Your cat might be worried about your safety and so might be waiting outside the bathroom to guard you.
Or, your cat might love you and does not like to be separated from you and so might not understand that bathroom is a place for privacy for you.
So your cat is territorial in nature and hence might feel curious and excluded when doors are closed for them. This might be the reason that your cat is always outside the bathroom waiting for you or meowing.
To know more about your cat’s behavior and how you can prevent it let us read the article further.
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11 Possible Reasons Why Does My Cat Keep Waiting For Me Outside The Bathroom?
1. Curious Kitty
Cats are known to be animals born with the instinct to be curious about their environments. That’s how they managed to look for food and shelter in the wild.
And unlike dogs, our feline friends still tend to have strong instincts to be curious about their surroundings.
So, when you go inside the bathroom and shut the door, it could be piquing their curious little minds just enough for them to stand outside and wonder what is going on inside.
2. Cat Is Scared
If yours is a completely indoor cat who loves clinging onto you whenever possible, then a possible reason why they follow you to the bathroom is that they’re scared of being left alone, or scared of letting you alone inside a potentially unknown environment.
This could also be the case during midnight bathroom trips. Kittens and cats are known to wake up from their sound sleep just to accompany their owners to the bathroom.
Aww, isn’t that adorable? Your little baby is as concerned about your well-being as are you of his or hers!
3. Love Of Your Cat
Your cat might be very attached to you and loves you so they would not like to be separated from you.
Researchers have proven that cats love their owners more than their craving for food.
Sometimes you may be away from it for most of the time so when you go into the bathroom it does not want to be separated from you.
Your cat will demand a lot of attention from you when you are home.
4. It Is A Part Of Cat’s Routine (and yours, too!)
Cats are animals who love routine. They know exactly when to wake their owner up day after day, week after week for meals.
They know where their litter box is, and they will ONLY want to relieve their bowels in that box.
The same could apply to their bathroom-follow trips too. If they’ve been observing you enter the bathroom at certain times of day, each day, then there’s a good chance that they now have memorized your bathroom schedule.
They know that that’s where they will find you at certain times of the day, and hence they will wait outside for you.
5. Warming Up Or Cooling Off
Is it winter out there? Well, then, your kitty will follow you to the bathroom when you take a nice, hot shower to wash off all of the day’s tiredness.
After all, why should you have all the steamy, warm fun whilst your poor buddy waits until you come out and get him or her their blankets?
They might be coming in to warm up their bodies; and in the same way, during summers they might want to come in to cool off.
6. Thirsty Kitty
Now, this is something not every cat parent will relate to. Different cats have different personalities, different choices, and different preferences for quenching their thirsts.
My little Oreo, for instance, absolutely LOVES drinking the running water from the faucet. Simba however will beat Usain Bolt in sprinting out of a place as soon as he hears the sound of running water!
Does your cat love to drink water from the faucets? Or does he or she run far away from running water like my little Simba? Let me know in the comment section!
7. The Numerous Curious Scents (and stinks)
A cat’s sense of smell is the primary way he or she identifies people and objects. Cats have more than 200 million odor sensors in their noses; humans have just 5 million. Their sense of smell is 14 times better than that of humans.
And, well, be it for good or for bad, nothing beats the bathroom when it comes to finding a place in the house with a wide variety of smells.
These smells could be piquing the curiosity of your little buddy, making them wonder why sometimes the room smells like cherry blossom and why some other times it smells like … well … not cherry blossom, or anything pleasant.
Also, check out why does my cat wait outside my bedroom door
8. Mr. (or Ms.) Micromanager
Some cats can be really uptight, meticulous creatures who obsess over certain things being done in a certain way. My Oreo won’t eat his food until his bowl has first been placed in the microwave and removed!
Different cats have different quirks. And uptight little micromanaging cats can be all the quirkier – even with your bathroom schedules!
9. Bathroom = Play Room!
Again, this is something not every cat parent will relate to. But for some cats, a bathroom with its slopy tub and hanging towels and curtains is nothing short of a fun playroom.
Does your cat love to play in the bathroom?
10. Cats Just Want Attention!
Although cats and the entire feline family is notorious for being aloof and reclusive, cats actually do love getting attention! In fact, some cats will not rest until they grab the attention of their owners – sometimes by resorting to violent means too (my sympathies, all parents with a billion scratches. I understand the pain!)
If your cat is also the kind who needs a lot of your attention, then, well, your bathroom time is the best time for him or her to grab all of your attention. After all, with the workings of the porcelain throne, you really don’t have an escape out there!
11. “If I fit, I sit!”
This one is especially for kittens, although I do not rule out grown-up cats from the list – sinks do make for comfy beds!
They might just like napping in the sink or sitting on the lid of your porcelain throne, claiming every nook, corner, and thing of the house as rightfully theirs!
Why Does Your Cat Guard You In The Bathroom?
Cats are also prey to other animals and so privacy to them is about safety. When you are in the bathroom they worry about your safety.
When cats pee they are also scared and so they feel even you are scared and so it guards you, trying to make you feel safe.
So it tries to make you feel relaxed while you are performing your daily activities in the washroom.
Your cat is in an alert mode the entire time you are in the washroom and hence guarding you.
Why Does My Cat Come In The Bathroom With Me?
1. Place To Play
If your bathroom has a tub then your cat might enjoy roaming around it and playing inside it with toilet rolls.
Robes and clothes inside the bathroom and the wet bathroom allow your cat to roll on the floor.
Even if you are not in the bathroom your cat might want to go inside and play there.
2. Closed Doors
When you go inside and the doors are closed it could make your cat curious, including the bathroom door.
If it is a habit then it could make your cat less curious over time though they might keep sitting outside the bathroom if not inside.
Cats never like closed doors and more than that it makes them very curious as they are inquisitive animals.
3. Grab Attention
If you are out for work all the time, then they will grab this opportunity to be with you and want to be around you even if you are in the bathroom.
They will try and get your attention. Many cats also enjoy licking their owners after they have had a bath.
4. Cat Beds
Your cat might like the sink. As the sink might be in the shape of a cat bed and hence it can cradle the cat’s body.
The surface of the sink might also be very cool for your cat and so their warm body might feel very comfortable in the sink.
It would also like to lick the water out of the faucet.
5. Around The Water
Your cat might enjoy being around the water but not in the water. Being inside the bathroom your cat can also drink water if the faucet is on.
It is one of the things your cat would enjoy and feel safe doing while drinking water from the faucet than the vessel.
6. Routine
Maybe you had allowed your cat in the bathroom from first and so it has become a habit for your cat.
If you give your cat attention also in the bathroom then it would love it and would keep coming in.
How Can I Stop My Cat From Meowing While It Sits Outside The Bathroom Door?
1. Don’t Respond
If you ignore your cat and do not respond by clapping or shouting at it then it may understand and not sit outside.
Though if you engage in negative behavior then it might spoil your relationship with your dear cat.
2. Distraction
You could distract your cat while you are in the bathroom. You could give your cat a toy and so it might get engaged and not meow.
You should play with your cat and make your cat tired, then get it off to bed.
3. Patio
You could make your cat a place with a small fountain from which it can drink water and a cat oasis. You could also give your cat a cat tree on which it can climb and then plant cat grass.
It should not have access to outside or else it would start hunting.
This will allow your cat to be away while you are in the washroom and prevent the meowing too.
4. Motion Activated Air Can
Some cans can spray a short burst of air. It is safe and it can hence detect any movement in the area.
This is really unpleasant and so if you keep it near the bathroom door then your cat will avoid coming there.
It is a negative response for your cat. Hence your cat will not come meowing till your bathroom door.
Also, check out Reasons Why Cat Keeps Meowing At Door!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my cat sit in the bathroom while I shower?
It’s comforting and calming. Cats love the bathtub because they like hanging out in the bathroom, in general. They like hanging out in the bathroom, in general, because they observe that our grooming rituals take place there, and they’re interested in how we do the same activities they do – but differently.
What does it mean when your cat keeps going to the bathroom?
Excess thirst, known as polydipsia, will often accompany increased urination as well. A UTI is an infection caused by bacteria in your cat’s urinary tract and is the most common cause of frequent urination. You may notice your cat is trying to pee but it is only able to go a little at a time.
Is it okay to leave a cat in a bathroom?
It’s never a good idea to leave your cat in the bathroom, whether you’re home or not. They need room to explore and roam around. Make sure to leave some food and some fresh clean water for your cat while you’re gone. You can place the litter box in the bathroom, but leave the door open for easy access.
Why Does My Cat Cry In The Bathroom?
This could be because your cat is injured in some way or is facing some internal problem and finds the bathroom a secluded and safe place to cry in. you should take your cat to the vet very soon.
Why Does My Cat Sit Near My Feat When Inside The Bathroom?
Your cat sits near your feet when you are in the bathroom because it is a protective instinct for them. It tells you that it will keep you safe while you can be relaxed.
Why Does My Cat Want My Bathroom Door Open?
Cat’s do not understand the concept of privacy and so they want the doors open. They are concerned about your safety and also it is a territorial animal so the closed doors cut it off from its free space.
Final Words
Well, as I said earlier, there are no set answers as to why cats insist on waiting outside the bathroom door. But again, the human mind is just as curious as to the cat.
So now we know why your cat sits outside the bathroom and so you can decide how you can prevent it if not comfortable.
Your cat loves you and will not cause any harm to you.
Though there are many ways in which you could stop your cat from invading your privacy.
Talk to your vet if you observe an injury or another problem.
For more queries ask us in the comment section.
