my cat's awful poo habit!

Hi everyone!

I have a 6-month old American shorthair cat. He's absolutely great in every respect.... except that every now and then, he takes out the poo out of his litterbox and plays with it! He has tons of little toys, so I don't see why he would need to do that. It's possible that he does it when he doesn't get the attention that he wants; but it's not like he gets no attention: he gets plenty! Perhaps too much. Maybe he's just spoiled? I scoop out his litterbox every day, so the reason isn't that it's too dirty.

The main question is of course: How do I get him to stop doing that? Any advice?

Hmmm, I don't know why he'd be doing this.... seems really icky, haha I believe I've seen supplements sold for pets that makes their waste unattractive to them - mostly marketed to keep pets from eating their own waste, but it may work for your situation too... I'll see if I can find a link to such a thing

Ok, here's one thing I found in Fosters and Smith that can be used on Cats... they have another thing call "Dis-taste" but it says for dogs only...

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...=613&catid=383

Maybe something like that will keep him from playing with his poo as well

It is really icky! Luckily, he doesn't do it all the time... But whenever he does, it's really upsetting.

I didn't know they sold such products. I'm going to start looking around and see what I find. I live in China, and I doubt they sell such specialized products here, though. Maybe next time I travel, I'll grab some next time I travel.

Thanks, Buzby.

With some luck, it will make his poop smell unattractively to him. It's not a bad idea. Thanks again!

Originally Posted by squidink

Hi everyone!

I have a 6-month old American shorthair cat. He's absolutely great in every respect.... except that every now and then, he takes out the poo out of his litterbox and plays with it! He has tons of little toys, so I don't see why he would need to do that. It's possible that he does it when he doesn't get the attention that he wants; but it's not like he gets no attention: he gets plenty! Perhaps too much. Maybe he's just spoiled? I scoop out his litterbox every day, so the reason isn't that it's too dirty.

The main question is of course: How do I get him to stop doing that? Any advice?

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Cats frequently don't like the location of the litterbox when they poo-play. Most likely, however, it needs to be cleaned. All kitten "bizarre behaviors" are telling you something. When she plays with poo, something is up (should be cleaned) with the litterbox.

I agree that it's probably a way to communicate.

But I scoop up his litterbox once or twice a day. It's the first thing I do in the morning and I often do it again in the afternoon (hoping to avoid an unpleasant surprise). I change the sand every few days. I don't think other litterboxes are much cleaner than this one.

It didn't cross my mind that he might not like the place where the litterbox is... Maybe I should try to change the position and see what happens.

My feeling is that it's probably more about asking for attention from my wife and I. It often happens when we go out and leave him alone at the house. (We're considering getting another kitty to keep him company whenever we leave the house for some hours).

Take for example this morning. I scooped out the litterbox yesterday (I can't remember if once or twice, but at least once). By the time I got up this morning (a little bit late, since I'm on vacation), he had already taken out two little darlings. I told him that it's unacceptable!

Originally Posted by squidink

I agree that it's probably a way to communicate.

But I scoop up his litterbox once or twice a day. It's the first thing I do in the morning and I often do it again in the afternoon (hoping to avoid an unpleasant surprise). I change the sand every few days. I don't think other litterboxes are much cleaner than this one.

It didn't cross my mind that he might not like the place where the litterbox is... Maybe I should try to change the position and see what happens.

My feeling is that it's probably more about asking for attention from my wife and I. It often happens when we go out and leave him alone at the house. (We're considering getting another kitty to keep him company whenever we leave the house for some hours).

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It sounds like you're a very conscientious cat owner who cares a great deal about your cat's livelihood and well-being. That's great!

However, I think it still holds true: if the cat plays with the feces it's still a message, telling you she doesn't like SOMEthing about the litter box. It could be a number of variables: the BRAND of litter, the location of the litter box, the level of the litter, is it a closed litterbox? Mabye she likes an open litter container? To what does the litterbox juxtapose? For example, if it's near her water, she might not like that. Play with those variables (different litter brand, litterbox locations, levels of litter in the box, type of litter box) and I'm sure she'll stop the poo-play. Remember cats do not have messy dispositions and also are VERY picky . They don't "enjoy" the poo-play and it most assuredly is a message telling you to help her out with something.

About the "yearning for play" theory. That could have an impact, but if a cat seeks affection, it won't (most likely) do things other than purring, meowing and constantly being around you. The poo-play doesn't have a correlation with spending enough time with the cat, but rather, is her conveying dissatisfaction with one of those variables I mentioned. The time you need to spend with your cat, however, is a different issue with a different set of "need" cat body langauge!

Originally Posted by squidink

Take for example this morning. I scooped out the litterbox yesterday (I can't remember if once or twice, but at least once). By the time I got up this morning (a little bit late, since I'm on vacation), he had already taken out two little darlings. I told him that it's unacceptable!

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Right, so that's great "feedback" (you don't need to cry your eyes out , poo feedback still has a lot of helpful meaning! ) It's become very clear and obvious that the feces in the litterbox does not bother the cat. Some other variable (the litterbox location, the litter brand, the type of smell from the litter, the level of litter in the box -- does it have too much, too little litter, etc.) must be changed and it's still trying to communicate that. A bit of a guessing game, but scolding the cat for simply telling you something is like killing the weatherman when it rains, cats and weathermen just report what goes on!