Why does she run to the litter box when I come home??

When i get home from work in the early morning i've noticed that Olga greets me at the front door along with her brother and then immedietly rushes to the litterbox and pees. it is basically become a routine at this point.
why does she seem to do this almost every morning as soon as i come home? I've heard of dogs urinating from excitement before, but not cats. If she is doing it out sheer excitement i'm pretty impressed she has the presence of mind to go to the box first.

It could well be excitement, if she is very attached to you and pleased to see you

I think there also may be something else going on as well - when you come home you are bringing different smells from the outdoors home with you - and she feels the need to pee to mark her territory and increase the level of 'her' scent in the environment to balance out the new smells, and like a good girl she does it in the appropriate place.

ETA: Another thought is that if you have just one litterbox her brother may be preventing her from using it (cats can be funny about sharing toilets!) and she takes the opportunity to go while he is distracted welcoming you. If that's the case, then it's not good for her to be holding it in, adding at least 1 more litterbox is a good idea in any case if you only have the one.

i didn't think of the scent possibility. that could be. the nieghboors cats prowl around outside my front door, when i come inside i guess i could actually be carrying the scent of the other cats in with me. although i find it odd that the male cat, Boris doesn't do the same thing as Olga, since he generally displays much more "wild" behavior then his sister.
i just get kind of a kick out of it when she does it, it seems funny somehow.
"hi welcome home, ok be right back, i have to go to the bathroom.."

they are often waiting for me in the window when i pull in and they seem to recognize my car, because they both jump down when i park and are waiting at the door by the time i open it to come in. I don't know how long they sit up there waiting in advance but maybe she is opting to hold it rather then leave the window...

i've got two boxes here that generally get cleaned out twice daily, and both cats will use either box without hassle, although Olga tends to prefer the uncovered one and her brother prefers the covered one.

Cats have a tremendous ability to stay "on task." They can wait by a mousehole for hours. So if she is waiting for you, that's all she's thinking about. Task accomplished, she realizes she needs to go!

I think it's cute.

Mine has his litterbox in the computer room and was waiting until I got home and sat at the computer to do #2 for a while. Thankfully he stopped... stinking me out of the room as soon as I got home daily was not pleasant.

Awww thats so cute of her, its probably just a cat thing.King David likes to dig and roll around in the litter, right after the box is fully emptied and fresh litter put in or right after I scoop, lol. Cats are awesome arent they??

Bella will run to the litter box right after I get home because she knows I'll keep Stanley from standing outside the box and annoying her.

Mosi does this (and Magpie before him did it too). Not every time, but often enough for it not to be coincidence. He will greet me as normal when I get home from work but then within a few seconds he trots off to the litter tray I've always thought it must be some sort of displacement behaviour. I don't think Mosi can be holding on or prevented from using the tray as he's a bossy cat and fears no-one, least of all Jaffa.

Oh that is so funny, my cat does the same thing!

I come home, we have our lovey session, I go the kitchen to prep her dinner - that's when she uses it (box is in kitchen). Sometimes I try to time it right - and wait for her to finish before I nuke her food - I don't want it to get cold!

I thought it was so odd! Like she was holding it all day till I got home, which I thought was weird.

Maybe she's been holding it 'til you come home! Doesn't want to be caught in the box when you come in

Originally Posted by Callista

Maybe she's been holding it 'til you come home! Doesn't want to be caught in the box when you come in

Click to expand...

LOL, that's what I was thinking. I had a roommate and one time he was home during the day, and he said that at about 5 minutes to 5, the cat would appear from wherever she was spending the day and sit on a bench we had so she could look out the window. Within 10 minutes I was home, and while I knew she always greeted me, I didn't know that she was "waiting" for me!

I think it's because they recognise you as their mother, and as all pet cats are large kittens, they respond as if it is now safe to "go."