My Cat Peed On My Head While I Was Sleeping (now What?)
If your cat has peed on you while you were sleeping you may be wondering why it happened and what to do next…
Why did my cat pee on my head while I was sleeping?
Your cat may pee on your head while you are sleeping for several reasons. For example, it could be feeling anxious and chooses to mark its territory in response. Or, it could be a health issue, such as a Urinary tract infection (UTI) that can cause them to urinate inappropriately before they can get to the litter box.
So, now you know. But, how can you prevent this from happening? Why do cats lay on you while you sleep? Should you discipline your cat for this? Keep reading for these answers, and much more…
How can you prevent your cat from peeing on your head while you sleep?
A cat wrapped in bedsheets.
To prevent your cat from peeing on your head while you sleep you need to two things look at the root cause and learn some practical methods to deal with the problem. Therefore, in this section, I will help you with this…
01. Do not allow your cat in the bedroom
One of the easiest and obvious ways to stop your cat from peeing in your bed is to not allow them in there in the first place. This can be as simple as locking your bedroom door or just shutting it. However, this is not a perfect solution for everyone depending on the layout of their home.
02. Keep the litter boxes clean
Sometimes cats are unhappy with their litterbox because it’s dirty. If this happens they may refuse to use it. And, unfortunately, your bed may replace it. So, to avoid this simply keep on top of the dirt.
If you struggle to keep it cleaned regularly then you may need to consider getting a self-cleaning litter box (Click here to see the reviews, on Amazon #Ad).
04. Cover it up (Short term tactical fix)
In the first instance, the best thing that you can do is cover your bed with plastic sheeting. This is just to keep it from getting more wet and smelly.
This is not the solution but something to keep it under control while you work out what the root cause of the problem is, are you with me?
One tactic that you can use is to grab some of your cat’s favourite toys and place them in the area which is typically affected by the urine.
The trick here is to deter your cat from urinating in this area because it is unlikely to want to spoil its toys.
If you dig into the root cause and find out it is an anxious reaction. One of the things that you can do, which is quite easy, is to give your cat a bit more attention. Make him feel calmer before you go to bed especially. This is one of the reasons some cat owners choose a cat bed for anxious cats (Click here to see why I rated this one).
Why do cats lay on you when you’re sleeping?
Cats are known to lay on their owner when they are sleeping as a way to show love and affection. Cats are quite sociable and show their appreciation to the ones they love by doing these simple things.
It may be annoying to you at times but it is no different to a toddler jumping in your bed for a cuddle because it’s scared or just wants to be near you.
How do you discipline a cat for peeing outside the litter box?
To discipline a cat for peeing outside o the litter box you need to focus on positive reinforcement rather than negative. Avoid lashing out or shouting. And, instead, reward it for doing what you say when it does, this will make it respond in this positive way again to get the treats (are animal crackers acceptable? click here).
These rewards can be a simple tasty treat (Click here to see the reviews, on Amazon #Ad) that will make them crave for more and make them repeat the good behaviour.
Is one litter box enough for one cat?
One litter box is not really enough for one cat. Ideally, you should have at least one extra to be safe. Although this may sound odd it’s better to have more options to avoid accidents or one litter box getting dirty and neglected.
If you live in a large home this is even more applicable because sometimes cats prefer their litter box in specific locations. Therefore, you can monitor which one they use more and adjust where needed.
What does it mean if a cat pees on you in other locations?
If your cat pees on you anywhere else in your home, its either because he is marking his territory, feeling scared, anxious or worried that you may be being claimed by another cat. Each of these requires different approaches.
The reality is several reasons could make your cat do this. It’s difficult and frustrating, but, it’s up to you to work out which one is more relevant to your particular situation.
01. Marking its territory
If your cat is marking his territory he is more likely to rub his head against you to leave his scent on you (more on this later). However, there is a small chance that he may urinate on you for this same reason.
02. Feeling scared.
In some cases, if cats are feeling anxious or scared, they may do unexpected behaviour, such as urinating on you or refusing to go downstairs (Click here to see how to stop this). This is why some cat owners prefer cat grooming bags to make them feel less anxious while travelling around (Click here to see why I rated this).
You need to understand what may have caused your cat to get alarmed so you can help to solve the problem.
03. Fear of another cat (or animal) claiming you.
Along the same lines as marking its territory. Your cat may have been spooked by another cat, animal or person who they feel is trying to claim you as their owner.
In this instance, they may do irrational things such as peeing on you.
Did your cat pee on you to be rude?
A cat under some bed covers.
After discovering the wet urine on your body, you may be wondering, regardless of the reasons why, if he has done this is as a vengeful attack, or even being spiteful.
The reality is if a cat pees on you (Was she elderly? Click here to see why), although it seems like an unacceptable show of disrespect, do not take it personally. Cats behave very differently from humans. And, in their mind, their behaviours are interpreted very differently.
Obviously, if a human being done this to us, it would be regarded as the ultimate disrespect. And, some would even fight over this.
However, for a cat, it does not see urinating on an insult in this way at all. It sees it in a very practical way, simply to mark his territory and identify familiar friends (more on this later).
Why scent is so important to cats
With all this talk about urinating and marking territory, you may be wondering why their scent is so important to your cat.
Cats are very different from us, as I explained earlier. One of the main reason I say this is the fact that they use scent to identify their territory. It is also a way to identify people in their own family. Such as their own siblings or even their own kittens.
You may notice, for example, if you take your cat out for the day to the vet (Click here to see why I like the idea of using these cat carriers when heading to the vets). Then you return home. If you’re in a multi-cat household, the other cats initially mainly smell the cat and sniff around her just to identify that it is actually her.
Obviously to us humans, this is weird because with one glance we can identify who the person is by using our vision, right?
But for cats, it’s different, they heavily rely on their scent, rather than their vision.
In what ways do cats mark their territory?
Cats have a few different ways that they mark their territory. Such as urinating, rubbing against objects, or even scratching.
01. Rubbing
Rubbing against you is probably one of the most common things that you may notice. Why? because they routinely do this to most of us humans, right?
This is a clever way for him to use his scent glands, in his cheeks to rub against you and mark you. So that he knows who you are when you meet again.
02. Urinating or spraying.
Urinating (and spraying), as we mentioned before, is another way of marking his territory. But this time using urine, which has a very distinct smell.
Obviously, as we know, this is a big problem for us humans, right? Because the smell is very strong and it’s very hard to get rid of (more on this later).
03. Scratching and Clawing
If you are the unlucky homeowner who has a cat scratching his furniture or door frames (Click here for my best solution to stop her scratching this). And, you can fully relate to this. Cats use this technique to sharpen their claws as well as mark their territory.
What kind of urine marking is there?
There are two distinct types of urine marking that cats use:
- Horizontal
- Vertical
01. Vertical
Vertical urination marking is typically on a wall (or another vertical object). One leg is put in the air, with their tail erect. He then sprays urine onto the object.
02. Horizontal
Horizontal is what we commonly see when, for example, a big wet wee mess on a floor.
What smells can deter your cat from peeing?
If you have an ongoing problem with your cat urinating or peeing (Click here if you notice it in your vent) in your house or even on you. You can use this to deter him. It relies on using strong smelling fragrances.
Cats have a very strong sense of smell. And, fragrances that have a very strong smell, even if they may smell delicious to you or me, can actually deter cats. This is because it’s doesn’t appeal to them.
Example of these smells
An example of these smells is natural essential oils, such as:
- Lavender
- Lemon
- or even peppermint.
These types of essential oils have very strong smells. They will deter your cat from peeing (Could it pee on your Fitbit? Click here and see) on areas such as your carpet or piece of furniture.
To implement this, all you need to do is take approximately 15 to 20 drops of these essential oils mixed with water.
Then mix it up into a spray bottle. Then spray the protected areas daily. Then monitor your cat to see if it deters him from urinating in that spot, are you with me?
Cleaning up the mess after your cat pees in a corner.
Another issue, which a lot of cat owners have, is their cat urinating in a particular corner of the room. This can become an ongoing problem.
This is because of your cat detecting its scent in this spot, and then feeling the urge to re-soil the same area over and over again.
Therefore, one of the best things that you should do is clean up the mess initially. But do it well. This is because it will remove the scent and make them less likely to return to that spot, are you with me?
I understand it is not as easy as you might think. Why? Because cat urine has quite a strong lingering smell. However, one of the best things to use is an enzymatic cleaner, some vinegar or even better a wet vacuum for cat urine (Click here for the best one, in my opinion). This can help to remove the smell for good.
