Kitten urination

Question
I recently adopted a kitten, and things have been almost perfect.  Today, however, I caught her urinating in a previously used cat bed that was given to me by a coworker.  I have put it in the trash, and i'm hoping she was only reacting to smells left there by previous cats.  However, now that I'm trying to be more aware of her possible urination in places other than her box, I frequently catch whifs of cat urine in other parts of my apartment.  My carpet is beige, making it very difficult to tell if there are any spots (it's old carpeting--stained from past residents of my apartment).  Is there any way to tell exactly where my kitten may be urinating?  Or is there anything that can be used on the carpet in general that might prevent or deter urination?
Just some information about my kitten, Angelina: She was born on May 6, and I adopted her at 14 weeks old.  She is not declawed and will not be declawed.  She is scheduled to be spayed on October 11th.  She has not defecated anywhere other than her box, and I have seen her use it for urination many times.  She is a DSH tabby, and the vet says she probably has siamese in her bloodline (due to bone structure, vocalization, etc).  She is very loving, sweet, and very needy.  In her box, I use Yesterday's News litter, and she is being treated for coccidiosis, so I scoop at least once per day, and chance all the litter and disinfect the box once per week.  I have no other cats, but it is possible there were cats previously in the apartment. Pictures of Angelina can be found at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/daytrippermuc/my_photos .
Angelina is a perfect cat, and I want to do everything I can to keep her healthy and happy.  I know that urination outside the box can sometimes be a sign that a cat is upset or something.  Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!


Answer
Molly,

Doing the math, your kitten is about 4.5 months of age.  I would bet she is coming into season which is why she may be urinating in untoward places.  I expect spaying will remedy this!!!!!

If the apartment has been used by other pets, she may, now, be marking territory, if she is in season.  BTW, no matter what anyone may tell you, I have seen 4 month olds go through a mild heat cycle.

A couple of things you might try are to clean any spots you think may be suspect with an enzyme based cleaner specifically for pet odors, like Outright or Simple Solution(these are available at your friendly neighborhood pet supermarket).  For deterring her, you might try Feliway <sp?>, a pheramone based spray which is supposed to inhibit territory marking behavior.

I am also sending you a link to an excellent article on house soiling problems which may have some other ideas.

http://www.netcat.org/housesoiling.html

Best regards... Norm.