If your Bengal is peeing everywhere but inside their litter box, then they’re definitely trying to tell you something. Bengal cats – and all cats in general – are very particular about cleanliness, so if they do anything to compromise that, it’s very likely that something is wrong.
Why is my Bengal cat peeing everywhere?
There are three possible reasons as to why your Bengal cat is urinating in other places in your house, and this could be due to medical concerns, litter box issues, and stress from a new environment or a new animal/pet in the house.
I’ll address these reasons individually, starting on the most worrying of all:
Medical Issues
If you have a well-trained cat that suddenly starts peeing all over your home, the first thing you need to consider is if it’s because of a medical issue.
Your cat may have:
UTI (Urinary Tract Infection)
UTI is fairly common in cats. If you notice your Bengal straining to urinate, they’re most likely in pain and associating it with their litter box, which is why they’re choosing not to use it.
You’ll see them try to pee but little to none comes out. If this is the case with your cat, it’s best to see a veterinarian right away.
UTI can cause scarring if left untreated and can take up room in your cat’s bladder, leaving less room for urine, which then leads to more peeing problems.
Kidney Problems
If your cat pees a lot, strains to pee or has blood in their urine, they might have kidney infections or kidney stones.
AnimalTrust.org lists few symptoms such as increased thirst resulting increased urine production, reduced appetite then gradual weight lost, vomiting, and more.
Cystitis
Cystitis is an inflammation of the bladder. If your cat is suffering from cystitis, symptoms include straining to pee, peeing with blood and peeing in unusual places.
Vet4Life lists these clinical signs of Cystitis: attempts to pee but with no release of urine, and visible signs of distress and discomfort in your cat as it urinates.
Feline Diabetes
If your cat is often unusually thirsty and is having trouble controlling their urine, then they might have feline diabetes. It’s very important to get them checked right away.
Diabetes in cats can be deadly if left untreated.
CatVetTucson classifies the following as early signs of Feline Diabetes: excessive thirst and urination, increased appetite and weight. The cat is in critical condition once it starts to lose interest, can no longer jump, walk weakly or lazily, eat less and vomit.
Urinary Incontinence
This is more common in cats that are middle-aged, old or overweight. It causes them to have a hard time controlling where and when to urinate.
Symptoms include straining and struggling to pee, and trails of urine in the house.
Pain
It’s also possible that your cat is just in pain and find it painful to use their litter box. Declawing, for example, may impede a cat’s ability to use the litter box.
If your cat exhibits any of the above, take them to the vet immediately for proper diagnosis and treatment.
Litter Box Issues
Your cat may start doing their “business” somewhere else if their litter is dirty or if there’s too much or too little of it. They might also not use their litter box if it’s in a noisy and crowded area.
So, it’s best to clean your cat’s litter box every day and put it in an area that’s quiet and unexposed. Cleanliness and privacy are very important to your cats.
You should also check if your cat has an easy access to the box. If the opening is too small or the inside feels too cramped, then they will be less likely to use it.
If you have an elderly cat, a litter box with a lowered entrance is best since older cats often have trouble climbing on higher surfaces and will prefer something more easily accessible.
Stress
We cats are very sensitive to changes in our environment. Moving to a new home or the addition of a new family or animal can be major causes of stress and anxiety.
A New Home
A new home can trigger the Bengal’s instinct to mark our territory since everything smells different. Peeing all over the place is their way of laying claim to their territory when they feel unwelcome and insecure.
If you move to a new house, it’s very important to bring all of your cat’s things—everything that has their scent on it: scratchers, litter boxes, cat beds. This will help them feel more at home because they’ll be able to smell themselves.
A New Animal in the House
Cats are very territorial and they won’t hesitate to mark their territory if they feel threatened by a new furry family member (especially another cat) or the presence of outdoor animals.
If you decide to add another feline or any other animal to your family, it’s best to do a slow and gradual introduction before letting the both of them roam freely around the home.
Make sure you have plenty of vertical spaces for your cats and to give all animals enough daily activities so no one is walking around with any pent up energy. This will minimize the likelihood of cats peeing all over the place and reduce the chances of fights happening between them.
If you have no new animals, but your cat is peeing everywhere after you moved, then it’s most likely because they’re seeing other animals outside and protecting their territory. Your cat will usually pee on windows and doors if this is the case.
The best course of action is to get deterrents and scatter them outside the home to scare the animals off. Once the outdoor animals stop coming around, your cat will feel less territorially threatened and the peeing problem will stop.
How do you stop Bengals from peeing?
Your Bengal cat may pee on a particular spot more than twice, so place a litter box there. If there are other areas in the house where it urinates frequently, another litter box.
Preferably, you should get at least two litter boxes.
Once the Bengal has marked it with urine, the scent will stay and signify to the cat that this is pee-zone. Wash it once or twice a week with mildly scented soap or detergent.
If it smells too strongly of those cleaners, it’s going to turn away your cat.
At some point in this process, you will get frustrated. I remind you now to not punish your Bengal physically.
The cat will only take that as an aggression and will respond accordingly. Patience and tolerance will get you a long way.
Will cat urine smell ever go away?
The bad smell will not go away by itself.
Doctor Joe Schwarcz explains:
“Urine is a concentrate of metabolic waste and is comprised of urea, creatine, uric acid, various detoxified substances, sodium chloride and other electrolytes. It owes its characteristic yellow colour to urobilogen.”
Perhaps you’re most familiar with uric acid, and yes that’s also correct – it’s one of many causes of that bad smell. It contains ammonia, which stays and lasts on fabric for a long time, especially when there’s a high concentration of it and there’s no ventilation to dry it out.
In humid weather when the air is full of water vapor, that smell is going to spring back up straight into your lungs, like a dagger piercing through your soul, so you have to take matters into your own hands.
How do I get rid of cat spray smell?
The moment you catch a whiff of that notorious cat pee, or you see your feline releasing it, get a disposable rag and throw it on the urine to absorb most of it. What’s left for you to do is to sanitize the spot.
Sometimes, you don’t catch them doing it and the pee will dry out, etched on that spot that will arise in the air to haunt you later on. Turn off the lights and use ultraviolet to locate it; the urinated area will glow.
Water and soap or detergent are the most available to most. If you have vinegar, baking soda, or hydrogen peroxide, choose one and mix it with water, or pour a good amount directly from the bottle if you can stand that scent over the odor of urine.
When this happens frequently, consider sparing a few dollars on enzymatic cleaners. Rocco & Roxie Professional Strength Stain & Odor Eliminator stands as the number one best seller in cat odors and stain removers, followed by ANGRY ORANGE Pet Odor Eliminator for Home.
Then, open the windows to air it out, or use a fan to ventilate the area.
What is the difference between cat pee and cat spray?
A cat peeing is the act of urinating liquid waste from the body. If done outside of the litter box, there may be issues with that material, a medical condition, or stressors in the cat’s territory.
Spraying, on the other hand, is a very specific type of behavior. Pets.webmd provides a very clear explanation on this, stating that spraying, or urine marking, is a message to other animals to back off.
They do this because they feed threatened or stressed (due to medical issues or other reasons).
Based on both descriptions, they sound similar, don’t they?
Hill’sPet.co describes very particular manners as to how these behaviors are done. For peeing, the cat squats over a flat surface (carpet and furniture) to urinate, and may or may not scratch around the area after it’s done.
For spraying, the cat stands and sprays with its tail quivering. Common sites include walls, doors, or anything on a vertical area.
At what age do Bengals start spraying?
Spraying starts once the cat reaches sexual maturity. It starts around six months, and it chooses no gender.
Spraying manifests in both male and female cats.