New kitten questions... poopy paws and strange behaviors

My boyfriend and I adopted Buzz last May (we think he was born in March) and he has been a great pet... all in all. I just had some questions about some of his more gross/weird behaviors.

First and most pressing, he's the messiest cat I have ever had (and I have had a few). First of all he doesn't clean his paws when he comes out of the litter box (despite buying a mat or changing the texture of the litter or buying him a covered box) so he therefore ends up tracking litter EVERYWHERE (the carpet, the counters, the bathtub, the bathroom... I feel i need to disinfect and vaccum every square inch of my apartment all the time). How can I get him to have clearner less littered paws?

Secondly, dealing with litter box issues, he often steps in his own poop therefore getting litter and poop lodged in his paws. I clean his litter box more then once a day and I have tried changing the litter. This has gotten to be a problem in that I think i'm developing a complex (haha see above) about poop and litter box yuck in my carpets. That and he hates having me clean the poop out of his paws (it is often times so lodged and still fresh in his paws that wipes don't do the trick and he certainly hates getting his feet wet in the sink). PLEASE HELP I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO ABOUT THIS

Lastly and quickly I wanted to know if anyone had a cat that displayed these behaviors... Buzz has some funny quirks such as I often enter a room to find him laying on his back, his legs spread eagle and paws up by his face with a crazy look in his eyes. (My boyfriend and I call him the flasher). Is this normal?

Sorry this is so long... i hope someone can answer some of my kitten questions

When we first got Keeba she would pounce into her litter box when she had to go - resulting in stepping in poop that she had previously done. She would track it all over the place to the point that we had to wash her paws each time she stepped out the litter box. We have the booda dome with steps and we got her used to the litter box when the lid was off because we weren't sure if she would catch on to the steps just yet. Well, everytime she pooped she wouldn't cover it - hence having her step in it so easily. So next time she went in the litter box, I covered her poop with my hands while she watched. Well, she caught on and ever since she has covered her own poop! Afterwards we put the lid back on the booda dome, so she has to step on the stairs to get into her litter box. After doing this we have noticed no mess at all - she never tracks into her own poop and she's covering it very well!

I think when they are young they are just learning what and how to do things. Try showing him or just try to be a little patient. We just picked up some new kinds of wipes they have out in case your cat gets poop on their fur - you can just wipe it like a baby!

Well, I hope that has helped you a little bit. Just remember he is young and patience is a virtue!