Innapropriate litterbox behavior

Warning - this is a little gross, but I am very concerned about my kitty. She is five years old and recently began acting very strangely with her litter box. Over the past few weeks I have observed her licking her litter mat and on a few occassions I saw her laying in her litter box. This morning was the last straw, though. I actually saw her eating her "breakfast" out of the litter box.

I have another male cat who has a tendency to act aggressively towards her on occassion. She used to spend a lot of time lounging in a large closet, which I think was her territory. I started locking it a few weeks ago because she began scratching my shoes, but I opened it about a week ago, after I saw how strangely she was behaving. This apparently has not corrected the situation.

Does anyone have any idea what's going on?

No idea what's going on but have you tried calling your vet? My only thought is that maybe she's stressed out. You could try a Feliaway which mimics the happy smell cats mark their teratory with. It's supposed to calm them down and make them feel more secure.

Yeah, she sounds stressed to me too. I did call my vet, but am awaiting a response. Thought I would see if anyone else out there had dealt with a similar problem... Feliaway sounds like it could be a good idea.

Just know that it's a little pricy and doesn't always work. My Frankie has had problems w/ peeing in her box so I tried the diffuser... she peed on the wall right in front of it.

Of course, thats not the same as lying in and eating out of the litter box. Yuck! I wish I had more answers for you but hopefully your vet has some ideas.

Yeah, I just spoke to him - he thinks it may be a form of anemia, so I'm going to bring her in. I'll be sure to have her teeth brushed while she's there!

Huh... well, be sure to come back and let us know shes doing after her vet visit.

I hope the vet visit goes well!

Whenever I see Feliway Comfort Zone mentioned, I feel an obligation to suggest valleyvet.com... less than half the price you'd pay in a pet store...