Cat toileting rug :-( SHES AT IT AGAIN :-(

Kim_kim

Rosie, exotic (short haired Persian). I got her as a rescue last spring.
9 times out of 10 she used the tray sometimes she used the downstrairs rug, I changed it or the bathmat - I started taking it up & draping it over the side of the bath.
Anyway she stopped & has been fine until just before Xmas & she's started using the downstairs rug again.
I live alone, no change, no visitors.

Cats are silent. They have done the deed without you seeing them do it. I don't think you really can train a cat anyway - their mother cat trains them as kittens.

I haven't changed litter, I have moved tray now to beside rug. I caught her an hour ago about to go on rug - I think.

I moved towards her & she ran off (she's always been very nervous), it's not like I could even put her on the tray.

I've never had a "dirty" cat before. She's never been 100% - I won't be able to keep her if she's going to soil the house, but no one will want her. She's nearly 2 now. Netured, doesn't go outside, could but chooses not too. Finds it scary., I guess this is the baggage you get with a rescue. I felt really good about giving a rescued cat a home :-(

HappyMJ

You can train a cat to use a litter tray. They are one of the easiest animals to train. Lot's of rewards and cuddling when they use it and they'll get the idea soon enough.

Some cats want the tray to be very clean and won't use it if it's more than a few days old. To prevent too much litter being wasted you only need use a small amount and fully change it every few days.

If you can't pick her up to put her on the tray when she's about to go where she shouldn't I would go and change the litter and put it near her and hopefully she'll use it.

Polaria

Hello,
Your cat is not doing this to annoy you. They always have a good reason to do this, but it is not easy for us humans to find it :undecided

For example, one of my elderly cats started doing this suddenly, after much research it turned out she had IBS and associated her stomach pains with the litter tray.

If you have not found any reason I'd say pay a visit to the vet to ensure there are no underlying medical problems.

Good luck, I know this isn't funny at all

Kim_kim

HappyMJ wrote: »

You can train a cat to use a litter tray. They are one of the easiest animals to train. Lot's of rewards and cuddling when they use it and they'll get the idea soon enough.

Some cats want the tray to be very clean and won't use it if it's more than a few days old. To prevent too much litter being wasted you only need use a small amount and fully change it every few days.

If you can't pick her up to put her on the tray when she's about to go where she shouldn't I would go and change the litter and put it near her and hopefully she'll use it.

That's why I moved it near the rug.
She's just used it - thankfully.

That's the first thing my daughter said, is her box clean.
I said of course it is, she's not using it!!!!

Kim_kim

Polaria wrote: »

Hello,
Your cat is not doing this to annoy you. They always have a good reason to do this, but it is not easy for us humans to find it :undecided

For example, one of my elderly cats started doing this suddenly, after much research it turned out she had IBS and associated her stomach pains with the litter tray.

If you have not found any reason I'd say pay a visit to the vet to ensure there are no underlying medical problems.

Good luck, I know this isn't funny at all

I've had cats before, only netured boys. They do say Persians are more prone to being dirty, but thankfully it's not a problem I've ever had.
This isn't a problem I've ever come across.
She's a funny thing, she was just under a year when I got her, I've had her since about April. She's still nervous & runs away before slowly coming back to you.
My guess is she was going to be used for breeding, maybe she didn't have lots of human interaction.
She follows me around the house, she might go onto the patio, but doesn't really like going out.
I think my home suits her, it's quiet & just me - I don't think she'd cope in a busy household.

Kim_kim

I got rid of the first living room rug as it was very thick & she kept using that & the bathmat. I thought the thickness tempted her. She didn't use the carpets.
So I got a new rug, much thinner like a carpet & made sure I always removed the bathmat when not in use. This stopped the problem. A couple of times she pulled the bathmat down off the bathside & peed on it, but that stopped. Until now & she's starting again. I know it's Christmas but it's as normal at my house.

WeAreGhosts

You have trained her in some way if you put a bathmat down for her to go on instead of the rug, and then she pulls the bathmat down off the bath and goes on it. That's what you've trained her to do

Mine's funny about the tray, but we've not had an accident yet - apart from when she misses slightly and wees up the wall

I am, unfortunately for me, in tune with my cat's motions and can tell when she needs to go. Sometimes she will just go on her own no bother, but other times I have to coax her into the room to use her tray. I've found that sitting down quietly on the floor about 4 feet from the tray helps, she has a good sniff around and then goes. Sometimes treats are needed to coax her to come to me.
I give her a big fuss and a treat afterwards too.

p.s you DID do something good in giving a rescue cat a home. Please don't give up on her. My cat goes through phases and even though I have had her nearly two years she is still changing and growing up (she's just 3)...

splishsplash

You could try offering her two litter boxes. My cats won't pee in the box they poo in. Maybe yours is the same? I use plastic boxes as litter boxes, and I use the covers lined with tissues as pee trays.

I would just get rid of the rug, to be honest. I think it's very hard to stop a cat using somewhere they think is ok to pee on.

Kim_kim

splishsplash wrote: »

You could try offering her two litter boxes. My cats won't pee in the box they poo in. Maybe yours is the same? I use plastic boxes as litter boxes, and I use the covers lined with tissues as pee trays.

I would just get rid of the rug, to be honest. I think it's very hard to stop a cat using somewhere they think is ok to pee on.

I've already got rid of a huge thick designer rug & replaced it with a cheaper (only a couple of hundred pounds) John Lewis one.....

What do I need to really clean it with? Biological clothes washing liquid I guess?

She was dodgy for a month at first, then we got over that & now it's started again :-(

Kim_kim

WeAreGhosts wrote: »

You have trained her in some way if you put a bathmat down for her to go on instead of the rug, and then she pulls the bathmat down off the bath and goes on it. That's what you've trained her to do

The bathmat thing was for a couple of weeks or so when she first came to live with me last Easter.
I don't understand why you say I trained her to do that.

She came to me as house trained & I certainly didn't encourage her to soil rugs.

Mayflower10cat

Here's a thought. The rug must feel soft under her feet, she associates this softness with somewhere comfy to have a wee. I read in a cat behaviour book (sorry, I can't remember which one!) that the mother cat teaches her kittens not to poo or wee in their nest by picking them up when they show signs of wanting to 'go' and taking them over to a more suitable piece of ground for toileting. This might be a litter tray, or in feral cats a corner of soft earth. The kittens come to associate a change in the way the ground feels with emptying their bladder/bowels.

I'm guessing you have hard floors (??) and to Rosie, the rug has become the change of surface that triggers her to 'go'. What kind of litter are you using? If it's something like the very chunky wood pellets, maybe she'd recognise a finer, sandier textured litter? Softer to her feet? You said she's a timid little cat, I wonder if she doesn't like the noise the litter makes when she uses it? Maybe weeing on the rug is nice and quiet and not so scary. Just a few idle thoughts from a fellow owner of rescue cats with strange pasts!!!!