F5 Savanna Keeps Peeing on Bed

[Monster_Rissa]

Hello! I am new to this.
I recently got a F5 savannah female and a Bengal male at the end of January. Our boy is a total love bug. But the Savannah, just does not seem to like or trust us.
She turned 1yr old on April 1st, we were cautious on taking on a Savannah this late in her age, but we weren't expecting this!
At first it was like she had a form of OCD and wouldn't let us touch her at all, then she would just constantly hide. She's progressed a little and slowly has begun allowing my boyfriend and I to pet her - when it's to her choosing tho! Nobody else can, and don't get me started on trying to catch her to goto the vet!
We have had atleast 8 accidents on our bed within the past couple weeks. At first we thought it was the male, but then finally saw watched her pee right on the bed. She was spayed over 10 days ago. We thought it would stop after that, but she has done it every day the past three days now. I use a special Odor and Stain remover for cats, and have gone through multiple mattress pads. It's like we wash the sheets and blankets and comforter, and she does it again.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what we can do to prevent this? Do you think she may be sick? I originally thought maybe a UTI, but not sure! I just want to avoid having to bring her back to the vet as it's not a pleasant experience for us or her.

Please help if you can!

 

[WitchyWoman]

There are a lot of factors that contribute to inappropriate peeing and sometimes the only way to figure it out is experimenting and definitely requires patience. Breeders have advised that it takes perhaps up to a month, perhaps longer, for hormones to dissipate after a spay so if this behavior is related to hormones, you've still a little ways to go. Most products bought in stores for odor control of cat urine are not strong enough. Anti Icky Poo or Unique Distributors pet odor eliminator are the best. Both are available on line. If you are using a comforter with down feathers, you'll have to ditch it as it seems cats have a fondness for peeing on down. You can try putting a tarp over the bed if you don't want to shut her out of the room. You can also keep her confined in one room for a while with litter box, cat bed, toys, food & water. Try sprinkling a layer of Dr. Elsey's cat attract on top of her regular litter. Let her out of confinement only under supervision and for increasingly longer periods of time until she stops peeing on the bed.

It may also help to keep a litter box in the bedroom for awhile or if you have an ensuite bathroom, put it in there.

Is there a chance that the Bengal is intimidating her when she tries to use a litter box? Do you have at least 2 boxes in different locations in the house? Ideally you should have 3 boxes. Are you using a box and litter the same as what she had at her previous home?

How did you introduce her to the house and Bengal -- did you keep her in quarantine for at least 2 weeks to get used to you and the house? Does she get along with the Bengal?

There is some reading here for acclimating a new cat into the house and introducing to other cats. If you didn't do any of those things, you might consider starting over with quarantine and re-introduction. I hope, however, that the issue resides in residual hormones and that in a few weeks, she'll be calmer and the bed peeing will have stopped.

introducing a new cat: http://www.savannahcatchat.com/threads/introducing-a-new-cat-into-the-family.4746/

acclimating new cat: http://www.savannahcatchat.com/thre...ed-acclimating-your-new-sv-to-your-home.1959/

 

[Patti]

I agree with everything Deborah has said. 10 days is not very long for those raging hormones to get out of a girl's body, you will need to give her at least a month before you can no longer blame her behavior on her hormones (I had a male who continued to spray for almost six months after he was neutered!). Also using a strong enzyme cleaner as mentioned above is essential, and if your mattress pads were not waterproof you will likely need to treat the mattress itself as well. As long as there is any whiff of urine on the bed the cat will be drawn to pee there.

Anything on the bed that is made with down is also a pee magnet. If you aren't using down comforters or pillows then you might want to consider covering the entire bed with a waterproof tarp (cats prefer to pee on things that are soft and absorbent like linens and laundry...).

As for her interactions with you - please remember that she was just ripped away from the only home she remembers and placed in a strange home with strange people, strange smells, and strange noises. Some cats (of any breed) have a harder time adjusting to change than others do. Your best bet would be to start from the beginning - put her in a small room by herself with her water, litterbox, and a carrier. Don't leave food out for her to graze on but bring her meals to her so that she knows you are her source of food, then remove the dish after an hour or so. Don't force any interactions with her but sit on the floor (you can read aloud from a book so she becomes accustomed to your voice) and try to engage her with a wand toy. It may take weeks (sometimes months!) but with patience and persistence I think she will eventually come around.