Wiping paws in the litter box

The title should read:
WIPING PAWS ON WALLS WHILE IN THE LITTER BOX

My male cat, Spike, does this thing EVERYTIME he's in the box. After he does his duty, he wipes his front paws on the walls surrounding the box. He wipes and wipes and wipes and wipes, over and over and over for a few minutes. Its almost like he is wiping the litter residue that is on his paws, but then he puts them right back down into the box. Then he wipes them off some more.

Any suggestions as to why he does this. I'm not looking for a way to prevent it becuause it does not bother me and he is not harming anything. Just curious as to why.

Thanks!

He isn't wiping his paws, he is burying his waste. You can add a second box, add more litter, or get a larger box. I would recommend two large litter boxes, he should stop after those are added.

So he thinks by wiping the WALLS he is burrying his waste? He does bury the waste, then wipes the walls.

Meghan, all my cats do this. It's almost as if, because there's just the litter box and not a nice big mound of earth, they feel as if they have to make sure their waste is covered by 'burying' all around the litter box as well.

Thanks!

Right, they are burying the scent, if enough litter isn't provided, they will continue to scrape and scoop whatever is near them. The problem with kitty litters is they do not carry the rich scent of outside dirt, so the cat may continue to bury the waste simply because he can still smell it. You can test this theory (if you like) by buying a small bag of potting soil Organic only and placing this in a litterbox. The cat will use the soil, and bury the waste, once it is covered, off he goes about his business, simply because the soil is richer in smells and covers better.

then why is is that we don't just use poting soil rather than litter?

I have a small cat and she has a very, very large litter box with PLENTY of litter that gets cleaned at least once a day and she has always scratched the walls after using her litter box.

Because potting soil is messy, and unless it is organic, you will have a major bug problem. Cat litter is cleaner and lighter to use than dirt is, which is another reason.

my kitties will continue to scrape the side of the litter box for a good 5 mins after theve gone..i have a litter box in my bed room, and the worst thing is when one of them goes a 5am and then the sound of scraping plastic for 5 mins after!!