playing in litter

help! nala is six months old and i have had her for about 3 weeks now. she is a very good girl, very intelligent, and eager to please. she is perfect except for one little problem. she is playing in her litter box and throwing the litter, and the contents of the litter everywhere, and then playing with it once it is outside the litter box.
I clean the litter everyday, she has plenty of toys. I am not sure what is wrong or what I can do to stop her from doing this.

Don't worry, my adult ex-stray Ferdy does that. Every time the litter tray is refilled, in he goes and kicks it ALL over the kitchen floor.

Being a big, strong cat it goes for miles across the whole basement.

I'd suggest unless there is some other strange behaviour symtpom also, that it is just high spirits.

I'm sure it is a pain to clean up the messes all the time. Get a box with a rim that helps keep the litter in and maybe some toys that she has to pull a toy out of some thing. Maybe ping pong balls in a box with holes for batting them. She may just want more challenging toys that's all!!

Can you consider a covered litterbox? At least it would reduce the mess! We can't fit a covered litterbox in the space it goes - so like Teresa just suggested for you, we bought a litter box that has an extra rim that clips on, raising the sides of the box by about 2 - 3 inches. This solved our problem!

Good luck!

Another trick is instead of using a commercial Litter Box, go and get a clear plastic storage container. Put the litter in, and cut a large hole in the top. Kitty can dig all the way to China and never get litter or other unmentionables all over the floor.

You can also just get a big empty cardboard box, place the litterpan inside, cut a hole in the side for kitty to go in and out of and then just keep the box as clean as possible. It is normal for a kitty to play in the litterbox- I think they like the noise....

here is a link with some really good litter containment furniture if you want to go that route as well:

Litter containment

i know this is going to sound crazy but I have the same problem and I used a cereal box to make a "swinging door" for the entrance of my covered litter box...
just cut a part of it to size and tape it on with some strong tape and you have a new improved "litter-blocker"!!!

the kitties don't mind and it helps with smells too



charlottiek, Ninikitty, Lila

thank you so much for all your replies, ya'lls ideas are great, however i did not express my problem correctly. it is not the litter she is playing with. unfortunately it is her stool. she is picking it up out of the litter and batting it around the floor. Help!!! such a disguisting problem for such a sweet little cat.

Well in that case you might want to invest in a littermaid. It will automatically sweep away the waste minutes after the cat uses the box. For a solo cat family it is ideal. The only other thing to do is to keep your litterbox scooped all the time. She will grow out of this behavior. Leave catnip toys near her box and other things to distract her as well.

A busy kitty playground that I use for my little one, is really easy to put together, and not expensive at all.

Buy a large flat of eggs (the 5 dozen variety)
Buy several different types of cat balls- spongy or the ones that have bars or holes in them- ping-pong balls work too.

Take the cardboard flat the eggs came in, lay it on the floor and place balls at various points in the slots where the eggs would be. Sprinkle a little bit of dry catnip over the area, and introduce the kitty to this new playground. They love to try and lift the balls up with thier paws and roll them from section to section. It keeps them entertained for hours and it is hysterical to watch them try and get the balls to the outside of the flat so they can roll them along the floor........ Good luck!