That should help, but cats have a very strong sense of smell. You may have another event and will not be able to determine if the plastic played any part in it. Of course, the mattress will be protected, which is a major requirement.
Correct. The only other thing I am afraid of is the permanent smell of urine in the walls and carpet when we arent planning on keeping this house for too long.
The double pads do work - says the voice of experience. ; ) You will find that young kittens can sometimes not remember to head toward the box in time when first sleeping with you too.
Heh
We will look into that. Thanks Jan
In terms of using the litter tray, Guinevere is the best cat we have. Merlin preferred to go behind the TV when he first arrived but has always used the tray since he learned. Lancelot has proven to us a few times that he can be a little vindictive (I remember cheering him on the first time he used it on his own). Guinevere however - the first thing she did when we brought her home, is charged out of the cage the moment the door opened and straight to the litter tray and has always used it apart from when on heat.
This is mostly what leads me to believe that she isnt doing anything "wrong". It's like "What the hell dude? What else am I supposed to do? Im hormonal!"
Not that the other triggers are "doing wrong," but you are exactly right that the instinct to provide scent when in heat can be too strong to avoid. That is why queens who do it have to be handled when in heat the same as Toms that spray. One just hopes one notices each heat soon enough to take the appropriate steps in time.
Here's an idea: Each time she does it, we can make her clean the bed linen, or next time I can retaliate and return the favor by do it to her bed. Actually that wont work .. she doesnt have a bed. She uses ours .. silly me!
Time to throw the doona into the washing machine. Should be ok, its been soaking all night.
EDIT: *Note to self* Saturated doonas weigh a tonne!