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Peeing on the Cat Mat



 
 
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  #1  
Old July 5th 08, 03:21 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Janet
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Posts: 70
Default Peeing on the Cat Mat

Last fall I adopted my first cat. She actually appeared on our doorstep
during a torrential rainstorm. She was very, very hungry and ate a chicken
breast and three cans of tuna in about 24 hours, so I don't know how long
she had been out. After keeping her for a couple of days and trying to
discover if anyone was looking for her, I took her to the nearby cat shelter
saying that I would take her if they couldn't find her family. No one could
be found after about a week, so she came home with me. But anyway, that is
neither here nor there. G They estimate that she's about 5 yrs old. She
looks as if she's part Maine Coon, longish hair, very pretty, rather vocal.
She seems to have settled in well. She's not a lap cat and usually tries to
avoid being picked up, but she likes to come and lie down on the computer
table or sofa next to me and purr loudly. (Everything on her own terms!)

Anyway, in the last three or four months, although she continues to use her
litterbox to both pee and poop, she occasionally pees on the plastic "cat
mat" doormat thingie right outside her litterbox. It's almost as if she
poops in the box, gets out, realizes that she has to pee, and doesn't want
to bother to get back in the box. When I've taken the mat away, she has peed
on the floor right outside the box at least once or twice. This happens no
more than once a week, very likely only once every two weeks.

Any ideas? I have no experience with cats at all. Other than this, her only
flaw is that she is the Hairball Queen, and apparently one of the small
percentage of cats who is indifferent to catnip, so she won't even look at
the scratching thing I got for her. So I have to keep her front claws
clipped to protect the furniture. Luckily she tolerates this very well.


  #2  
Old July 5th 08, 05:08 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
cybercat
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Posts: 4,212
Default Peeing on the Cat Mat


"Janet" wrote

Any ideas? I have no experience with cats at all.


Some cats like two boxes, one for pee and one for poo. It's
not that much trouble for you, and since you are new to cats,
let me tell you, it never pays to have a battle of wills with them
over elimination matters. She is trying to tell you something, and
rather politely. Some just pee in the middle of your bed.

Other than this, her only
flaw is that she is the Hairball Queen, and apparently one of the small
percentage of cats who is indifferent to catnip, so she won't even look at
the scratching thing I got for her. So I have to keep her front claws
clipped to protect the furniture. Luckily she tolerates this very well.


You should clip them anyway, for her comfort. But do look into
an Alpine Scratcher. Something about them--and not the catnip,
either--really appeals. It might be the slant. Good luck!


  #3  
Old July 5th 08, 05:17 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Janet
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Posts: 70
Default Peeing on the Cat Mat


"cybercat" wrote in message
...

"Janet" wrote

Any ideas? I have no experience with cats at all.


Some cats like two boxes, one for pee and one for poo. It's
not that much trouble for you, and since you are new to cats,
let me tell you, it never pays to have a battle of wills with them
over elimination matters. She is trying to tell you something, and
rather politely. Some just pee in the middle of your bed.


If we had two, would they be next to each other, or in different parts of
the house?


  #4  
Old July 5th 08, 06:07 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
cybercat
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Posts: 4,212
Default Peeing on the Cat Mat


"Janet" wrote in message
...

"cybercat" wrote in message
...

"Janet" wrote

Any ideas? I have no experience with cats at all.


Some cats like two boxes, one for pee and one for poo. It's
not that much trouble for you, and since you are new to cats,
let me tell you, it never pays to have a battle of wills with them
over elimination matters. She is trying to tell you something, and
rather politely. Some just pee in the middle of your bed.


If we had two, would they be next to each other, or in different parts of
the house?


Since she is peeing on the mat, I would try close by--with room for her
to step out of one and into the other. If she were my cat, I would first try
placing the new box where she peed on the mat. I would be tempted to remove
the mat, as some cats "prefer to pee on fabric." (A direct quote from my
vet,
explaining his years-long effort to persuade one cat NOT to pee on his
bathroom rugs.) Then I would put the poo box a respectable distance
away. But a lot depends on your place. The message should be, THIS
is where you want to pee, find, but do it in the box.

Our tuxedo cat uses her bladder to express displeasure. (One should
never assume this until they have had the cat check for a urinary tract
infection, because that is a common cause of inappropriate peeing.)
I ran out of canned food the other night, and gave her HUMAN
canned salmon, just until I could get more canned in the morning.
(She had a little dry in her dish too.) She went in to where my
husband was working on the computer and peed on his clothes.
She has done this before when she is mad about something, and
gotten rushed off to the vet only to get a clean bill of health.

My point: when cats eliminate inappropriatedly, pee or poo,
the only thing I have found that works every single time is
to confine them for a time to a room with just their box and
food and maybe some toys and a pallet to sleep on. They
are creatures of habit, and are clean, so will not generally pee
on a floor they sleep on.

But do try the second box first, and I assume you have had her
checked for a UTI. If not, please do.


  #5  
Old July 5th 08, 06:56 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Janet
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Posts: 70
Default Peeing on the Cat Mat


"cybercat" wrote in message
...

"Janet" wrote in message
...

"cybercat" wrote in message
...

"Janet" wrote

Any ideas? I have no experience with cats at all.

Some cats like two boxes, one for pee and one for poo. It's
not that much trouble for you, and since you are new to cats,
let me tell you, it never pays to have a battle of wills with them
over elimination matters. She is trying to tell you something, and
rather politely. Some just pee in the middle of your bed.


If we had two, would they be next to each other, or in different parts of
the house?


Since she is peeing on the mat, I would try close by--with room for her
to step out of one and into the other. If she were my cat, I would first
try
placing the new box where she peed on the mat. I would be tempted to
remove
the mat, as some cats "prefer to pee on fabric." (A direct quote from my
vet,


It's not a fabric mat, it's something that is made to slip under the entrace
of the litterbox. It is plastic, with texture that is supposed to remove
litter from the cat's feet after exiting the box.

But do try the second box first, and I assume you have had her
checked for a UTI. If not, please do.


Since this is something that she does at most once every week or two, and
the rest of the time she pees in the box, I don't see any reason to think it
is a UTI.


  #6  
Old July 5th 08, 07:00 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
cybercat
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4,212
Default Peeing on the Cat Mat


"Janet" wrote:


Since this is something that she does at most once every week or two, and
the rest of the time she pees in the box, I don't see any reason to think
it is a UTI.


I missed this part. Does she tend to do it when the box needs cleaning?


  #7  
Old July 5th 08, 07:38 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Bobblespin
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Posts: 121
Default Peeing on the Cat Mat

"Janet" wrote in
:

Last fall I adopted my first cat. She actually appeared on our
doorstep during a torrential rainstorm. She was very, very hungry and
ate a chicken breast and three cans of tuna in about 24 hours, so I
don't know how long she had been out. After keeping her for a couple
of days and trying to discover if anyone was looking for her, I took
her to the nearby cat shelter saying that I would take her if they
couldn't find her family. No one could be found after about a week, so
she came home with me. But anyway, that is neither here nor there. G
They estimate that she's about 5 yrs old. She looks as if she's part
Maine Coon, longish hair, very pretty, rather vocal. She seems to have
settled in well. She's not a lap cat and usually tries to avoid being
picked up, but she likes to come and lie down on the computer table or
sofa next to me and purr loudly. (Everything on her own terms!)

Anyway, in the last three or four months, although she continues to
use her litterbox to both pee and poop, she occasionally pees on the
plastic "cat mat" doormat thingie right outside her litterbox. It's
almost as if she poops in the box, gets out, realizes that she has to
pee, and doesn't want to bother to get back in the box. When I've
taken the mat away, she has peed on the floor right outside the box at
least once or twice. This happens no more than once a week, very
likely only once every two weeks.

Any ideas? I have no experience with cats at all. Other than this, her
only flaw is that she is the Hairball Queen, and apparently one of the
small percentage of cats who is indifferent to catnip, so she won't
even look at the scratching thing I got for her. So I have to keep her
front claws clipped to protect the furniture. Luckily she tolerates
this very well.



Two ideas: I had one cat who refused to do his business in a box that
already had something in it, even if it was his own and even though we
scoop 3 times a day. Problem was solved with an additional box next to
it.
Second: is the box nice and high? I've had some of mine pee over the
edge thinking their bum was inside the litterbox. I use a storage bin
with high sides.

Bobble
  #8  
Old July 5th 08, 07:59 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Janet
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 70
Default Peeing on the Cat Mat


"cybercat" wrote in message
...

"Janet" wrote:


Since this is something that she does at most once every week or two, and
the rest of the time she pees in the box, I don't see any reason to think
it is a UTI.


I missed this part. Does she tend to do it when the box needs cleaning?


I don't know...that is a thought. I guess it depends what you mean by "needs
cleaning"! G

Maybe if I scoop more diligently...how often is typical for a one-cat box?


  #9  
Old July 5th 08, 08:29 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
cybercat
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4,212
Default Peeing on the Cat Mat


"Janet" wrote in message
...

"cybercat" wrote in message
...

"Janet" wrote:


Since this is something that she does at most once every week or two,
and the rest of the time she pees in the box, I don't see any reason to
think it is a UTI.


I missed this part. Does she tend to do it when the box needs cleaning?


I don't know...that is a thought. I guess it depends what you mean by
"needs cleaning"! G

Maybe if I scoop more diligently...how often is typical for a one-cat box?

I think you need to ask kitty! Just kidding ...

I scoop once a day and my cats are fine with it. (They each have a box.)
Others scoop every time the cat goes, but that requires a bit more attention
to kitty's potty habits for me!

For sure, not keeping the box clean enough (in kitty's opinion) can make
for very bad habits. Our tuxedo with "cattitude" was fine until I rebelled
against having to do everything my husband does not want to do, and
insisted he clean her box. He let it get really dirty, she finally had
enough,
and waited until he was IN bed, in freshly laundered linens, and peed
ON him.

They know how to get our attention. Let us know how it goes.


  #10  
Old July 5th 08, 09:33 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Janet
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 70
Default Peeing on the Cat Mat


"cybercat" wrote in message
...

"Janet" wrote in message
...

"cybercat" wrote in message
...

"Janet" wrote:


Since this is something that she does at most once every week or two,
and the rest of the time she pees in the box, I don't see any reason to
think it is a UTI.


I missed this part. Does she tend to do it when the box needs cleaning?


I don't know...that is a thought. I guess it depends what you mean by
"needs cleaning"! G

Maybe if I scoop more diligently...how often is typical for a one-cat
box?

I think you need to ask kitty! Just kidding ...

I scoop once a day and my cats are fine with it. (They each have a box.)
Others scoop every time the cat goes, but that requires a bit more
attention
to kitty's potty habits for me!

For sure, not keeping the box clean enough (in kitty's opinion) can make
for very bad habits. Our tuxedo with "cattitude" was fine until I rebelled
against having to do everything my husband does not want to do, and
insisted he clean her box. He let it get really dirty, she finally had
enough,
and waited until he was IN bed, in freshly laundered linens, and peed
ON him.

They know how to get our attention. Let us know how it goes.


I think we may have the answer. She didn't do this until I got a little lax
and started scooping less than once a day. I shall be more attentive to Miss
Kitty's needs and see what happens!


 




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