My first thought was - maaaaan, how big is your cat? My second thought was to buy your neighbor some earplugs. Then I remembered how MY four-footed kids sound on the wooden floorboards upstairs and it honestly seems at times like there's a herd of elephants stampeding. That said, I don't think either of the rugs you've pictured are good choices. I would think a flokati rug would be just about impossible to clean (what if kitty decides to vomit there? Mine have pretty much puked on every available surface), and the second rug looks difficult to keep clean as well. I'm also envisioning how much cat fur that flokati would hold. They're gorgeous rugs, but are they practical for people with pets?

Overstock.com has a decent selection of long runners. I'd go with something more along these lines (it's less than $100) ...

I agree. A simple long runner that is easy to clean, easy to vacuum. I would go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy a piece of the runners they sell by the foot.

I was at Home Depot this weekend and just happened to notice that they sell carpet runner by the foot. I wasn't in the market for them so didn't pay attention but I did notice they had some nice patterns similar to the one posted above by auntjen. They had large rolls of them that are cut to order apparently.

Poor kitty just want to have fun running the hallway!

Thank you for the input. Unfortunately a simple rug like the one pictured above isn't sufficient padding (I've tried, even with the thickest rug pad on the market).. my cat is not big, but she's an enthusiastic racer and the acoustics in my place are just awful. Part of my hope is that the shag isn't as comfortable to run on.

Assuming cleaning is not an issue-- I have some flokati pillows and know how to clean them properly-- how about the look?

My grandmother, at one time, had large flokati rugs in two of her bedrooms. ( I had an aunt who worked overseas in the 1960s and 70s). They did not really retain their shape completely, they were slippery against the floor underneath and it was easy to get your toes tangled up in them and trip. I would think a cat would find them sort of intriguing and want to pluck at them and roll themselves up in it and things like that. She may not want to run on it, but that means she may just run down the hall alongside of it, and she may want to wrestle with it.

I love the flokati, and I have a 22 pound Maine Coon that would love it too. Have you thought about a runner made from a remnant from a carpet store. They would bind it for you and most stores have good selections.

I'm pretty sure my cat would go crazy with a flokati!

Some cats like the texture of the rugs you're suggesting to pee on, so you've been warned.

Buy a decent rug pad to go under the rug and it should be fine. I've bought several (okay, numerous) rug pads the last few years (Amazon, Ebay, etc) and my favorite place to buy is Rug Pad USA . They have an easy to use Shop By Style and Floor to help you select the correct rug pad.

Thundering paws. When my cats race through the house on the hardwood, it sounds like small buffalo. I think it's amusing and adorable, but I don't have downstairs neighbors to contend with. If your cat is indoor-only, I wouldn't want a surface that would discourage its need and joy of running through the house. I like the idea of a non-fluffy carpet with a good pad underneath. You know it will become a favorite place to throw up, so short nap is better. After you have two thicknesses, I think your neighbor is just gonna have to be thankful for small mercies.

Consider cork. Muffles sound, nude to walk on and should clear the doors. I would use a cork floating floor. Just buy a box and snap them together. Take apart when you move. A friend who lived on the top floor of a condo did this to muffle the sound from teansferring to her downstairs neighbor.

Good luck!

I think flokati would be a nightmare to keep clean, and to keep from sliding around. Cork tiles are a fantastic idea! Or maybe Flor carpet tiles, in one of the heavier, thicker pile styles?

I would never put a shag or Flokati rug in a high-traffic area. It'll get flattened, is so hard to clean since you can't vacuum them, etc. Not a practical idea, IMO.

Ellen makes some really good points. I have a backyard neighbor with a yappy dog. A few years ago we had some uncomfortable chats about her dog. Then one day her cat went missing (no connection) and she called on all the neighbors to let them know. We had a good talk about many things. She acknowledged her little dog can be annoying and I became more tolerant of the relatively few times it's outside yapping. Repetitive or patterned sounds drive me nuts. If I can identify the source, it helps me to process it and minimize its effect on me.

If your kitty is indoor-only and you're out of the house, there's really nothing you can do to prevent it from playing. And it makes me incredibly sad to think of a kitty deprived of play.

I bet something like this would work, with a rug over it. Antifatigue mats are very dense, so sound waves can't go anywhere in them. you can Google them, but here's an example

http://www.uline.com/BL_1751/Anti-Fatigue-Mats?pricode=WH421&utm_source=Bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=fatigue%20mat&utm_campaign=Facilities%20Maintenance&AdKeyword=fatigue%20mat&AdMatchtype=p&gclid=COnMwtjAlMYCFSwjfgod0PsAzQ&gclsrc=ds

I think the idea of cork sounds like a good idea and I think there's thick, snap together gym squares that might also help dampen the sound of thundering feet!

it doesn't matter how well you know someone or how well they like animals-- if a cat is keeping someone awake at night, that person has the right to be irritable!!

Haven't read all the responses, but I can tell you that my cat used to stand on the flokati for ages, doing those kneading/treading movements.
What if you put a felt pad under the runner?

Not sure if it would help with the cat noise, but i love the flokati look for your hallway. We had one for my DDs bohemian style room and it really added a lot to the room