Why does my cat urinate on my bed? How can I stop it?

Your cat pees everywhere, except in its litter box. Very annoying, this behavior is quite common in our cats, but rest assured, by following our advice, your little cat will surely find its way back to its litter box.

A cat litter that doesn't stick to paws, effectively controls odors, is healthy, and environmentally friendly. Finding the ideal cat litter is not an easy task. In this article, we give you tips on how to choose the best cat litter for your cat (and for yourself). The Importance of Choosing a Good Cat Litter As cute as they are, cats are sensitive creatures and very particular. Regarding their diet: they need a complete and balanced diet that provides all essential nutrients for their health. But their needs don’t stop at food. They are also very picky about their cat litter. For Their Well-being Our furry friends place great importance on hygiene. They groom themselves constantly, even after a little petting session. And when they need to do their business (big or small), they expect a litter box that’s worthy — clean, comfortable for their paws, and pleasant for their noses. Otherwise, they might avoid the litter box or hold it in, which can be dangerous for their health. And For Their Health Cats are prone to urinary tract diseases like cystitis, an inflammation of the lower urinary tract. This causes pain and difficulty urinating. The causes of cystitis are varied: congenital malformations, kidney stones, tumors, infections. Often, the exact cause cannot be determined — called idiopathic cystitis. The mechanisms are not fully understood but seem linked to stress: moving house, arrival of a new pet or child, transport, etc. Stress can also be caused by the cat litter! Important: If your cat shows urinary problems, contact your veterinarian immediately. To prevent and avoid relapses, it is recommended to: Prefer wet food as it contains a lot of water and dilutes the urine; Offer more water points; Use calming pheromones; Provide elevated places for playing and resting; Spend more time with your cat; And of course, provide a clean and suitable cat litter. A good cat litter is therefore important. It contributes to well-being and prevents urinary diseases! But we as owners also suffer from unpleasant side effects. Some litters do not absorb odors (hello gas mask), stick to paws and spread throughout the house. The vacuum cleaner game — no thanks. The cat litter must satisfy both: the cat and the owner. Which Cat Litter to Choose? There are many types of cat litter: plant-based, mineral, clumping, non-clumping, silica, scented, etc. The choice is difficult. Let's get an overview. Mineral Cat Litter Introduced in the 1950s, it was the first commercial cat litter! It consists of small stones of various sizes made from clay minerals (natural or synthetic) or sand. Examples include bentonite (sometimes sodium-activated for better absorption), calcium silicate, kaolinite, attapulgite, and illite (green clay). There are clumping and non-clumping mineral litters. What is clumping cat litter? When in contact with urine, the grains clump together. This makes it easy to remove solid and liquid waste without changing the entire litter box content. Disadvantage: litter can stick to paws! Non-clumping litter does not bind urine. Mineral litter is very absorbent but binds odors poorly. Also, it is very dusty, which can be problematic for respiratory issues in cats or humans. Another downside: mineral litter is very environmentally unfriendly. It comes from non-renewable resources (clay from quarries), is neither recyclable nor biodegradable. After use, it belongs in the residual waste bin. Dust and ash from burning are harmful to the environment. Some products contain chemical additives (fungicides or pesticides), e.g., bleached or scented litter. Not ideal! Advantages of mineral cat litter: Absorbency Texture Price Disadvantages of mineral cat litter: Dusty Environmental impact Poor odor control Silica Litter A mineral litter made of transparent blue crystals, consisting of silica gel made from sodium silicate (from sand) and sulfuric acid. It stands out for its strong absorption. The crystals bind urine and especially odors very well. Easy care: only solid waste needs to be removed. It does not stick to paws and produces little dust. However, it barely clumps. The urine is simply absorbed by the crystals. So it is difficult to remove individual spots; you have to change the entire litter content. Although some manufacturers recommend monthly changes, more frequent changes are advised. The crystals get moist over time, promoting bacteria growth. Silica gel is a non-renewable resource. Dust can irritate respiratory tracts. Silica litter is usually more expensive than mineral litter. Advantages of silica litter: Absorption power Odor control Little dust Non-sticking to paws Disadvantages of silica litter: Low clumping capacity Costly Non-renewable resource Plant-based cat litter This litter is made from natural ingredients. It can be made from hemp, wood, corn cobs, or fir. 100% natural, this litter has many advantages: besides being eco-friendly (biodegradable and compostable), it is absorbent and effectively traps unpleasant odors. Also, its texture is particularly appreciated by cats, much softer on their paws than other types of litter. Its scent is natural, and it produces very little dust. Some are clumping, others are not. If you choose clumping litter, be aware that it contains a glue that removes the natural, recyclable, and compostable aspect of the litter. Unlike other types of litter, plant-based litters have a very low environmental impact. The raw materials used are recycled; they are not specifically produced. The litters are made from by-products of the wood industry, and corn cobs are unsuitable for consumption. Most are made in Europe (France and Germany). This reduces the environmental impact linked to transport. Furthermore, they are biodegradable and compostable. You can definitely compost them! However, be careful with feces which may contain very resistant forms of parasites such as oocysts of Toxoplasma gondii (the parasite responsible for toxoplasmosis). In any case (with or without feces), do not use compost containing litter for plants intended for consumption, such as your vegetable garden. Which type of plant-based litter to choose for your cat? There are different plant-based litters. Some are fiber-based and others are pellets. They are all absorbent, but fibers tend to stick to the cat’s paws. Very light, they can also get caught in your cat’s fur. If you have a Maine Coon, Norwegian Forest Cat, or British Longhair, you might find some litter all over your house. Pellets turn out to be a better option. Among the different components, wood is the best option: it perfectly traps odors. Whatever solution you choose, favor litter certified NF Environnement. This certification guarantees that the products are of good quality and environmentally friendly throughout their life cycle. Ziggy’s (happy) cat litter At Ziggy, we chose a non-clumping plant-based litter that is ultra-absorbent (up to 600%), made from crushed resinous wood pellets. No problem of litter sticking to paws or fur! And like all our products, it is French. A plant-based litter is no longer really ecological if it is made on the other side of the world, right? And to top it all off, Ziggy litter is NF Environnement certified. Advantages of plant-based litter: A soft texture for the paws Low environmental impact A gentle and natural pine scent Absorbent and odor-controlling Disadvantages of plant-based litter: We don’t know any (at least for ours 😺) Scented litters There are also scented litters that give off a pleasant smell of vanilla, lavender, or baby powder (yes, that exists!). If the smell of litter bothers you a lot, they can be an effective solution. However, remember that cats are animals: they mark their territory and go to places where they find their own scent. If your litter smells like Provence, your cat will be very disturbed and may avoid its litter box. Keep in mind that your cat has 30 times more olfactory receptors than humans! A slight smell to you is unbearable for them. Which litter to choose for my kitten? Whether plant-based or mineral, your kitten’s litter should not be clumping. Because kittens often ingest it, and it could get stuck in their digestive tract. How to get your cat used to its new litter? After reading this article, we hope to have enlightened you on your litter choice. Be careful when you change it though. Our four-legged friends are creatures of habit, and the slightest change can unsettle them. This applies to their food too: to avoid abrupt changes which could cause diarrhea or vomiting, it is essential to go through a food transition phase. But also for their litter. Some cats will have no problem switching from one litter to another. For others, it will be more difficult. In this case, we recommend mixing the old litter with the new one for several days, so your cat gets used to it. If you just adopted a kitten, ask the association, foster family, or breeder from which you adopted your kitten which litter was used, so the transition is smooth. Can two cats share the same litter box? If you have two pets at home, it is better to have one litter box per cat, plus one extra just in case. So three litters. Sharing one litter box for two cats can cause territorial problems. Of course, it depends on the situation. Two cats can perfectly get along with a single litter box. You decide. If one of your cats soils elsewhere, you will need to provide its own box.

Is your cat having trouble urinating? Does it meow before and/or while urinating? It might be suffering from cystitis. Cystitis is a common urinary disorder in cats, characterized by inflammation (with or without infection) of the bladder wall. Symptoms, treatments, cat food, prevention — we tell you everything about cystitis in cats. What is cystitis in cats? Cats are particularly sensitive animals, often prone to urinary problems such as cystitis and urinary stones, also called urolithiasis. Cystitis is one of the subtypes of feline lower urinary tract diseases (FLUTD). It corresponds to an inflammation of the bladder wall, causing painful and frequent excretion of small amounts of urine. The causes are varied; it can be associated with many diseases: congenital malformation, tumor, presence of urinary stones that disrupt urine flow, urinary tract infection... But in most cases (2 out of 3), the origin is not identified. No physical or infectious cause is proven. That is why we speak of feline idiopathic cystitis, whose main cause is thought to be stress, to which cats are particularly sensitive. Cystitis is often confused with kidney failure in cats. Two very different diseases. While cystitis affects the bladder, kidney failure is a dysfunction of the renal tissue, the kidney itself. Unlike cystitis, this disease is irreversible. How the cat's urinary system works The urinary system of our cats works like ours. It is a well-oiled machine that can, however, be disrupted. As explained in our article on urinary problems in cats, the kidneys play a major role in regulating hydration and minerals and eliminating toxins continuously produced by the body. They are highly vascularized and filter blood, directing electrolytes (sodium, chloride, potassium...), water, and many substances from protein metabolism (like creatinine and urea) to the urine. In the kidneys, there is the so-called parenchyma, highly vascularized, containing functional units like small factories sorting molecules to recycle and waste. This allows the kidney to clean the blood and produce primary urine sent to the renal pelvis. This acts like a funnel that collects the primary urine and sends it to the ureter, then to the bladder. From there, we talk about the lower urinary tract: the ureters, bladder, and urethra conduct, transform, and eliminate urine.   What are the symptoms of cystitis in cats? Pain and excessive licking A cat with cystitis may show one or more signs. These are easily recognizable. Among them: The cat meows before or while urinating. Cystitis is indeed a particularly painful disorder for our little companions (just like for us humans). Blood in the urine is sometimes present. Note that the presence of blood in urine does not necessarily mean an infection is present. We will discuss the causes shortly. The cat excessively licks its genital area. Behavioral changes Other signs may alert you, especially regarding your whiskered friend’s behavior. Frequent trips to the litter box. The cat goes very often to its litter box, with or without producing urine (pollakiuria). Having great difficulty urinating, it squats in the litter box for a long time and produces only a few drops of urine. This is called dysuria. Some owners think their cat is constipated, while it actually shows signs of a lower urinary tract problem. Be alert! It urinates outside the litter box. Suffering, the cat associates its toileting with pain and prefers to urinate elsewhere. What causes cystitis in cats? Infectious cystitis The causes of cystitis in cats are varied. It can be due to congenital malformation, tumor, or urinary tract infection. Infections remain very rare in young cats: they concern only about 1% of cats showing clinical signs of cystitis. In cats, cystitis is often “sterile,” without infection. However, infections can be favored by diabetes in cats, chronic kidney failure, or hyperthyroidism. Water-deficient diet Another probable cause of inflammation is the presence of urinary stones, which disrupt urine flow. A diet deficient in water is often to blame: a cat that does not drink enough water while eating only dry food, such as kibble, risks chronic dehydration, leading to concentrated urine that favors the formation of urinary stones. In fact, more cases of cystitis are observed in cats eating dry food than in those eating wet food (pâté). Feline idiopathic cystitis: the role of stress But in most cases (2 out of 3), the cause of cystitis is not precisely identified. No physical cause is proven. This is called feline idiopathic cystitis. The mechanisms of this cystitis are still poorly understood, but stress seems to play an important role in the inflammation of the feline bladder. Stress sources for cats are numerous: moving house, transport, vet visits, arrival of a new animal or child in the family. Even a change of couch or curtains can stress our little cats. Using an unsuitable litter box can also cause stress. Even if a cat normally uses its litter box, it can have frustrations: it is not comfortable enough for its little paws, it dislikes the smell, etc. On our blog, we give you some advice to choose the best litter for your cat (and for you). 😺 Stress and lack of water are the two main factors of cystitis in cats. Diagnosing cystitis in cats If your little cat shows one or more signs, it is necessary to consult your veterinarian. They will perform various exams to determine the cause of the discomfort. Your vet will notably perform urine and blood tests, and if necessary, X-rays or ultrasounds to detect possible stones. Feline Cystitis: What Are the Treatments? The treatment depends on the cause of cystitis. If an infection is confirmed, your vet will prescribe antibiotics. In case of urinary stones, a special diet for cats with urinary disorders will be recommended. Surgery may also be considered if calcium oxalate stones are present. For idiopathic cystitis, your veterinarian may prescribe medications such as anti-inflammatory drugs. But whatever the cause, a diet high in water content will also be key for your little feline. Cystitis is a very frustrating condition to manage, especially when it is stress-related. It is a vicious cycle: stress can cause cystitis. Cystitis is painful. Pain causes stress in the cat. Stress promotes cystitis. And so on. Relapses can occur, however. Stress management and the amount of water in your cat’s diet are the most important factors to treat and prevent cystitis. Providing Your Cat with a Diet Rich in Water To provide optimal hydration to your cat, prioritize wet food. As a reference, wet food contains on average 75% water compared to 10% in dry kibble. Wet food is even recommended for all cats, whether sick or healthy. Wet food is the key to good health! It not only prevents urinary problems but also reduces risks of constipation, obesity, and overweight, which can lead to diabetes, kidney failure, and more. But be careful when choosing wet food: just being high in water is not always enough. It should also be rich in quality proteins, low in carbohydrates, low in minerals, and meet all your cat’s nutritional needs. This is the case for all our cat pâtés. A wide range of products formulated by Dr. Géraldine Blanchard, a veterinary specialist in feline nutrition for over 25 years. Ziggy Wet Food for Cats with Urinary Disorders At Ziggy, we care for all cats. We recently developed a special pâté for cats suffering from urinary disorders. Ziggy VET Urology pâté was formulated to support urinary function in cases of urinary disorders (idiopathic cystitis, reduction of struvite and calcium oxalate stone formation). Like all Ziggy recipes, our urinary health pâté contains proteins of excellent quality and exceptional digestibility. Very tasty and appetizing, Ziggy VET Urology pâté allows you to care for your cat while continuing to delight it! Be careful with dietary changes, though. If your cat is used to only eating dry food, introduce wet food gradually. A food transition is essential! A sudden change can cause stress, which, as mentioned, plays a role in cystitis onset in cats. Reducing Stress in Cats: Tips and Tricks Stress is a delicate problem, not always easy to identify or treat in cats. If your cat’s stress is due to a new child or pet in the home, try to spend a bit more time with them for petting and cuddling. Your cat will feel less neglected and regain confidence. Physical activity is also a great stress reliever. It releases endorphins, the well-being hormones. Play with your cat, offer toys (even a simple bottle cap or a cardboard box can work), or provide elevated structures so your cat can move around and also rest while watching over the living room. If stress is related to environmental changes (moving house, new sofa), be there to reassure your cat. It will gradually get used to the new situation. To help your cat relax, you can also use valerian. Available as a spray or diffuser, it is often used by vets to naturally treat anxiety. Also, spray some valerian in your cat’s carrier if stress is linked to vet visits or car trips. And of course, always use a suitable, clean litter box. If anxiety persists, your vet may prescribe an antidepressant treatment. How to Prevent Cystitis in Cats? A diet rich in water and a healthy environment are the best advice to reduce the risk of cystitis in your cat. Encourage Proper Hydration Proper hydration primarily comes from providing a diet rich in water by favoring wet food. As noted above, wet food contains about 75% water compared to 10% in dry food! It allows the cat to consume water through food and ultimately drink about 50% more water than when eating dry food and drinking separately! Wet food also has other health benefits. Besides fulfilling hydration needs, it has roughly 4 times fewer calories than dry food (per equal quantity); it allows your cat to eat enough to satisfy its appetite. The moisture content also adds volume in the stomach, helping your cat feel fuller longer. To increase your cat’s water intake, also consider offering several bowls of fresh water or a water fountain if your cat likes drinking from the tap or likes moving water. You can also add a tablespoon of water to the pâté or prepare flavored waters with a few drops of tuna juice or chicken/beef broth. Reduce Stress and Improve Your Cat’s Environment As mentioned earlier, reducing stress in cats is important. For this, play and cuddle your cat a bit more (if it wants), engage your cat with fishing pole toys, balls, or offer anti-stress products like valerian or plug-in diffusers. There are other tricks to calm a stressed cat: play music, give massages, provide hiding spots, etc. Be careful with the type of music played. Several studies show cats dislike rock, pop, or country music — all rhythmic genres. They prefer classical music, which is gentler on their ears. To avoid disturbing your cat (and neighbors), put away your Taylor Swift albums and play Mozart or Chopin!