It’s all about the cat’s drive to “figure us out.” After all, this whole room is our litter box. And that’s not the end of the crazy things we do in there.
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If we don’t let our cats share some of our bathroom time, we are missing out on a wonderful opportunity for discussion and interaction. We tend to do certain things at certain times, which appeals to the cat’s love of predictable routine. What we do there mirrors what cats do; only differently.
My Maine Coon mix, Bubby, loved to dash into the bathroom when it was time for my face washing ritual. He would sniff the products, watch me intently, and wait for his hug, after.
The hug was a draw, no question. But I could see the question on his face, Why don’t you just use your paw? Wouldn’t that be easier?
Cats find that we do all sorts of things in the bathroom that are very different from the way they handle such tasks. The shower either frightens or perplexes them, but either way it’s based on the way we take off our “fur” and then get under a stream of water. No cat would do that! So it’s a form of cat anthropology for them to watch us do it.
Shaving, putting on makeup, doing our hair (as long as the blow dryer doesn’t come out,) and so many other bodily rituals that take place in the bathroom are another form of Cat TV, only this time, it’s the Learning Channel. Here we see the Late-for-Work Human, trying to get that back of the neck fur just right. We’ve all been there, ladies and gentlemen.
Plus there’s all the interesting objects we use, placed on a slick surface like the bathroom vanity, just begging to be played with. Hair accessories are always a draw, but so are the little caps to the bottles, small pieces of jewelry, and cotton balls and swabs. We get to play with these, so why can’t our cat?
This is also a small, intimate room, where we do small, intimate things. Cats love small, intimate things. Mr. Bond loves luring me into the bathroom, so I can shut the door, scoop him up, and look at ourselves in the mirror while I say sweet, silly, endearments he would never want others to hear him enjoying. This is special time for the two of us which only takes place with the privacy and tools we have in the bathroom.
Of course, some things are private, and cats are not allowed. Some things aren’t fun, like the blow dryer or electric shaver. And sometimes cats shouldn’t be in the way, like when we are coloring our hair or using other preparations cats shouldn’t get their paws on.
But if we have been looking for more ways to connect with our cats, we should stop seeing the cat in the bathroom as a “nuisance.” Blocking out a little more time in there, and spending it explaining ourselves to the cat, will go a long way towards our cat relationship.
We want to build trust and spend fun times with our cat.
What better place than our smallest, coziest, busiest part of the house?
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There’s more ways to understand our cat with The Way of Cats than the article you are reading now. See all of my posts on WHY CATS DO THAT.
I really enjoyed this – because you’re so right. While my cat Sierra is kind of ambiguous about my bathroom time my last two cats loved bathroom it
I’m also happy to have found such an interesting cat related blog – I’m bringing Sierra with me across the country (and leaving my dogs behind with my husband) – while the main reason is that she is diabetic and I’m the only one who can give her her shots – I’ve become comforted by the fact that she will be with me on my journey.
In the short – great blog
.-= Leslie´s last blog ..Faith =-.
Great Post Pammy, That is all so true. Mine don’t come in the bathroom very often with me, but they are outside most of the time. But they do like to be with me whenever they are inside just seeing what I am doing. And they do love hugs. How is that kitten doing?? Time for an update
.-= Margaret Elmendorf´s last blog ..More about MewMew =-.
Killsy and Byron followed me into the bathroom as kittens, but kittens tend to follow you everywhere anyway. But the novelty wore off, and they stopped at around 4 months of age.
DJ, at 6 months, still not only has to come into the bathroom every time, he has stick his head in the bowl when I pee, or climb into my downed pants when I poop. And then he goes crazy for pets–if I only pet with one hand, he’ll mash his forehead into the other, purring all the time. He also has to supervise every litter box cleaning, especially the part where the kitty doodie gets flushed. Where does it go?!
I adopted DJ a month later than the other kittens, who had an “open bathroom door” policy from 7 weeks of age. DJ spent that extra time in a “normal” household, where you close the door when doing one’s business. So I guess that’s where his fascination comes from. The only time he runs from the bathroom when I’m in it is when I turn on the shower. Because who wants to be in a room with some crazy two-legs who actually wants to go under water?
Yes, even our bathroom fans opt out when it’s water-out-of-the-wall time. In the heat of summer, RJ has been hanging out under the tub. I dashed in one morning to take my shower, and when I pulled back the curtain, he was sitting in the center of the room with his eyes the size of dinner plates. “The… horror!”
My cat always follows me into the bathroom. Even funnier is that if she sees I’m exhausted while on the toilet, she always hops on my knees & lets me lay my head on her. I don’t really get why she does this, but she does.
Hahah, one loves bathtime-only with my father, the other likes being in there with us only when the door is open, and another hates it as bad unbearable smells occasionally come xD And another just loves sitting in our pants or on our bare laps until the roll of paper is drawn…
I rather enjoy having my kitty follow me to the bathroom, it leaves anything on your mind open for discussion with your furry friend.And the way they smell the mirror when they discover themselves in it is pricrless.She has to smell all my make up and hair product but god forbid you turn on the hair dryer without warning her QMG she does one of those moves where she curls her body up and hops sideways while hissing at it or running for dear life until it’s safe to come back in.Today she discovered what was behind the shower curtain,so now there are furballs in my shower.The way I see it is the bathroom is community property since that’s wher her litter box is too.
Both my cats like to accompany me when I’m bathing – but the youngest one (not quite a year old) actually waits until there’s only an inch or so of water in the tube when I’m finished, then jumps in the tub and gambols around until all the water runs out. When I shower she gets between the shower curtain and the semi-transparent plastic liner, sitting on the side of the tub and squeaking madly as she watches me washing. The older one watches quizzically from the safety of the bathmat on the floor.
Great blog and so true. we have 8 cats and every morning, when I step from the shower, most come running in to check things out or get a skritch under the next. I suspect, however, the primary purpose is to get me to “get a move on cause we want our breakfast NOW!”
that is so funny my 2 cats will come running to the bathroom when they hear me get in the shower in the morning and they will both stick their heads over the side of the tub and watch me but for some reason right after i begin washing my hair they bolt out of the bathroom and go lay down next to each other on my couch and wait for me to get done.
My Baby Girl loves to be in the bathroom with me, no matter what I’m doing. And for every routine I have, she has one to match it. Brushing my teeth? She’ll sit on the back of the toilet and watch me intently. Fixing my hair? She patiently waits to re-organize all of the things that I obviously don’t put away properly (all bobby pins are immediately knocked from the sink to the floor; all hair ties are immediately swiped and hidden). Taking a bath? She’ll sit on the sink and watch, or if she’s feeling like an explorer she’ll sit on the edge of the tub and play with the water. And if, heaven forbid, I’m on the toilet with the door closed, she reaches under the door (sometimes with all four paws) and grabs at my feet. It’s her favorite game.
Big Brother never cared too terribly much for the bathroom, but occasionally they fight for control of the bathroom rug.
All three love the bathroom. Brigid is the original sink kittie, and loves to drink if I turn the tap on gently. Morrigan was first a shower kittie, now prefers the tub because she can enjoy dripping water and a little puddle to lap at – in the shower she just gazes at the sparkles on the walls. Little Olwyn, just 4 months old, has to have a boost up to the sink (or jumps from the toilet – once she did a running jump up my body and left four sets of claw marks, so now I head her off and lift her up before she gets any ideas.) Little O loves to sit between the shower curtain and liner, and then drops her mousie into the water and fishes it out – sometimes she comes tumbling in. They have all accidentally tumbled into a full tub. Even so, I think it is one of their favorite places, so long as I am in there with them. They all love to come up to me for snuggles and scritches when I am sitting doing my business.