Like I didn't have anything better to do today...

It seems that the kitties have decided I look bored and need more housework to do! So, they have taken to making messes at night that I cannot possibly avoid cleaning up the next morning...

Wednesday morning I walked into their "bedroom" and found little bits of soiled litter on the floor around the box, as well as a piece of poo on the rug outside the box, plus, a bit of poo smeared on the wall...just for good measure! (I'm thinking somebody stepped in it then couldn't figure out how to get it covered up properly!)

Then this morning, I came to their room and found all three kittens standing next to the litter box, looking confused. It was tipped up on one end, with half the litter and poo dumped on the floor, and half still in the box. How they did this is a bit more of a puzzle to me. I'm guessing that they had piled most of the litter on one end of the box in the night, then Maggie (who is infamous for spending 10 minutes unsuccessfully trying to cover her poo with air) probably stood on the edge trying to cover and tipped the whole thing over. But I supposed I'll never really know, will I? All I know is that since I spent the day vaccuuming the whole house within an inch of its life, the little stinkers had better keep their room clean tonight, or I'm going to pull out my hair!

Kittens and litter boxes are so much fun. The litter dumped out all over the floor sounds like one of those things that, while maddening at the time, will give you a good chuckle any time you think about it in the future. For example, my last kitten seemed to think that if she was standing in the litter she was OK, even if her butt was hanging over the side. Not fun at the time, but I've got a big grin just thinking about it now. I would have loved to see the look on your kittens as they were standing around the litterbox wondering what had happened. It sounds precious.

Originally Posted by Cocoa Cream

I'm guessing that they had piled most of the litter on one end of the box in the night, then Maggie (who is infamous for spending 10 minutes unsuccessfully trying to cover her poo with air) probably stood on the edge trying to cover and tipped the whole thing over.

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Sorry, but the part about Maggie covering her poo with air cracked me up. One of my cats tends to do that. Its amazing how much we love them and what we put up with.

Originally Posted by LovesMyCats

Sorry, but the part about Maggie covering her poo with air cracked me up. One of my cats tends to do that. Its amazing how much we love them and what we put up with.

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That's sort of what Blossom does. Her litter box is in the bath tub & she will paw at air & the sides of the bath.

What you describe sounds so cute. I can only imagine.

Well, thankfully, no big litter messes this morning. I have considered the storage container method, but I just bought 2 nice high-sided litter boxes, and they are working pretty well. They're the kind that have lower sides on one end, then curve up higher on the other. I had to get those because Molly has tendency not to squat low enough when she pees, and she was spraying the walls when using the regular size boxes. The one they tipped over has high sides all around...it's supposed to be a covered box, but I've never used the cover. I think it is easier to tip for some reason, so I switched it out for one of the newer boxes. Oh, the trouble we go to for our furbabies!

Originally Posted by Cocoa Cream

Well, thankfully, no big litter messes this morning. I have considered the storage container method, but I just bought 2 nice high-sided litter boxes, and they are working pretty well. They're the kind that have lower sides on one end, then curve up higher on the other. I had to get those because Molly has tendency not to squat low enough when she pees, and she was spraying the walls when using the regular size boxes. The one they tipped over has high sides all around...it's supposed to be a covered box, but I've never used the cover. I think it is easier to tip for some reason, so I switched it out for one of the newer boxes. Oh, the trouble we go to for our furbabies!

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I'm curious how much litter you keep in the box at one time. I have two of the extra large covered litter boxes (which sound like what you're describing. Typically, each one has about 20 lbs of litter in it at any time. I like to keep it pretty full so that the cats can't dig all the way down to the plastic bottom to pee, which makes more of a mess. With that amount of litter, I don't think it's possible for any of my cats, even my 19 lb kitty Tiny, to tip over the box.

Oh, goodness, no...I can't possibly afford to keep that much litter in the boxes! I change out the litter completely ever week or two, and I have 3 boxes, so that would be 60lbs. of litter every time I refill. I'm just not on that kind of budget... I keep the litter 2-3 inches deep, and that is good enough for me and my babies. Plus, if I filled them much fuller, we'd have the whole problem with Molly peeing over the edges all over again! It's such a delicate balance, you see!