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

[Anonymous]

Cat is 13 yr old domestic short hair, lone pet in the family. We have four kids. Cat has always been a scaredy cat and will pee on bed or in closet when someone scary is in the house like an unknown contractor (won't venture out of our room to litter box). Litterbox is in the basement. Cat does not appear to have any mobility issues. In last several weeks, cat has taken to peeing on our bath rugs. First my rug by my sink; next, rug in front of husband's sink. Then my rug again (had been washed). Then bath mat. Then husband's rug again (had been washed).

What gives with the bathroom rug pee-a-thon? I JUST caught kitty in the act as she was peeing on the mat while I was walking past to get to closet, and I had been in immediate to near vicinity the entire time. This was a well lit room and human traffic was moving only a few feet away.

Why oh why is she doing this? She has not given up on the litterbox as that continues to get plenty of use. WTF is up with this cat?

[Anonymous]

OP again: the bathroom rug incidents seems totally unrelated to activity in our house (it's not the cat trying to avoid the kids). She just did this at 11pm, everyone asleep but spouse and me. Aaaggghhhh.

[Anonymous]

Possible bladder infection.

[Anonymous]

Maybe you should put a litterbox close to where the cat is wanting to use the bathroom. An unwanted litterbox in your bathroom is better than unwanted pee on the rug. You could get a fake cupboard that hides it or something.
-Not a cat expert

[Anonymous]

My older cat started peeing in weird places (like a laundry basket full of dirty clothes) and he was diagnosed with diabetes. I now give him shots of insulin daily and the peeing behavior has stopped. He had other symptoms besides the peeing, though, such as increased thirst and walking low on his haunches but the peeing was his first symptom.

[Anonymous]

possible medical problem. also somtimes laundering bath rugs isn't enough-the smell lingers.
i recommend a visit to the vet+no bath rugs for a bit.

[Anonymous]

OP here. How long, realistically, should I expect this creature to live? Is this age-related possibly?

[Anonymous]

might be the beginning of a mobility issue. I also think you need a vet visit to determine whether there is an infection as this is classic behavior. Is she straining or waiting in the pee position for a long time?

[Anonymous]

Are they rubber backed or are they old? Cats seem to think rubber backed mats smell like pee. And is they're older they could smell like pee from mildew.

I would toss them and get new non-rubber backed mats.

[Anonymous]

Your cat is a senior cat and may have trouble making it all the way down to the basement, navigating the stairs, etc. But before you add a new litterbox in other places, I'd suggest a trip to the vet to rule out UTI, stones, etc. If this is all clear, talk to you vet about the issue. I'd suggest adding new litterbox in the room where she is currently peeing to give her two options: basement and this one. Could be that, as she is getting older, this will be more of an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your cat is a senior cat and may have trouble making it all the way down to the basement, navigating the stairs, etc. But before you add a new litterbox in other places, I'd suggest a trip to the vet to rule out UTI, stones, etc. If this is all clear, talk to you vet about the issue. I'd suggest adding new litterbox in the room where she is currently peeing to give her two options: basement and this one. Could be that, as she is getting older, this will be more of an issue.

I also agree with the PP who said that the rugs could still smell to her. Why don't you remove the rugs for a while and see what happens?

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

+1 for rubber-backed mats. I prefer the ones that are basically just thick towels. However, my spouse found a "great deal" on a rubber-backed mat for the guest room. There's one of my towel-mats in front of the sink, but she wanted this one in front of the tub.

Never had a problem with the towel-mat. But now I have to keep the door to the guest bath closed, because otherwise the cat will walk into the bathroom, cross over the towel-mat and pee on the rubber-backed one. Guaranteed.

[Anonymous]

Seriously, she's just developed a need to pee on rubber-backed mats? Uh oh...I think I'd best investigate the mats by the back door. Yikes.

Sigh. I am patiently waiting for this cat to get old and die.

[Anonymous]

Every vet I'd had has said this is usually behavior, not a UTI. Anti-anxiety meds did the trick for us.