Does your cat play in the litter box?

hermoine

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Tonite my kitten has started something I am not sure how to handle. He plays in the litter box and gets solid clumps out and plays with them. Has anyone ever had this problem? If I do anything to keep him out, I am afraid he will then quit using the litter box. I have never had a cat do this.

Also, he is being very adept at scaling the gate to the rest of the house, can I move his litter box beyond the gate away from the dogs part of the house? I am fighting a loosing battle keeping the little dog out of it. How do you recommend that it be done? It will almost certainly have to be done in one move as there is no way to keep the dogs out anywhere else in this part of the house.
Please help

TIA
 

denice

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The kitten will outgrow this phase, you will only have to live with this for a short time. The dog unfortunately may always be fascinated with the litter box. One of my cats would even sleep in the litter box when he was really small.
 

dawnofsierra

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Serenity has been playing in her litter box since she was a baby! She has a blast rolling and writhing, spinning and kicking, making sure to kick out as much litter as possible
When I realized what a fun game this is, I got her a litter box (no litter) all her own, and she enjoys this one, too.

A funny thing..when we visited family over the Holidays, we learned not only does she play in her box, she plays in everyone else's, too!
"Mine, all mine", she says! I told her it's impolite to roll in other people's litter box
 

furry4fury

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Originally Posted by DawnofSierra

Serenity has been playing in her litter box since she was a baby! She has a blast rolling and writhing, spinning and kicking, making sure to kick out as much litter as possible
When I realized what a fun game this is, I got her a litter box (no litter) all her own, and she enjoys this one, too.

A funny thing..when we visited family over the Holidays, we learned not only does she play in her box, she plays in everyone else's, too!
"Mine, all mine", she says! I told her it's impolite to roll in other people's litter box
That is too funny!!!!
 

pekoe & nigel

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My two 6 month old kittens do the same thing. I suspect it's a hangup from when they were at the Humane Society and there were 5 kittens in a tiny cage which forced some of them to sleep in the litter box. My mom got a kitten from the same cage and he shows the same affinity for the litter box as well. I guess they formed an unusually intimate relationship with the litter at that point and haven't quite given it up yet, though thankfully I notice it less often the older they get.
I don't know what to do to stop them (after all, you don't want to discourage them from using their box) but at least I've been told that they're likely to grow out of their little habit.
 

ldg

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They do grow out of the habit. *phew*

Flowerbelle used to play in the litterbox. Then we got tall sided litterboxes, and it was a LOT less mess! She did grow out of it - but every once in a while, when she's running around freaking herself out, she'll run into one of the litter boxes, do a couple of 180s while squeaking to herself, and bolt out of there.


We use covered litterboxes now, and with the mat down in front of them, there's almost no mess.


You can consider getting a rubber maid storage box to use as a litter box. The kitties can get in there to use it, the sides are tall so litter doesn't get out, and the dog won't be able to get in.

Laurie
 

yayi

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Go is so playful I am not surprised that the litterbox is one of his toys. But his interest for it has decreased lately so I am sure he will stop doing it soon.

My shih'tzu Jello used to be fascinated with the boxes seeing all his housemates visit them everyday. You probably know that dogs want to please their humans. Jello is no exception. I just said NO and that was the end of it.
 
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hermoine

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I posted a question on my kitten awhile back but forgot to check in and see your answers.
I tried to get it by search but all I get are my old posts.

My little hellion pulls stuff out of the litter box and plays with it. Of course, this makes a mess all over the floor with litter that is almost impossible to get up.

Any one ever had this problem? Any suggestions. I am trying to keep it cleaned.

TIA
 

strange_wings

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I hate it when kittens do that.
more so when there's plenty of good toys sitting nearby. Aside from keeping the box clean, I'm not sure what to tell you. Maybe get a box with higher sides? or a higher up opening, so it's harder for the kitten to get pieces out. Top entry even. Other than that just hope your kitten gets bored with it and finds something better to play with.
 
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hermoine

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Thanks for finding my thread and telling me how to find them in the future.

Now, can someone combine both of these for me? I would appreciate it.
 

x-ta-z

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Singa always took the pellets and played with them until she got bored.

Soleil (we got her last Sunday) once took her mouse into the litterbox to keep her company while doing her business
Silly thing!
 

cheylink

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Originally Posted by x-ta-Z

Singa always took the pellets and played with them until she got bored.

Soleil (we got her last Sunday) once took her mouse into the litterbox to keep her company while doing her business
Silly thing!
Thats funny! I have found Maia's mouse in her food bowl several times
!
 

persi & alley

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Originally Posted by Hermoine

Tonite my kitten has started something I am not sure how to handle. He plays in the litter box and gets solid clumps out and plays with them. Has anyone ever had this problem? If I do anything to keep him out, I am afraid he will then quit using the litter box. I have never had a cat do this.

Also, he is being very adept at scaling the gate to the rest of the house, can I move his litter box beyond the gate away from the dogs part of the house? I am fighting a loosing battle keeping the little dog out of it. How do you recommend that it be done? It will almost certainly have to be done in one move as there is no way to keep the dogs out anywhere else in this part of the house.
Please help

TIA
Not exactly but my two cats use one large box and bury at different levels! Persi always just goes in and does his stuff but Alley goes in and makes a major Hollywood Production out of it. Whenever I clean their litter box I can tell who has actually done what. This is why I am able to use the same litter box, because of knowing who is doing what and keep tract of any problems. But the problem is that Alley wants to bury everything on the exact bottom and will dig to get there and then fling sand everywhere making sure everything is covered up good. Two cats with two different backgrounds, go figure.
 

furry4fury

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Originally Posted by Persi

..... makes a major Hollywood Production out of it. Whenever I clean their litter box I can tell who has actually done what. This is why I am able to use the same litter box, because of knowing who is doing what and keep tract of any problems. But the problem is that Alley wants to bury everything on the exact bottom and will dig to get there and then fling sand everywhere making sure everything is covered up good. .....
Funny Beard is like that too....we always know when he's in the box....scratching and digging and flinging the litter from here to China...
but not only that when he's done....he scratches the side of the box, the wall and anything else that is near in an attempt to cover it up....I wonder if to him it really smells that bad
 

biancaboo

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Our fur child does this, she loves playing in it right when we refill it. It sounds weird but we have a long old dirt/ gravel drive the old litter is great for filling in holes . But besides that she rolls around in it too, we thinks she thinks it's and or is soft and feels good like sand in-between her toes. Maybe she pretends she is on the beach? haha Her favorite thing for her to do is dig in it and make a hole in the middle and sit there and meow like we missed a spot. 

This photo kinda reminds me of what she attempts to do, except with kitty litter. She has us trained!
 
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