Cat Laying In His Litter

tolman

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Jul 30, 2008
Messages
7
Purraise
0
I have had my cat since July and he has always been very clean and easy to do deal with. All of a sudden (for no apparent reason) he began to go to the litter to do his buisness and he would stay there. I walk in and he is just laying there in his litter. This disgusted my girlfriend and I. We don't understand why he is doing this but it has been going on for a month now. What can I do to stop this behavior? I want him to go to the litter, just not lay in it after he goes!
 

cloud_shade

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 19, 2004
Messages
2,807
Purraise
17
Location
Oregon
Has he been to the vet? I've known some cats to lie in the litterbox when they are ill, especially if they have a fever. The litter is cool and helps them cool their feverish bodies. If a health check proves normal, it's possible that he is feeling more secure in the litter box. Is it a covered one? Do you have cat beds or hiding places for him?
 

enuja

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jul 20, 2006
Messages
583
Purraise
1
The vet is always a good idea with sudden behavior changes or when a behavior could be because a cat is in pain or feeling bad for some reason.

I have a cat who loved to roll in the litter: I switched from clumping clay litter to the Breeze system in part because of her behavior. Some cats do just like to play with or roll in litter. On the other hand, I'm not sure I've ever heard of a healthy cat just laying in the litter box directly after using it. That does sound like it might be evidence of physical problem.
 

claydust

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jan 4, 2009
Messages
253
Purraise
13
Location
Ontario, Canada
Originally Posted by cloud_shade

Has he been to the vet? I've known some cats to lie in the litterbox when they are ill, especially if they have a fever.
I didn't want to write that at first but comments like this confirm my limited experience that this can be a sign there is something wrong.

I would suggest a vet check up, as some of the others have indicated.
 

kittkatt

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Messages
6,108
Purraise
14
Location
Online
I agree with the others. A vet visit is in order. My Maverick never used to lay in the litterbox either, then one day he started doing so, and I also noticed that he was leaking urine. So I took him into the vet. The vet wasn't sure why he was leaking urine, but we found out that his ALT liver enzymes were elevated when I had them run a senior blood panel. I would suggest getting your kitty into the vet, just to be on the safe side.
 
Top