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

Kim_kim

Mayflower10cat wrote: »

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!!!!

The crystal (silica) type of cat litter.
Half & half (hard & carpet) upstairs & all hard floor downstairs.
This has been OK for 8 months though.

sheramber

Use a solution of biological washing powder or you can buy a specialist cleaning product from pet shops.

With a rug the wee may have penetrated to the underside of the rug and the cleaning solution is not penetrating as far. This will leave a scent that you may not smell but a cat with a more sensitive nose will smell.

The suggestion of changing the type of litter is good.

If all else fails cut the bath mat into strips to fit the litter tray and use that instead of litter.

Kim_kim

sheramber wrote: »

Use a solution of biological washing powder or you can buy a specialist cleaning product from pet shops.

With a rug the wee may have penetrated to the underside of the rug and the cleaning solution is not penetrating as far. This will leave a scent that you may not smell but a cat with a more sensitive nose will smell.

The suggestion of changing the type of litter is good.

If all else fails cut the bath mat into strips to fit the litter tray and use that instead of litter.

She hadn't used the bathmat since last Easter.

paddypaws101

I really would try some different litters....the silica ones can be uncomfortable on their feet and also IMO are very hard if not impossible to keep as clean as a cat would like.
try a good clumping litter....either a nice soft sandy clay or something like Oko worlds Best. With both of these, the clumps can be cleanly removed from the tray leaving no trace of taint. Fill the tray deeply so that deposits can clump properly.
Dr Elseys cat Attract litter is also excellent in these situations but is quite pricey to buy.
These litters may appear expensive to buy, but they last for ages so actually become economical.
If she is a nervy cat she may have a level of stress induced cystitis.....even the post man knocking on the door or a dog barking outside could cause this in a nervy cat. Products such as Feliway or Pet remedy plug in can help, Zylkene or Beaphar calming spot on are also useful.

WeAreGhosts

Kim_kim wrote: »

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.

Yup, and cats remember things like that. You obviously didn't mean to 'train' her to go on the rug or the mat, but even for a few weeks if she went on the bathmat then she'll associate that with toileting. 'Training' is probably the wrong word ...

KxMx

I've no experience personally of things like Feliway but I see more and more pet owners recommending them, especially for nervy cats. Vets and the Cat Mags seem to be coming out in favour as well.

june89

There's almost always some kind of environment or health change for a cat to change their toileting habits, even if it's unnoticeable to us. We had this issue with my rescue. She was absolutely fine for over a year, a new cat moved in a few doors down and that set her off - even though she is an indoor cat so no direct contact with this new cat. I think it's quite territorial and she could hear it fighting with other cats in the road which made her nervous.

The vet ruled out any health issues and put her on Zylkene (you can buy this online without prescription) and we added an extra tray downstairs for her and changed to a different litter - World's Best as someone else already suggested. She tends to use that one during the day and the upstairs one at night. Haven't had a problem since, even though that other cat is still around every day.

Kim_kim

She's at it again :-(
Poo on rug tonight when I got in from work.

WeAreGhosts

Kim_kim wrote: »

She's at it again :-(
Poo on rug tonight when I got in from work.

Might be worth removing the rug for a while and seeing what happens.

paddypaws101

Kim_kim wrote: »

She's at it again :-(
Poo on rug tonight when I got in from work.

have you tried the suggestion of changing her litter?