the other one is better-behaved, even if she's the crankier kitty in general) and she always seems to do it on the same sheet. I have a couple sheets that go on my bed, and it's always the blue sheet she craps on, and I'm not sure if that's coincidence or meaningful. Either way, I have febreezed the holy crap out of the sheet - along with the rest of my bed (eugh!). I have not changed her litter, or the deodorizer I put in the litter box - or her food, or the litter box - anytime recently, before or after she started doing this. It started several months after we moved into this apartment, so I don't think it's the new place. She had a clean litter box, food in her dish and water in her other dish at the time.

Does anyone else know cats well? I've had cats for years - actually, I've had this particular cat for close to 5 years now (she's about 6 years old) and she's NEVER done this. I want a warm bedroom! Also I miss my nightly kitty snuggles, keeping them out of the bedroom. :(

[Moondazed]

We had a cat that would pee on my husband's pillow if he scolded her *giggle*  It's nasty and we bought a few pillows before she passed away, but I couldn't bring myself to throw her outside (and I have a loving and indulgent husband).  I'm not sure what would make a cat develop that habit if it isn't a protest of some sort.  If you don't have the blue sheet on the bed, does she still do it?  It could be as simple as replacing that sheet?

[Dawg]

I know that you were/are under a lot of stress with school and the job and that picked up in recent months. Have you changed your previous habits with this cat due to the stress factors in your own life that you didn't do before?  Possibly less time with the cat, not playing with them using their favorite toy as much, irritable around them more often, change of schedule that coincided with the new habit that may have interrupted their routine with you.

I'm not really a cat person (duh - otherwise my usename might be something like kitty), but I do know a lot of cat people and one thing I have seen is more so than dogs, the cats pick up changes in the owners lifestyle like stress more acutely than dogs do and sometimes it causes issues like not going in the litterbox.

And I am sure that you have ruled out medical reasons that may be causing them pain to use the litterbox already, right.

[Trieste]

She has not done it on any other sheet than the blue one, so I'm not sure if she's reacting to some sort of scent on it or what. I just don't know. I'm hesitant to let her back into the bedroom just so I can see if it's that particular sheet. *twitch*

Yeah, I was worried at first that she had some sort of infection because she's normally just a snugglebunny. I mean, she's a brat even for a cat, but she's not a bad cat who doesn't use the box (unless I get busy and it gets dirty, in which case she helps herself to my jeans, damn her  ::)). But she doesn't have anything, no parasites or infections. Nada.

She may just be mad at me.

[Dawg]

She may just be mad at me.

That ^ is why I was thinking it could be coinciding with the busier more stressful times for you personally, especially if like you say she is a snugglebunny.

I will ask around the cat people that I know and see if anyone else has different ideas.

Good Luck, I hope you find a resolution soon, not only for the warmth but for the cuddlies ....

[Inkidu]

It's probably the move. If you think dogs hate change, cats hate it ten times worse. They have their routine and don't like it changed. They express this differently. Mine right now is depressed because one. I'm at college so he's with mom and pop. Two, we moved. So he a mopey little puss. Your cat could also be sick. The same cat of mine puked in my bed because he ate a rubber band. : (

[Oniya]

Puking is usually a sign that they're needing to get rid of something, be it a hairball or a rubber band.  Peeing can be an accident, especially with an aging cat, but unless it's - well - diarrhea, pooping is more controllable.

I'd start with the sheet.  Febreeze, run it through the wash and try adding 1/2 cup of baking soda to the load (deodorizing without being perfume-y).  It's supposed to work even on cloth diapers, and I know how bad diaper odor is.  Maybe try putting the sheet elsewhere in the house to see if it attracts her for some reason.  (Like - folded up in the bathroom, not on another bed!)

[The Overlord]

My, tsk tsk Trieste, are you certain the cat took a *snip* on the bed? That would be highly inappropriate.

I know of only one set of circumstances where I've seen a cat behave like this. A couple buddies of mine in the post-high school days, renting a place together and ended up with the proverbial messy bachelor pad, to the point that they neglected regular maintenance of the catbox, and the cat explained it very specifically by taking a dump on the beds.

As long as you're keeping the place up, I know of no other reason offhand why it would do that, but going in a place like that is an attention-getter for one reason or another, especially if it's reoccurring. It means you either have to identify the cause or discourage the effect, the former being preferable I would think.

[Trieste]

Mea culpa; I was torn between putting this in Bad/Ugly and OT and forgot to edit. Thanks, OL.

And I really just don't know about the cat. I am pretty religious about making the bed, but lately I have made certain to tuck in the comforter and do my best to leave the sheet entirely unexposed. So far, no crappo.

As for the upkeep of the place, I am a college student, I'm extremely busy and I live by myself. Therefore, it looks like a research library and a loaded Xerox machine had wild monkey sex on my living room floor before exploding messily. The place is kept clean of dishes and muck and whatnot, though, so that's ... a plus ... 'Till I have time to really clean it up... *twitches and tries not to look*

[The Overlord]

Well cats are quite particular about where they do their business, and I can't say this across the board for all cats, but I can tell you if you don't keep the pooh box tidy on a regular basis, the cat has ways to let you know you fracked up.

However, I know a move can upset them as well. Our eldest cat passed several years ago and I don't think he ever entirely assimilated to the new house when we moved late 2000, even though it was to a way better location (at least for the humans).

Of course with that move we left my dad behind; he died earlier that summer and I cannot even begin to fathom how this may have affected the cat.

Bottom line is that unless you have a real basket case for a cat, they know better than to dump on the bed. Most cats know what the bed is for since they tend to share a corner of it with us. He's doing it because something has upset that little guy, you really should try to look at identifying when he started this behavior, and what might have changed in his environment since then, however subtle.

[Josietta]

We had a cat once, when I lived with my parents a few years ago, who was a real bratty princess type. She thought she was queen of the castle. One day she managed to get into my room and was wanting to go outside. It was like 5am mind you, and she wanted to go out, but I was dead asleep, I pushed her off the bed and went back to sleep a couple times. Finally when I did wake up, she was so pissed at me (mind you she NEVER went potty in the house at all, no box or anything, she was an indoor/outdoor type and was good about it) that i woke up to a pile on top of me. It was on the blanket, and I stuck my hand right in it. I was so furious, but she got her point across to me that she was mad at me. I never neglected her again after that.

[The Overlord]

Don't get me wrong I love cats, but when one dumps on me that's where I draw the line.

Might have gotten the point across, but that cat is going to look silly walking around on its front legs with its ass balanced atop its head…after I kick it up there.