Cats weeing on our bed

Question
Hi, we have two 6 month old half Siamese sisters.  Neither have been neutered and both have seasons.  They are both house cats and share a litter tray.  We got them when they were 6 weeks old and they used to sleep on our bed with us, getting up in the night to sleep in the kitchen.  We now have to keep them out of the bedroom when we are in bed as they have started to wee on the quilt, usually on my husband who they adore.  It is usually in the morning when we get up and they rush in.  Its not a sneaky wee, or a scent marking wee its a crouch down as though they were in their litter trays wee.  I tried putting a tray on the landing as well as in the kitchen but it made no different.  It started when they first came into season.  They don't do it if we are just in the bedroom, ie. reading on top of the bed or at any time of day other than morning.  Do you know why?  My husband thinks it is a ruse so he will get up and feed them but I don't.

Answer
Hello Jackie,

This does sound like inappropriate elimination, rather than marking behaviour, just by the way you say 'in the morning when you open the door they 'run in' and urinate on the bed'. I will keep this answer very short and if the suggestions do not help then feel free to contact me again, and we'll take another look. The reason for this is because without much more information and questioning I will not be able to definitively say to you that this is not marking. (some females do not always 'spray' to mark).

Firstly, change the quilt for a completely new one. Just washing the quilt does'nt remove all of the proteins and enzymes left in urine, for this you need to wash with biological washing powder and warm water (10 parts powder to 90 parts water), rinse, dry, rinse again, dry, then spray with surgical spirit. This totally removes all of the scent, not removing it may draw a cat back to 'reinforce' the scent, or in this case, bring a cat back to this spot as it already smells like an appropriate place. Secondly, as a rule in a multi-cat household you need a tray per cat plus one more. I know that they have shared a tray before, but this does'nt mean they are comfortable with doing this now. And I understand that we don't always have the room! But do try and give this a go. Place each tray in a different, quite, non-overlooked place in your house. Thirdly buy a Feliway diffuser and place it central to where they spend the most time. Lastly, when you see them going to urinate, or showing any signs of this about to happen, do not talk to them, do not 'punish them' but physically take them to one of the trays, place them into it and gently 'rake' the litter with your fingers or their paws. It is also a good idea to apply their scent onto the trays after you buy them, just stroke each cat along their face and flanks with a cloth and then rub the cloth on the trays. Another trick is to take some of the duvet material that they have urinated on, and place a small piece of that into the tray also. Keep them occupied with plenty of toys, games and treats also.

There is never any certainty that particular methods will work, but this is a good starting point. Contact me again if the problem persists and we'll try another method

Thank you

Kelly