urinating outside of litter pan

[Bram]

I've read some posts on this subject and the general response seems to be that, in some cases, this is almost normal - at least there's an explanation that seems to explain the behavior - but there haven't been any answers as to how to get the cat to stop the behavior. I have a cat that hates the rubber backing on my bathroom rugs! If I put one down, she pees on it! I like rugs on the bathroom floor! I tell her it's my house, but she disagrees! I've tried housebreaking aid sprays, and thorougly cleaning the litter box to remove any scent she's offended by. Now, I think another cat has decided that he can do this too, if she does it. So, I'm shaking pepper onto the rug, in hopes the first sniff will send them away. I clean the litter pan several times a day, and she does use the box, just not all the time. How do I retrain her?

[davet]

you might try more litter boxes around and maybe fill one with outwside soil,,more natural tahn littter''

[kehorner]

If it's just the rubber-backed bathroom rugs, you could try regular throw rugs without the rubber backing... Maybe they aren't designed for the bathroom, but they're still rugs.

[Ash]

I would suggest putting the litter box elsewhere, not in the bathroom, and keep the bathroom door closed.

How old is the cat? Since when has she been doing this?

[Traci]

First, inappropriate elimination is not normal, and the first thing you need to do is rule out a potential health problem, with a prompt vet exam.

Second, leaving rugs, or anything else on a bathroom floor are prime targets for any cat to urinate on. The solution is to either put the rugs away, or keep your cat out of the bathroom. Provide an additional litterbox in a quiet, private area...one litterbox per cat.

If the rug is not properly cleaned, the other cat will detect the urine scent and mark it as well. Using pepper is not going to resolve this. It may actually make the situation worse.