How to stop kitten peeing on bathroom mat?

golden_eagle

I need some advice. Our previous cat used bathroom mats as his toilet on a few occasions so in the end gave up on buying new once as it was getting pretty costly. We got two kittens 2 months ago and to my knowledge they have been using only their litter trays from day one. Never caught them going anywhere else. So this Saturday we decided to be brave and buy a new posh bathroom mat only to catch one of the kittens peeing on it the following day!!! :eek: Even when I wash the mat I will be paranoid to put it back down on the floor fearing that they will just start using it as yet another litter tray. Has anyone experienced the same problem? Is there anything we can do other than give up on mats altogether? Any spray we could use? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Fire_Fox

Bio washing powder to remove the urine smell. No idea if this is relevant but some glues used in training shoes break down when damp to make a smell exactly like cat pee. Might be that the same sort of glues are used in bathroom mats? It may be that cats can easily tell the difference tho!! Not sure if you mean a toilet mat or bath mat, but I have a towel rail especially to hang my bathmat on.

Is it possible the kitten couldn't get to the litter tray in time, or was the tray being guarded by the other kitten, was there a poo in the tray? Do you have at least two trays, one on each floor of your home? Some cats don't like to pee and poo in the same tray (Noah won't pee on top of a poo), some cats prefer their own litter tray (this may change as they mature), some cats like the privacy of a hooded tray some don't like the smells it traps.

~Chameleon~

Do what I do and only put the bath mat on the floor while actually bathing/showering then hang it over the edge of the bath or radiator/towel rail at all other times

My old girl has two litter trays in the bathroom (one to pee in, the other for poos) yet she'll still pee on the bathmat if she gets the opportunity! :rolleyes:

golden_eagle

Hi FireFox, yes, I am talking about a bathmat. I do have 2 trays for the 2 kittens. Both trays are kept in the same bathroom. The kittens are not allowed into the guest bathroom and don't want the trays in anywhere else in the house. I did wonder whether one tray simply wasnt clean enough for him yesterday so instead of checking out the other litter he simply decided to try out the fancy new mat instead. I guess it was simply too soft to resist? :rolleyes: My worry is that now he has done it once he will just keep on doing it... Will wash it tonight and then I guess we will have to put it over a rail in the bathroom when not in use. They win as usual. Should be used to it by now .

Fire_Fox

It's not recommended you have your two trays next to each other; guarding can then still be an issue and the kittens won't be able to toilet away from the smell of the soiled tray without going outside the tray. It's your call of course, but just be aware this may be (part of) the problem.

golden_eagle

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Do what I do and only put the bath mat on the floor while actually bathing/showering then hang it over the edge of the bath or radiator/towel rail at all other times

My old girl has two litter trays in the bathroom (one to pee in, the other for poos) yet she'll still pee on the bathmat if she gets the opportunity! :rolleyes:

Hi Chameleon, thanks for that. Looks like my little fluffbag is not the only one to do that;). I'll keep it out of reach in the future.

golden_eagle

Fire_Fox wrote: »

It's not recommended you have your two trays next to each other; guarding can then still be an issue and the kittens won't be able to toilet away from the smell of the soiled tray without going outside the tray. It's your call of course, but just be aware this may be (part of) the problem.

Hm, that's a good point. Haven't thought of that. But so far we have had no issues at all. They seem to be happy sharing the trays sometime even trying to go both at the same time in the same litter :rotfl:. I'll give it some thought whether one tray could be moved somewhere else at least during the day when we are not around to remove any deposits quickly enough.

~Chameleon~

golden_eagle wrote: »

Hi Chameleon, thanks for that. Looks like my little fluffbag is not the only one to do that;). I'll keep it out of reach in the future.

Just one other thing that has sprung to mind, he's not having any discomfort whilst peeing? Sometimes if they have a touch of cystitis (more common in male cats) they *think* it's the litter biting them as they pee so will look for softer alternatives.

golden_eagle

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Just one other thing that has sprung to mind, he's not having any discomfort whilst peeing? Sometimes if they have a touch of cystitis (more common in male cats) they *think* it's the litter biting them as they pee so will look for softer alternatives.

OH NO! How do I know if he is having discomfort whilst peeing? I have not noticed anything unusual. Gosh, now I'm going to get really paranoid :eek:. But he hasn't peed anywhere else "soft" before so maybe it's just the fact that he associates our bathroom with his bathroom needs as we keep the litter trays in there and he couldnt' quite work out the difference between the 2 litter trays and the bathmat? He is not the brightest :rotfl:tho he is very very cute to compensate for it.

~Chameleon~

golden_eagle wrote: »

OH NO! How do I know if he is having discomfort whilst peeing? I have not noticed anything unusual. Gosh, now I'm going to get really paranoid :eek:. But he hasn't peed anywhere else "soft" before so maybe it's just the fact that he associates our bathroom with his bathroom needs as we keep the litter trays in there and he couldnt' quite work out the difference between the 2 litter trays and the bathmat? He is not the brightest :rotfl:tho he is very very cute to compensate for it.

If he is trying to pee frequently or appears to be straining and not much coming out, or cries then runs off when he pees would all indicate a potential problem. But, as you say, it sounds as though he's just being a naughty kitty wanting to dominate the bathroom lol

One of my other cats will occasionally poo on the floor next to the toilet if she gets caught short as she usually toilets outside and rarely uses the trays.