Hi, Hope that someone will be able to help. I have a 3 year old, healthy, happy spayed female who never had any toilet issues. Since she was a kitten she was always very well trained.
Some 3 months ago she started occasionally pee around the house: first when we come back from holidays peed on our bed while we were sleeping - sure we were convinced it was because we left her (in our house with my brother who lives with us and knows her, so no major stress), second after Christmas when my sister brought her dog (need to mention the dog visited us before on several occasions, no love between them, but no major stress either), she peed exactly on the spot where the dog was sitting, and then it started with my brother room, same spot, practically once a week for 3-4 weeks. The vet checked her and decided that she was perfectly healthy, but the new girlfriend of my brother could be the problem - she visits us or my brother goes to her, she does not like cats, so my cat is marking her territory to claim it back. Fair enough. We have got Feliway, we have given her some Zylkene 75mg to help to calm her down, we play with her and show her lots of attention, I leave treats hidden around the house when I leave so she has something to do during the day, should have also mentioned that she has got a cat flap for the last 8 months, so she is free to go outside even when we are not at home (except of the time when is locked during the night) and yet yesterday after 11 days since the last episode, she peed on the sofa practically in front of our eyes, as we were sitting down to eat our dinner. I really don't know what to do anymore....I clean it with everything I can find the enzyme cleaners, peroxide, bicarbonate of soda, vinegar etc. I don't know anymore what is causing it, how to eliminate the stressor as I have not been able to narrow it down to one thing and most importantly how to make her to stop....Please help

This is probably the kind of thing you should enlist a behaviorist for. She's obviously (and you said it yourself) not "going" just to relieve herself, she's surgically marking the most socially significant places in the house, the places that are strongest with your scent, with hers. So it's insecurity on her part. And you detailed a number of reasons why her insecurity is pretty understandable. I think if it were me, I think I'd see what I could do about removing/reducing the stressors that you mentioned, and then also take a look at providing some additional catification (shelving, trees, cat scratchers etc) in those specific locations (near the bed, and the couch) so that she has "her own" spot to hang out with you guys, but also that isn't contested by rivals. But like I said, the silver bullet might be to hire a cat behaviorist and have them check out your situation carefully once you've exhausted your ideas.

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The little monsters 3

Thank you for your reply. I have been thinking about the cat behaviourist, but the one available near our area quoted me £650 for a 2h initial session. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to put the price tag on our love for her, but seeing that it is something that the insurance will not cover, I want to make sure we have exhausted all the other options, before we would go for that. You have to agree that it is a very hefty price tag....
I think that we might have found something else as well. I have noticed on the few occasions that she is a bit hesitant when going outside, stopping on the doorstep, looking around etc. before deciding to go to the garden, especially last night she stopped by the door and started sniffing at everything around the door, the exterior of her cat flap, the step and the area around it....Is it possible that there is a new stranger cat that scares her or tries to get onto her territory that makes her afraid? If yes, she might be marking the house to make sure her sent is everywhere as she does not feel safe? That would explain a lot, but then what to do about it? How to keep the other cat away from my back yard and give her back her sense of security?

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The little monsters 3

Welcome to our forum. Usually, there is no fast solution to your problem. Most cats who are neutered or spayed at an early age do not mark. However, once they are allowed outside where they can smell other cats, the instinct usually returns. There are a few things going on.

1. She is allowed outdoor access where neighborhood cats also are outdoors. A cat's sense of smell is 14 times stronger than a human ... thus your kitty can smell another kitty from far away and it is common to even mark areas outside.

2. Marking is for territory -- marking is different from peeing. But, many times a cat will pee on an area they don't like -- like where a dog they don't like has left a scent.

3. Inappropriate peeing -- the cat is trying to tell you something. If everything has been checked out medically, then it is a behavioral issue. The cat may be saying, "I don't like this. ...." "I'm not happy with this ...." and the whole thing is not going to stop until you settle the problem.

4. Be it dogs, other cats or girlfriends who don't like cats -- cats are highly sensitive to emotions. They know when something or someone doesn't like them. And bengals seem to especially lash out and let YOU know they don't like something.

The solution? The cat has to be happier and more confident. Just because she has been around this dog before doesn't mean she doesn't get tired of the dog at some point. Unless the brother's girlfriend decides to try and befriend your cat ... the peeing in that room will continue. I believe this is a "stress" issue and eliminating the stress will probably solve the problem. Some cats are just super sensitive about things.

You can always try adding more litter boxes around the house and in the rooms she uses, but it seems to me she is acting out on something that she does not like.

Now, if the dog wants to continue to visit, neighbor cats outside with her, and the girlfriend wants to hate cats and other situations come up that your kitty doesn't like -- expect this behavior to continue. Spraying with water, punishing the cat is not going to work. There are countless articles online that you can read if you just Google the problem. I know this is a tough issue -- but if you want to take the time and have the patience to deal with this, you can get this worked out without spending a lot of money on a cat behaviroist. Good luck.