Strange toilet behaviour

Hi! I have 2 young Burmese cats (7 months old). One male and one female.

As they are mainly indoor cats I have set up 2 litter trays in the bathroom using the littering regimen the breeder was using: lined litter trays (one each) with a scoop of recycled paper litter per tray - not filled with litter. I empty the trays several times a day and especially when there is poos - let's face it it's smelly and we live in a small apartment!

So the strange behaviour is this - twice now the male cat has accompanied to the litter trays when I'm emptying them and has clambered in to the bucket that I use to collect the dirty litter and proceeded to poo in the bucket. He has also peed in the shovel I leave in the room to clean up the stray pieces of litter that escape from the trays, when the trays were both clean. 

I'm wondering whether I'm being too clean or not clean enough.

I guess I'm a bit confused. Are you only using one scoop of recycled paper litter in the trays? How big is the scoop?

Many cats use the litter during or right after their litter is cleaned. Your cats may just be smelling where their poo/pee goes (aka the bucket) and they assume it's okay to pee or poo in it. Cats have an extremely strong sense of smell, and they are pretty much guided by their nose, especially when it comes to litter. They pee or poop wherever they smell their own pee or poop (he could probably smell the cat urine on the shovel, from scooping the litter, so he assumed it was ok to pee there). The only way to get rid of the scent is by using an enzyme cleaner like Nature's Miracle or Noc Out (which can only be bought online).

Some cats are also very picky about litter, and if you are just using one scoop in each box, he may feel that it is dirty after just one use of the litter. Some also don't like to pee in the same box they poop in.

Also, why are you using recycled paper as apposed to other types of litter (just out of curiosity)?

I'm thinking perhaps that regimen worked when they were younger, but they are getting older now and are probably mature enough for proper litter. When they are very young, clumping litter shouldn't be used, and that could be why she thought paper was better. But they are definitely mature enough for regular clumping litter at this point.

Also, how big are these trays? Cats need a lot of room so if they are pretty small, that could be a problem too. If they are too small they may not like going in there. One other question - are they fixed yet?

Thank you for your response. Both cats have been fixed and the tray’s are the fairly standard size I’ve used with an adult cat before: 17” by 12 1/2”.  What’s odd is that the bucket is both smaller and very unstable (it’s sitting in a small bath, the curved bottom of which means that it’s not sitting level), both times he used it I had to hold the bucket or he would have been tipped out.

They do have outside for a large part of the day but seem to choose the safety of indoors a lot of the time.

I’ll switch over to the clumping litter and see if that helps.

Thank you again

Burmese!

The recycled paper litter is both because the breeder was using it and recommended being consistent and it is fully biodegradable which is my preference. typing  is a litle tricky at the moment as both are sleeping on me. I'm going to try a clumping type litter and see if that helps. thanks for your reply.

Maybe it's just me, but 17.5 x 12 inches doesn't sound very big at all. As far as unstable, well, my cats love balancing on things, so that doesn't surprise me. Smaller, well, my guess is he's standing ON it while going, not IN it?

I think I have one, maybe two cats (out of five) that would use such a small box. We have one like that that is similar sized, but it was meant for tiny kittens. I got it from a friend when I adopted my 8-week-old boys last July. I do have two cats that like to use it, one of whom is pretty tiny, the other one just likes to use every available box for the sheer fact that she can.

I have another cat, however, that will only use the litter box I had that was fashioned out of a 30-gallon bin. The other two litter boxes are fairly good sized, and deep (maybe 24 x 18 x 6 inches?). She won't use those ones though.

As far as the litter, cats are fickle. They sometimes stop liking things (food, litter, etc etc) so when that happens, you have to go with what the CAT likes.

Why don't you try a different litter box to start, just to see if it makes a difference? You can make your own too out of a 30-gallon bin (or a little smaller if you'd like). It's inexpensive and it's amazing how much my cats like that one better. I wouldn't try changing the litter just yet, in order to identify the issue, you need to change one thing at a time. This is the easiest change to make most likely, and the one that I think might be of most help.

Oh, and are the litter boxes covered or uncovered?

The trays are uncovered, in a bathroom which is quiet and round a corner so reasonably private. The bucket, well it is a 10 litre bucket and he was in it, on top of the soiled paper. First time he just balanced on the pile, second time he tried to balance on the rim of the bucket. I think he's ripe for teaching to go in the toilet if he's happy to poo while balancing like that. I'm happy to change to what suits but it's the language barrier I have trouble with. Will try a bigger tray with high sides to give privacy. Thanks.

Burmese said:

The trays are uncovered, in a bathroom which is quiet and round a corner so reasonably private. The bucket, well it is a 10 litre bucket and he was in it, on top of the soiled paper. First time he just balanced on the pile, second time he tried to balance on the rim of the bucket. I think he's ripe for teaching to go in the toilet if he's happy to poo while balancing like that. I'm happy to change to what suits but it's the language barrier I have trouble with. Will try a bigger tray with high sides to give privacy. Thanks.

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That would be great if you can accomplish that!! I keep hoping my boys will start using the toilet considering their fascination with it.

Ah, the language barrier. I think we can ALL relate to that! I would love it so much if they could just tell us why. Even just for one of many things we're questioning.