Cat peeing on litter catching mat

by Anonymous

I got a kitten a few weeks ago. He is about three months now. When he uses his own litter box he is totally fine, everything normal.

On my older cat's litter box, there is a litter catching mat, to keep litter from being tracked everywhere. My older cat has never had a problem with this before.

When the kitten uses the older cat's litter box, however, he goes on the mat instead of in the box. Today I put him in the box a few times and observed him, and he kept climbing out of the box and squatting over the mat instead.

I managed to catch him in time and put him in the box while he peed this time, but he still climbed on to the mat to scratch and try to "cover."

I don't understand why he thinks the mat is where he should go, as the litter box and type of litter are the exact same as the ones that are in his room.

Has anyone else experienced this before? Any tips for how to break this habit before it becomes ingrained?