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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhy Do Cats Come To The Bathroom With You?
"In or out?"
Cat lovers everywhere have to ask their cats this question a few times a day. And very often the door in question is the one leading to the loo.
Cats follow their people all over the place, but there seems to be a special fascination with the bathroom.
Why the prevalent interest in bathrooms among feline folk? Are cats guarding us in moments of vulnerability? Or, do they simply enjoy staring at us from the sink?
Theories abound. Confusion abounds even more.
"My cat does this all the time. If I don't let her in with me, she puts her paw under the door until she finds my foot to hold onto," one reddit commenter wrote. "Sometimes I'll put my hand down and we'll hold 'hands' through the door, she purrs like mad when we do this."
"This is painfully cute," another commenter replied.
"Cats have that toddler mentality," another wrote. "If you're doing anything behind closed doors it means you're having fun without them. They want in on it."
So, perhaps cats have a case of FOMO, and want to ensure they're doing what's cool.
Or perhaps they just want to be literally cool. Cats tend to like cool places, so one theory is that tiled rooms are appealing to the furry felines.
https://www.thedodo.com/why-do-cats-come-to-the-bathroom-with-you-1158286406.html
_________________________
My solution was just to leave the bathroom door wide open. That way, Buddhi, my Siamese, could come and go at will.
Then again, I live alone, so don't have to be concerned about privacy and modesty. LOL!
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)they don't like it at all. It's obviously a power play! Catching you at your most vulnerable.
Vincardog
(20,234 posts)Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)he would go whether I was there or not.
Vincardog
(20,234 posts)Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)Last edited Wed Sep 16, 2015, 01:27 PM - Edit history (1)
Always wished I could train my boy. What a savings in litter!
Vincardog
(20,234 posts)rid of the cat box. My cats already use the toilet, for drinking.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)Fla Dem
(23,692 posts)She will pester me until I follow her in while she does her business.
vankuria
(904 posts)He sits on the rug and waits for me to be done...he loves me too much to let me out of his sight!
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)vankuria
(904 posts)even going to the pottie, lol. He does the same with my husband.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)[url=http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons.php][img][/img][/url]
Duppers
(28,125 posts)Doors inside can never be closed, especially the bathrooms'.
Yes, she's spoiled rotten.
tabasco
(22,974 posts)I think he's worried I'm going to drown.
vankuria
(904 posts)tabasco
(22,974 posts)smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)come into the bathroom with me when I showered. Then he would stick his head through the shower curtain (to make sure I was still there?, to get his head wet?). Anyway it was so cute. When his fur dried it looked like he had a little party perm on his head.
Duppers
(28,125 posts)If I don't stop her. Then, she sits fixated on the fun she thinks I'm having, and sometimes whines until I'm out. Needless to say, this water pup LOVES her baths.
Gotta loves 'em. I still miss having kitties though. Damn allergies.
Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)so to speak.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)One of mine will squawk outside the bathroom door if it's closed. He especially doesn't want to miss water going down the drain or a toilet flushing. Pretty exciting stuff.
He also squawks loudly if I'm on the phone -- just like my kids did when they were toddlers.
Kittehs ...
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)TlalocW
(15,384 posts)Is one of those two-door dealies. First door you're at a counter and sink, and then there's a door that takes you to the toilet and bathtub. I don't let the cats in that last part, but every night when I brush my teeth, one of them comes and jumps on the sink counter and then jumps onto a small towel rack to balance herself there for pettings while I brush.
TlalocW
joeybee12
(56,177 posts)while the seat was up and I was urinating, they jump onto the edge to get a better look...and oopps...misjudged...good thing is they leanr their lesson.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)joeybee12
(56,177 posts)Thankfully it wasn't totally submersion!!!
Atman
(31,464 posts)Doesn't matter what time of day or night, or how quiet I try to be. If I'm in the bathroom she'll come join me. I think considers it a special room where I go to sit just to pet her for a few minutes. It is truly bizarre.
joeybee12
(56,177 posts)Sometimes there's not enough room for me in there!
Ms. Toad
(34,076 posts)Especially the skittish one who is very insistent that any other time humans are not to touch him. But the middle of the night he will jump down from on top of the open wall that surrounds the kitchen to run up to the bathroom to be petted.
Unless his sister is there, then he turns around and leaves.
alarimer
(16,245 posts)Whenever we head in that general direction, he is leading and meowing. He has a water fountain that he uses, but he prefers water fresh out the tap. But my cat has to be where I am ALWAYS, as well.
NV Whino
(20,886 posts)Every morning three cats parade in and out. I think they're just making sure I don't fall in before I fill the food dishes.
Then there's the bathtub used as an abattoir. If the shower door is closed, the space just in front of the tub is used.
And during the really hot days, it is the coolest place in the house, especially if I allow access to the tub, which is when the abattoir comes into play.
I call it the catroom rather than the bathroom.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)so I had a strictly 'open door' policy...
NV Whino
(20,886 posts)So they get their own area. Well, Beau, who has decided he is a house cat, does. The other two use the twelve acres of kitty box around the house.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)Fortunately, there was a space between the bathtub and the window just big enough for the litter box.
ryan_cats
(2,061 posts)What kind of cats do you have that they create a slaughterhouse in your bathtub?
NV Whino
(20,886 posts)They still think they have to provide their own food. If I'm gone overnight, I know I'm going to find the remnants of a meal in my bathroom. Nice to know they can take care of themselves.
ryan_cats
(2,061 posts)Those must gave been some mean streets.
When I adopt a cat, I take away their switchblades, cut their hair, remove their leather jackets and ween them off their crippling 'nip addiction so they become productive members of my household, indoor only.
kpete
(71,997 posts)my dog roo follows me into the bathroom & wants to SMELL my pee
I think she is checking for drugs?
peace,
kp
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)Wants to keep you healthy!
Agschmid
(28,749 posts)It's a weird thing but she refuses to cross any threshold onto tile floors this means she never is in a good portion of the house (bathrooms, mud rooms, basement) but otherwise she goes where I go.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,740 posts)They were waiting for me to get out of the shower.
Agschmid
(28,749 posts)I laughed out loud at that shot.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)The guy/girl on the toilet seems to be a bit cross-eyed. Siamese cross? Gorgeous.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,740 posts)"Gaahh! Put some clothes on!" Pixie, the one on the toilet, is indeed slightly cross-eyed (and blue-eyed) and part Siamese. She has a lot of cattitude.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)I love them.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)polly7
(20,582 posts)Duppers
(28,125 posts)Hope your camera is waterproof.
Please post more of these two.
Skittles
(153,169 posts)Furry little narcissists. But we love them.
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)any stuff happening and was quite excited when it did. I am sure if the gap was larger she would have tried to swat at it.
One of my current cats just walks back and forth in front of the doorway, as if she just happens to be passing by, back and forth.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)bettyellen
(47,209 posts)closely, so to speak.
I do love watching Sweetpea's nonchalant strolls past the bathroom. She is trying to get me to follow her into the kitchen where the food is, and not seem obvious about it.
elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)Works every time.
polly7
(20,582 posts)The power was out one night and I went to the bathroom, I never shut the door as I live alone. All of a sudden it felt like someone was stabbing multiple needles into my left butt cheek ....... I can still feel that pain. It was my cat. For no reason at all, he'd just reached up and bit the part of me he could - hard! Nooo way he gets back into the bathroom with me.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)polly7
(20,582 posts)But never with me ........ so I couldn't figure out what the heck had happened at first.
I had a friend recovering here from an open-book pelvic fracture at first flat on his back, then in a wheelchair. Hobo would stalk him and bite the part of his butt sticking out the back of the wheelchair. He has a thing about bums, I guess.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)polly7
(20,582 posts)Every time my Dad came over he'd attack and bite his feet - hard. For years, my Dad would drink his coffee with his feet up a little not touching the floor. The second he put them down he was attacked. Just him. I have a strange kitty.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)polly7
(20,582 posts)Last edited Mon Sep 28, 2015, 11:02 PM - Edit history (2)
He brought him in to me, I had no idea what was in his hands - he said 'here, found something for you'. I cried, he was so little and cute. Sooo, I spent three weeks bottle feeding him every two hours, he slept on my stomach at night - he now weighs about 20 lbs. Personality plus and seriously acts like he's king of the beasts.
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(My friend in the wheelchair on the left - playing cards - this is the reaction Hobo got from mostly everyone, he disrupted everything, but was so hilarious in the way he would stalk and destroy).
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(These are all older pictures ... he's bigger now).
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)polly7
(20,582 posts)Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,740 posts)will wait until I'm enthroned, as it were, and then sneaks up and nips my naked haunch. Not really hard, but it gets my attention. Maybe he thinks it's funny.
polly7
(20,582 posts)LOL.
I'm glad (well, sorry for you) I'm not the only one with a cat that stalks butts.
Taitertots
(7,745 posts)Even when people were not in the bathroom.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)Logical
(22,457 posts)Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)peacefreak
(2,939 posts)Decided it was a communal activity to the point where he yelled if he needed to go & I was supposed to join HIM!
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)peacefreak
(2,939 posts)Told me it was a girl. The first morning we woke up together he stretched & presented an impressive pair of man stones! When I mentioned this she said "but he sat down when he peed!"
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)polly7
(20,582 posts)Lucy sounds like quite a character. They leave us with such good memories.
MerryBlooms
(11,770 posts)When I'm outside tending the garden, I can hear our Meezer calling me clear to the back fence. :/
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)His wisdom is matched only by his ennui.
MerryBlooms
(11,770 posts)Warpy
(111,277 posts)and both kitty heads would hang over the toilet while it happened. They were fascinated by it.
If I headed for the shower, they just weren't interested and left.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)applegrove
(118,696 posts)Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)Tree-Hugger
(3,370 posts)One of mine - Amber - will join me and sit on the sink while I shower. If I am going go the bathroom, she sits on the back of the toilet or the sink and just purrs. She tends to be my shadow as it is and will follow me most places.As a kitten, she ran into the bathroom just as o stood up to flush. She landed in the bowl. Ew. Never happened again.
My other cat - Seamus Marie - follows me in whenever I go and just sits in front of me and watches me go. Sometimes, he rubs my ankles with his head. Creeper. Always purring while I go. If I happen to close the door before he gets in, he will frantically try to open the door and will stick his paws under it. My door doesn't always latch incorrectly and he can open the door at those times. He runs in all frantic as if something terrible would happen if he skipped watching me pee. He doesn't care about the shower, the toilet, or the sink so I don't get his motivation. I guess he just has a creepy bathroom fetish.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)They are an eternal and fascinating enigma. Wish I could speak Cat and get the lowdown from the source.
Tree-Hugger
(3,370 posts)Or would I?
Sometimes I wonder if they're perplexed because we don't use proper litter boxes.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)crapper on her own. I'm assuming she learned by watching!
This was back in the day of indoor/outdoor cats (a concept that has fallen out of favor in the last several decades) and this cat was just a smartie. She'd hang out all day and leave late at night and come back early in the morning.
She liked doing her business on the crapper, though, rather than outdoors in the garden!
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)A lot of homo-sapiens don't have that much brain power.
Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)who would do his business in the bathtub and then try to cover it up with a wash cloth. They're not stupid. LOL.
MADem
(135,425 posts)hifiguy
(33,688 posts)when people aren't watching.
Both Max and Butch would always follow me into the loo unless they were sound asleep. They'd just sit and stare at me, with an occasional meow for commentary.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)Rex
(65,616 posts)So the crapper has to be one of the most amazing inventions their food providers ever came up with!
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)Where'd it gooooo?
Rex
(65,616 posts)He didn't know how to flush, but would straddle the seat and do his business.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)Amazing feline balance, I guess.
Rex
(65,616 posts)one foot on each side of the seat then kind of hunch over and do his business. He was so PROUD of his discovery! Made me chuckle.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)uploaded him to YouTube!
Rex
(65,616 posts)He has no potty access. He was so proud, just thinking about it now makes me smile he is laying right here next to me. Sleeping on my tower.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)computer innards. The static electrcity attracts and holds it.
He air-blows tons of the stuff out of PCs when he has them in the shop.
Rex
(65,616 posts)He is sleeping on a huge case fan, he likes the air I guess. I clean out my PC about once a month.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)I asked my husband where the bird was since he wasn't there. Seconds later - the bird flew in.
The husband propped against the vanity with a cat at his feet. The guinea pig settled at my feet and the other cat climbed onto my shoulders. The bird rested on the shower.
My husband said he was following the cats to see where they were going in a hurry. The guinea pig always followed the cats around.
I lock the door now. Joking.
I don't lock the door. Otherwise my dogs couldn't get in. They cry and bark if they can't get in.
Children. Got to love them.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)The family that stays together...stays together!
Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)Curiosity would have gotten the better of them.
Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)was on the throne paying homage to the Gods of the Sewer. He would squint his eyes and vibrate the floor with his purring.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)Poor, put-upon kitty. He expected you to stay put until his cat nap was over!
notadmblnd
(23,720 posts)Freddie
(9,267 posts)Little paws will appear under the door and indignant meowing to follow. I have to consciously remember to shut the door when there's non-immediate-family in the house.
notadmblnd
(23,720 posts)when they are in the bathroom with you. It's more entertaining than reading the back of the toilet bowl cleaner container when sitting on the pot.
oldandhappy
(6,719 posts)I suspect she thinKs she has me trapped, smile. While I am in the shower, she lurks on the sink counter and waits for me to be finished. She really does keep track of me until I am in bed and the lights off. Then she disappears!..until about 2 or 3 AM when she is ready for a good head rub.
mythology
(9,527 posts)She was the most cowardly cat I have ever met and due to missing 6 teeth, she had to eat canned food (I can't say I blame her for not wanting to gum dry cat food). However my parents at the time had 3 dogs and 2 other cats, all of whom would steal the cowardly cat's food.
So my cat was fed in the downstairs bathroom. Which meant that when the door was shut there was always at least 2 of the other animals waiting outside to lick the food bowl. The looks of disgust and disappointment if the door was opened and a human stepped out, were amusing.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)You would have to know my cat to understand.
trueblue2007
(17,228 posts)all 5 of our cats visit me all the time.
Skittles
(153,169 posts)I have shouted that many, many times
tblue37
(65,409 posts)Stuck in one place, you chat with them, maybe even hold, pet, or play with them. They come to think of it as the communal break room, where everyone gets together to hang out.
Ligyron
(7,635 posts)Miss Kitteh knows what we use the bathroom for. She kinda has the right idea.
My previous cat would go in the sink.
could be worse, the dogs sure are.
polly7
(20,582 posts)I have a neighbour who watches my cat and dog and makes sure they're let in and out, but my cat will still use the bathtub for some reason.
I caught him one time trying to push his poo down the drain. Could be he tries to hide the evidence.