Is he telling me he wants a new litter box?

jcat

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Here's the background. Jamie is an 8-year-old castrated male whom we've had since he was 10 weeks old. With the exception of emptying his litter box of litter he didn't like, and then using the box without it, he's always had extremely good litter box habits, to the point of also using it when he has to vomit.

He has a jumbo covered litter box, minus the flap, with very fine-grained clumping litter that he really likes. No changes have been made for several years. The box is neither scratched nor smells of urine. It was cleaned thoroughly on Friday, with steam as always, and scooped twice a day on Saturday and Sunday.

We awoke to crashing, splintering sounds last night, and when I investigated, Jamie (a very large cat) was in the process of destroying the cover to his box. I asked him what he was doing, but he ignored me, and proceeded to scratch about half the litter out in front of the box. He then turned around and defecated on the pile of litter.


I cleaned up the mess, taped the cracks in the top of litter box from the inside so that he wouldn't get cut or scratched, replaced the cover, and went back to bed. When I got up this morning, he'd urinated in the box in his normal fashion.

I ordered another jumbo-sized covered box today, as he doesn't like the uncovered ones, and tends to stand while urinating.

Does anybody have any ideas about what that could all have been about? It was very hot yesterday, and he was out of sorts all day. I'm wondering if it was just a temper tantrum. He's not constipated, or anything like that, and seems perfectly normal today. I have a vet's appointment for a regular check-up next week.

I'm stumped, though.
 

twstychik

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COuld be he just wanted a new box. Frankie has had issues with her box for years but recently told me she wanted a new one. We've resolved her out of box issues so I was shocked when she peed on the kitchen floor after I had JUST cleaned her box. Like, dumped out, scrubbed down, fresh litter clean. I went out and bought a new box and she's been fine since.
 

momofmany

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Could there have been a bug that got in the box and he didn't like it? The one thing that sets my cats in a wild rampage consistently is bugs. Other than that, I have no idea - have not seen that one before!
 

katachtig

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Originally Posted by Momofmany

Could there have been a bug that got in the box and he didn't like it? The one thing that sets my cats in a wild rampage consistently is bugs. Other than that, I have no idea - have not seen that one before!
This has my vote - it was probably a bug long gone. Mine are most destructive when they are chasing something.
 
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jcat

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I hadn't thought about a bug. I can see him destroying the box while trying to get a bug, but that doesn't seem to account for making a pile on the scratched out litter.

DH thinks maybe he decided it was too hot in the box?
 

jellybella

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Originally Posted by Momofmany

Could there have been a bug that got in the box and he didn't like it? The one thing that sets my cats in a wild rampage consistently is bugs. Other than that, I have no idea - have not seen that one before!
I was thinking this too, Stanley goes bonkers when there's a bug to chase...
 

stampit3d

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Is the box plenty TALL enough for him???
We just got a year old kitten from our son and his covered litter box came with him. Our son told us that the cat would`nt cover his poops...just let them lay on top of the litter. I don`t think he had realized how much the kitten had grown since he bought that box!....because when we introduced him to the BIG LITTER BOX that the other 2 cats use, he covers it ever time. (Actually, I don`t use a reg cat litter box, but always buy one of those BIG ,lidded, plastic, storage containers . They are so much bigger than any litter box I`ve even seen for sale....and all 3 of our cats use the same box. There is about 18" of space from the bottom to the top (the box it`self is about 16 x 23 bottom surface)....just cut a kitty sized hole in one side, up about 3-4 inches from the bottom. If you want the lid to be more easily removed (they can seal pretty tight) you could file it down a bit where the closures are.
I hope this helps!
Linda
 
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jcat

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Originally Posted by stampit3d

Is the box plenty TALL enough for him???
We just got a year old kitten from our son and his covered litter box came with him. Our son told us that the cat would`nt cover his poops...just let them lay on top of the litter. I don`t think he had realized how much the kitten had grown since he bought that box!....because when we introduced him to the BIG LITTER BOX that the other 2 cats use, he covers it ever time. (Actually, I don`t use a reg cat litter box, but always buy one of those BIG ,lidded, plastic, storage containers . They are so much bigger than any litter box I`ve even seen for sale....and all 3 of our cats use the same box. There is about 18" of space from the bottom to the top (the box it`self is about 16 x 23 bottom surface)....just cut a kitty sized hole in one side, up about 3-4 inches from the bottom. If you want the lid to be more easily removed (they can seal pretty tight) you could file it down a bit where the closures are.
I hope this helps!
Linda
I actually think it's big enough for one <14 lb. cat: 56 cm (22 inches) wide, 70 cm (27.5 inches) long, and 46 cm (18.11 inches) high. Jamie is a very long cat, which is why I've always gotten litter boxes advertised for "multiple cats"; he also doesn't fit into regular-sized cat carriers.

He's using it normally now, so maybe that was just a one-time occurrence? The new one should be delivered Thursday or Friday. In the meantime, I've put a fan in the upstairs hallway, where the box is, just in case hubby is right about it being too hot in the enclosed box.
 
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