Kitten playing in litter box

zemari

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I have just noticed that our newest addition Clyde seems to be playing more and more in the litter box - he is now 4 months old and we have had him for nearly 6 weeks

He pounces into it , scratches around as if he is going to use it and then jumps out

bits of litter fly everywhere which he chases and then he jumps back in - he also appeared to be trying to get a clump of litter out of the box with his paws?

Whenever I clean it out he also jumps in and wrestles with the scoop - or the dustpan and brush - its cleaned twice a day as both him and Bonnie use it. 

Part of me thinks he is just playing but part of me is concerned (this is our first kitten of this age - Bonnie was 7 months old when we adopted her and just used the litter to do her business !)

He is integrated well with our older cat Bonnie (who is a lot less timid now :))  - they eat, play and even sleep on different branches of the cat tree so I don't think its stress related. 

We have all sorts of toys for them to play with - soft balls, crinkle balls, catnip cigar shaped toys, rattle toys, bell toys....... which are left out all the time and then wand toys and lasers which we play with them and then put away

He was neutered a week ago - and has loose stools (but he is eating well and doesn't appear unwell) and I put the loose poo down to the fact that he is eating Bonnie's adult food (as well as his kitten one !!)

Any ideas - am I just being an over protective / worrying mom !
 

stephenq

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It sounds like he is having a great time! Kittens do this sort of thing, and the last thing you shold do is discipline him over this as you don't want to cause a litter box aversion.  You could try a covered box to reduce the scatter, but mostly you probably just need to wait and allow him to outgrow it, and in the meantime keep the box as clean as possible so he doesn't kick poop out the box.
 

littlelion

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He should be fine :) he may just be trying to cover up his waste to cover the smell like they would in the wild. Does he do it after using it?
 
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zemari

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Thanks Guys :)

Sometimes he plays in it before he does his business - jumping in and out several times, then digging a hole, doing what he needs, covering it up and then going off to clean 

Other times he just jumps in / out / scatters litter everywhere jumps back in sits / lays and then jumps out and in again !

He also seems to use it as a hiding place to pounce on our other cat as she walks by !

I will just let him play and keep it clean - i can cope with brushing up litter - don't really want to find other presents on the floor though !!!
 

caelesto

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Ivy, our *simple* cat does the same thing, and she's a year and a half. She loves digging around in the litter box (which drives us crazy sometimes, as she likes to do it in the middle of the night, and you can hear her on the other side of the wall). We clean the litter box more often so she's not playing in her own mess or throwing poop onto the floor....
 
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