Please diagnose my cat's need to pee on the bathroom rugs

[Anonymous]

Older cats are prone to kidney disease which is easily treated with subcutaneous fluids that you can give at home.

[Anonymous]

Not to sound cold and callous, but I'm not going down the road of pet Prozac or subcutaneous fluids. That literally sounds like cat torture to me. I'd rather she just get the Big Shot.

[Anonymous]

Fluids are not as crazy as you think-not difficult, and not painful for the cat. My cats who have had them purred and or munched on treats while getting them.

[Anonymous]

Just take the cat to the vet and find out what is going on.

It may be easily treatable, it may not, but have a heart for your aging pet.

I am about to lose mine...it's awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not a cat person, but I had a dog once that LOVED peeing on bath mats. He loved the smell of the cheap bath mats with rubber backing (you know, the Target kind?). He never peed anywhere else. We just got rid of the bath mats and got cotton ones with no rubber backing. The problem went away. I think he really just enjoyed the smell.

We had the same issue with 2 cats and rubber backing! Replaced the rugs, and no more problems.

[Anonymous]

OP here. So, it's not rubber backing that's the issue. I bought new rugs that are just the thick bath towel version, and...cat pee.

Okay, so maybe the thick rug concept is what's appealing. Let's just throw down a hand towel in front of the shower at least so we're not leaving the floors wet when get out of the shower. Well, that worked for almost 24 hours and...I woke up at 5:55 a.m. this morning to the sound of the cat peeing on the towel. She also peed in laundry basket in our bathroom during this same stretch.

Litter box still in use. Cat heading to vet this afternoon. If cat doesn't have physical issue that's causing this, I'm not sure we can continue with her. It truly causes marital strife and I'm not sure I can put my cat's needs above my family's stability (serious on this point - husband has hated this cat for years and gets crazy mad when there are cat incidents, and it causes problems for us).

[Anonymous]

My 13 year old cat just started doing this, too.
We just keep the bath mat or towel folded over the side
of the bath tub, and place it on the floor only when we're showering. Is there a reason why this isn't possible for you?
Also, can't you just keep the door shut?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 13 year old cat just started doing this, too.
We just keep the bath mat or towel folded over the side
of the bath tub, and place it on the floor only when we're showering. Is there a reason why this isn't possible for you?
Also, can't you just keep the door shut?

OP here. We removed all bathroom rugs, so she peed on a beanbag in the hallway outside our room. Closing our door would not have prevented the pee on beanbag issue. Also, our bedroom is her safe place (the vet calls it her territory...whatever, it's where she hangs out). Any time we've closed the door, she sits outside the door and is very anxious until she's let back in.

My spouse has made clear that the cat is no longer welcome in our home. Vet's recommendation, after determining that the cat is in EXCELLENT health, is to have litterbox in our bathroom. Husband refuses. I could argue this indefinitely and take a pro-cat, anti-husband stance, but I don't think that would bode well for our family. Best bet for this cat would be single-level apartment with nice old person to give lots of attention and not scare her at all. She needs to go. Now we have to figure out how to make that happen. It sucks.