Why Do Cats Pee On Bathroom Rugs?

Imagine your dilemma and surprise if your well-trained pet cat starts peeing or pooping on other surfaces of the house. 

It feels even more annoying when you have to clean the house and punish your cat in some way it annoys and pains you at the same time.

A very common place where the cats relieve themselves other than the litter box is plants and rugs. The cat may be doing that to annoy you or either get your attention.

Let’s get to the bottom of this issue and try to find the solution to this problem so you don’t have to take the load of cleaning multiple times.

Why Is My Cat Peeing On The Bath Mat?

If your cat is not using the litter box and using other places than the litter box, it may be a matter of concern for you. 

Your cat could be using the rug to convey some kind of message to you.

The possibilities that your cat may be using the bathroom rug as the litter box are:

1. Medical issues

Medical issues such as Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs), cystitis, etc. could be the reason your cat is not using the litter box. 

If your cat has a medical issue it may start associating the litter box as a source of pain and stop using the litter box and move on to something else.

2. Litter box issues.

Your bath mat may be getting destroyed because your cat may have issues with its litter box.

Cats are picky and very particular about cleanliness, they refuse to use a dirty litter box and use other things. 

There could be issues with the litter too. If the litter has some kind of foreign scent or it is dusty, the cat would decline it and move on. 

Cats like privacy but there is a thin line between privacy and suffocation, if you cover your cat’s litterbox it may not like it and stop using it. 

So if the cause of medical issues is ruled out, try to trace back the issue to the litter box because it is highly likely that the issue stems from the litter box.

3. Stress or marking territory

If you have more than one cat in the household you have to be prepared for cat pee to be around everywhere. 

Cats crave dominance and having more than one dominant creature fighting for power there might be conflicts and stress. 

This fight for dominance may leave your cat vulnerable and stressed. 

This insecurity and stress would prompt them to mark their territory. Cats do so by peeing on surfaces so, if your cat pees on the rug, it may be because it falls under the cat’s territory.

These are the most prominent reasons for your cat to pee on the bathroom rugs and another possibility could be to get your attention. 

If after peeing on the rug you scold the cat, it would start associating that action as a source to get your attention. 

If every time it manages to get a reaction out of you it would continue doing so to get your attention and it would be difficult to control such things.

Also, find out why is my cat peeing in the bathtub

Why Does My Cat Poop On The Bath Mat?

Cats pooping on the bath mats are not uncommon, you can always have anecdotes on how cats ruined expensive rugs in households among other things. 

If you live in a household with more than one cat it won’t be surprising to you anymore, but why do they do it?

In a multi-cat household, a cat may feel threatened and insecure. This may cause them a lot of stress and anxiety, it is another possibility your cat is peeing on surfaces.

But if your cat feels too insecure it might feel the need to claim spots around the house as its own. The bath mat may be just one of those spots and it would poop on it to mark its territory. 

Another reason could be that your cat is way too familiar with the mat. It is often observed that cats may spawl on soft surfaces and leave behind their scent. The bathmat may be one such surface.

So if the cat faces any issues with the litter box and declines to use it, it would use the place it is familiar with. 

If the cat is familiar with the bath mat and has left behind known odors, so they may poop on it.

In young kittens it may be because they have forgotten their training, you can remedy that by retraining them and teaching them that they are being scolded for not using the litter box. 

How To Stop Your Cat From Peeing On The Bath Mat?

Imagine the level of your surprise when you walk into your home after a tiring day just to find your cat had ruined the bath mat by pooping on it.

It would frustrate the hell out of you, wouldn’t it? To me, it would do. 

So to remedy it you can take the following steps:

1. Make sure the litter box is clean or in the right location. It would solve any issues related to your cat’s issue with the litter box 
2. Make sure you keep changing the litter periodically and make sure its texture is to the liking of the cat. 
3. If the issue of peeing around the house is medically related you need to go to the vet asap. Infections are better cured if they are detected early. So if you think the reason is medical take a trip to the veterinarian.
4. If your cat is peeing on other surfaces due to stress, you can try to ease its stress by using a diffuser. You can even use scents that soothe cats. 
5. You can make your mat feel avoidable by cleaning your mat with perfumey detergents or products. Cats avoid such strong scented things and would stay away from the carpet
6. White vinegar could be used to wash your mats, the disinfectant properties would even kill the bacteria left behind in cat urine by your cat.

These should be sufficient to keep your cat away from your bath rugs and get back to its litter box. But if the root of the cause is the lack of attention, you have to make it up to the cat.

You may also want to rethink the way you try to train your cat. Because scolding them may just feel another form of attention. 

You can try a little punishment that is squirting a little water on them if they pee on the rug. Hitting animals is not a moral practice and you should refrain from it because they are delicate creatures and you have no right to do so.

Also, check out how to stop my cat from pooping in the bathtub

How Do You Get The Cat Urine Smell Out Of The Bath Mat?

Urinating on the bath mat may leave a nasty scent behind along with lots of bacteria that could fester and increase the chances of disease around you.

Cleaning bath rugs and carpets is a very tiresome task and can even ruin the carpet permanently if not done perfectly.

First off, make sure you fix it before too much time has passed because it can cause the urine to settle in for a long time 

Start with paper towels or an old rag and blot the spot with cold water. Do not use a vacuum cleaner or a steamer, it would make the smell settle in more permanently.

Douse the spot with an enzymatic cleaner. The cleaner would also act as a disinfectant and the scents it leaves behind would also successfully keep your cats away from the rug for the time being.

If you don’t want to use artificial products you can use whiter vinegar and water in a 1:1 ratio. The white vinegar would kill the bacteria diffusing the smell and even manage to keep the cat away.

Reblot the spot with cold water to not leave any unwanted residue on the carpet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Summary 

Cats, when they don’t pee inside the litter box and use bath mats as litter boxes, annoy and frustrate us. 

To fix this issue you need to first figure out why it is happening. 

Your cat may be doing so due to a medical issue like UTIs. if that’s the case you need to take your cat to the vet asap.

They also pee around different spots to mark their territory, especially in a house where there are multiple cats. There is a silent war for power there. Sometimes it is not even silent

It can also happen due to improper litter box specifications, dirty or scented, or covered litter boxes could be the cause of your cat’s unusual behavior.

Make sure you rule out the medical issues and if done it is fairly easy after a little effort to solve this issue. 

References

• https://resources.bestfriends.org/article/cat-not-using-litter-box-causes-and-solutions
• https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/common-cat-behavior-issues/litter-box-problems