Why does my cat hate my bathmat? HELP!

[slvrwhispr]

The problem isn't just that the bathroom is too small. The whole apartment is too small. We have one bedroom, the living room, the kitchen, and the bathroom. I honestly wouldn't know where to put another one.

[Erica]

I know what you mean about a small apartment. My fiancee & I share a 1 bedroom, 1 bat, kitchen, living room & dining room (for a total of 525 square feet) with 5 hamsters, a guinea pig, 1 parakeet, 3 cats and 1 Great Pyrenees. We're a little cramped. ) i'm sure you can find some space. I have 2 litter boxes in my place, one in the hallway between the bedroom and bathroom and 1 in the bedroom for the 2 kittens. I would try to give it a shot, move some things around. If it keeps kitty from creating problems, it's totally worth it.

[medelle]

We used to have this problem and then our vet informed us that the rubber backing on a lot of these mats smells a lot like cat urine, therefore they instinctively think it is a proper place to eliminate.

Remove the bathmat and use an old towel or get one without the weird rubber backing. Also, if those are not real options, you could try picking it up after you are done using it and draping it over the edge of the tub. We found that helped, but did not eliminate the problem.

Aint kitty psychology fun???

[Denise29]

But, yeah... my kitty's a hyperactive little guy. He's usually a ton of fun, just... not if you're a bath mat.

LOL That was cute.

I have a suggestion that may help (if the bathmat is the only place he will
defacate on).

How about you only put the bathmat down only when you need to use it and put it away when you aren't using it?

We use a towel to step on when coming out the bath or shower and my car does the SAME EXACT THING. How we stop this behavior is we keep the towel on the toilet until we exit the tub, put the towel down to step onto, then hang it up.

Let us know how you make out with this. But do try to only use it when you need it. I bet this will help!

Hugs,
Denise

[Denise29]

Also, if those are not real options, you could try picking it up after you are done using it and draping it over the edge of the tub. We found that helped, but did not eliminate the problem.

Aint kitty psychology fun???

I guess I should have read all of the posts before I offered my great suggestion! LOL

Well, Medelle, as they say, "great minds think alike".

Denise