urinating!

Within the past two weeks my cat has started urinating on my bathroom rugs. Her litter box is located in the bathroom but for some reason she will not urinate in it as long as the rugs are on the floor. So, I picked up the rugs for a couple of days but as soon as I put them back down she goes again. I clean her litter box daily. I have changed to a different litter but, that was several months ago and I didn't have the problem until recently. I haven't noticed her going anywhere else but on these rugs. HELP! I'm so frustrated!

Hi My annie and welcome.

Do not despair! First you need to have her checked by the vet for possible urinary tract infections. She may be too pressed to go to her litter box and may think the rug is a second best alternative.

After you rule out medical causes, you need to try and treat this as a behavioral problem. You will need to get the smell out of the rugs using special products that make the smell really disappear (so that your cat won't be able to smell it). You may also need to just put away the rugs or close the bedroom door for a while until she forgets about that new attractive place.

Let us know what the vet says and how she's doing!

Yes, she should at least be checked by the vet. This is usually the first sign of infection.
I have 2 cats who will go on the rug if left up to them. It is a long story, but they were abused, then got used to pine litter, switched the litter because I have more cats who use regular litter. I had to re train them in the bathroom and I suppose it is nice and soft, so they will use the rugs. I just got to the point where I moved the litter boxes and keep the bathroom doors shut. If you cant move the litter box, maybe try and get a different kind of rug. You could also try spraying some feliway on the rugs before putting them down. Hopefully by the process of elimination, you can get this taken care of. Let us know how it's going.

Thank you so much for the advice. For starters, I will make a vet appointment to see if she has an infection. Annie is about 6 years old and has never shown any type of behavior problems until now. I know there is a first time for everything. My boyfriend gives her a lot of attention. The week she started urinating, he had been out of town for a few days. At first I thought his abscence may have triggered this problem but since his return, she still continues to go on these rugs. I left the rugs up for a few days but the minute they went down, she was there.

Any suggestions on eliminating the urine smell in the rugs? I have washed them several times in hot water but they still have a faint smell which I'm sure Annie can detect. Again, thank you and I will be in touch.

You could use some of the odor eliminator products at the pet store. Hoewever, If I were you I might just buy new bath rugs unless they are a fortune. When cats do it out of the blue, it usually means an infection. Let us know what the vet sais, and then maybe if its behavioral, we can all go from there.

Good news and bad news! Annie went to the vet - no urinary tract infection so... I guess that means she has a behavior problem. Any suggestions????

Is she still going on the same rugs or are we talking about more places?

Annie only goes in the bathroom. Sometimes she uses the litter box sometimes not (mostly not) I have left the rugs up for a couple of weeks now so, she urinates on the floor.

It sounds like she is trying to tell you something..hehe. No, the only thing I can think of is either she has decided she does not like the litter, which has happened. I think cats change their minds to make us crazy. Or, she just needs to be trained again. It may not be easy for you because so far, she does not mind going in the bathroom. You can try putting her in there as well with her food water, box and such. They usually wont go since they have to sleep in there. Then she will be forced to use the box again. Let me know what you think.

Hello. Well I had the same problem with my cat Bo urinating on my bath room rugs, out of the blue he started this, took him to the vet , he was checked out with no health problems expect for being over weight. anyway someone advised me to put his food dishes in the spot where he urinated. well I put his food dish on the throw rug and he wouldn't eat, it sloved the problem after that for a about a year then he did it again someplace else, If there is any poop in his pan he doesn't like it, i have to clean his litter pan sometimes 2 times a day, My cat was older when he started this, over 15 , hes 20 now and he hardly has any smell in his urine, his scent glands must of stopped working, im not sure, but its no fun when they do this, There was a stary cat lurking around at the time he did this, that could be the reason why your cat is doing this, good luck, hope you can get him to stop this. Meow meow, Kitkat

My cat did the same thing. No infections, most likely mad about something. When he was a kitten he used to pee on my husband's side of the bed. My husband and I would switch sides to sleep every other month. Buka would still know which side he was sleeping on and pee. (ha, ha, ha,) I thought it was funny. I think my kitty was jealous. Every time the hubby and I would cuddle, Buka had to be right in the middle.
Now, he's 6 years old and every once in while he pee's in the corner of the living room, right in front of me. He's trying to tell me something, maybe he's mad that his daddy and I split up. Sorry Buka. Every body here has suggested getting Buka a girlfriend so he won't be alone any more. I working on that one. Anyone have a female Traditional Siamese 2-4 years old they need to find home for?

My Annie:

I was having the same problem with my 2 year old cat just recently. I clean my litter box daily too, because I have to with 2 cats. Well, last week I decided to empty the whole thing and really scrub the life out of it. Ever since I did that I actually see Joey in there peeing. I guess maybe it just wasn't cleaned to his satisfaction.