Eureka!

For several years now, my cat Cheeky has had a weakness for rugs. Especially bathroom rugs. Meaning he likes to use them instead of his litter box or the outdoors. In the summer it's not especially a problem because he's outside a lot, but when the chill hits in the fall, he disdains to set paw outside. I tell him to think of poor kitties in other countries who have to live outside all the time and forage and hunt for their food, but he's unmoved.

So I've had to keep my purple bathroom rug hanging over the tub except when I take a shower or company comes. But just recently, my mom got a new navy blue rug for the laundry room and he peed on it! She was rather put out. She'd be quite happy if Cheeky went hunting and never returned. Grumbling, she moved it to the garage step on the other side of the laundry door. Well, sometimes he goes out to the garage to sharpen his claws on the tires of the cars, climb on top of the cars, and do his prowling tiger thing. During one of these explorations he found the rug again. Oops. Loss of kitty privileges.

But this last week he really transgressed. My mom just bought two beautiful little rose colored rugs for her bathroom. She was quite pleased with her purchase and had paid a decent price for them. Up to now she's had white rugs which Cheeky apparently didn't notice. He seems to prefer color. So she was out one day this week when I happened to use her bathroom. Imagine my horror when I notice a little wet spot on one of the pink rugs! Gasp! I hurriedly threw both of them in the washing machine, praying they would get washed and dried before she returned. They did, fortunately, and I then closed her bathroom door to prevent further mishaps. But then I had to explain to her why her door was closed. Heh heh, she had a veritable hissy fit over it.

It happened again to both rugs and now she doesn't put them down. And last night I came home to see one of her white rugs on the washing machine with a big yellow spot on it. So much for the color theory.

Several days ago I decided to try an experiment. We haven't been able to find any animal product to deter cats from urinating. There are deodorizers, but that didn't work. So I started thinking of what might deter Cheeky. He doesn't like chemical odors, so I tried to think of what chemical I had that wouldn't spoil the rug at the same time. Then it hit me: hairspray! Some hairspray asphyxiates me, so surely it would work on him! I took out a can of cheap hairspray and sprayed it all over my bathroom rug and left it out. Guess what? He hasn't touched it! I'm still kind of waiting, seeing if my theory really works, but am cautiously elated. I told my mom she should do it to her rugs.

Can it be I have discovered a product that would bring joy to pet owners everywhere? Think of the potential millions I could make off this product! I just take nasty hairspray, rebottle it, and give it some apropos name like um, Pee-Away or Cat-Be-Gone or Magic Carpet Spray or...? Any other ideas? I can't believe no one else has thought of something like this!