Litter box cleaning turns into "play time"...

Hello, I was hoping someone could give an advice about my new kitten.

I got Atlas a month ago, he's around 3 months and 2 weeks old right now, and I never had any mayor issues with his litter box training. 
At first he didn't like the litter type I had for him.  It was too rough on his paws. I had non clumping litter back then, non toxic and all, because I was cautions of him trying to eat it. But he never did, and understood what it was for right away. So I switched him to clumping litter a couple weeks after. 

He absolutly loved it. Maybe a little too much. He just loves to jump in the box and play with the sand, or uses the box as a hiding spot while "hunting" for his toys outside. 
But since he never tried to eat the sand and still uses it perfectly, covering everything and not making a mess, I didn't think to much of it.

My "problem" goes when I have to scoop the box...

Thing is, now, everytime I go to clean his litter box, he thinks I'm playing with his sand, so he does everything in his power to try to get inside the box!
It makes the task pretty hard, 'cuz when he does get inside the box, I can't get him out easily.
He's also teething, so that makes it harder.  My hands turn into toys if I just try to keep on scooping.

Just for the record, I never take the cover off to scoop the used sand. I get in there perfectly fine with it on. And that helps preventing him from getting inside while "I'm using it"
And I clean the box 2 times a day, around 10AM, and before going to bed, at around 11PM.

I've tried using "NO" in a firm voice. That works sometimes in some cases. But not this one.
I tried hissing at him. That works a little better. He just stares at me, "waiting", and eventually tries to get in again after a while.

Is there anything I can do to stop this behavior?
Or just wait it out? 
He's still so young and hyped and playful, I was hoping this would pass when he grows up, but if not, I need some advice...

Honestly, I would just either close him out of the room where the box is while you scoop, or, if the box is in an open area, put him in a safe room with a few toys while you scoop.

He'll very grow out of this stage in a few months.

Make sure you are giving him ample play sessions throughout the day as well, and perhaps special sessions either before you clean the box or right after.

Mine are older cats....but they supervise me the entire time I'm scooping.  Not sure if they think I'm stealing their poos, or if I'm hiding something in there, but they watch me the entire time.   They will come from out of the woodwork if they hear me swishing around in their boxes to sit and stare at me.

Then they usually hop in and use it the minute I walk away.

I love kittens, I miss having one wanting everything to be a game, but I understand the frustration....I'd do like CatPack said and pack little boy off into another room for a few seconds while I scooped! 

Thank you!

The box is in an open area. It used to be in my room, wich was his "safe room" the first days I got him. Now the box is just outside my room, in a quiet corner. And he spends most of his day in my room with me, and explores at will when he wants to.

He does get a lot of play time. I have tried to get him tired before cleaning it, but he still seems way too interested. As soon as he hears the sound of the sand moving, he's right next to me watching what am I doing with his precious sand.

I'll try to lock him inside the room while I clean it. It honestly hadn't occured to me. He meows a lot even when I just go to the bathroom; doesn't like being alone, so I hadn't tried that. But all his toys are in that room so I'll do that.
Thanks for your help!

When my crew were kittens (8 of them!) and I needed a few minutes to get something done without their "help" I found that the Bolt laser was a life saver of sorts!

You turn it on and it runs for 15 minutes before turning off. It was a good distraction for mine and they all came running when they heard it turn on!

Here it is:
https://www.chewy.com/frolicat-bolt-interactive-laser-pet/dp/55754

You can find it in most pet and other big box stores, as well as online at Chewy.com and Amazon.

Also, if you are in the States, Chewy has just about the best prices around when it comes to cat food and many cat toys/scratchers/cat trees. Just a little FYI.

Thanks hbunny!

I guess the scooping process is fascinating to them lol
May I never dare do anything to his precious sand. Shame on me for stealing the poos 
And yeah, as soon as I finish scooping, he's in there in a second!

He's my first kitty, so I guess for both of us everything is fascinating~

And I guess it can be a bit frustrating. But mostly 'cuz of the biting. I blame my brother on that one. I told him not to use his hands to play with the kitten, but he did  anyways 'cuz it wasn't paiful for him, but it is for me; he has drawn blood many times. I guess I'm too fagile for a kitten, but I love him anyways 

At least he never scratches me. Got used to me touching his paws and clipping his nails, and now when he grabs me, the claws are always in. But then he starts biting and it hurts! I'm hoping that will pass too when he grows up~

Thanks for your reply!

Thanks CatPack! 

I actually live in Chile, I've never bought anything from Amazon... 
I don't know if they'd deliver it here ^^U

But I do have a laser toy for him. Is interesting tho, he enjoys more to "prey on it" than to chase it. And he already figured out from where the dot was coming, so when he starts staring at me because of the pointer, I just hand it to him so he can play with it lol

But I will try to lock him inside my room. Asides from the box, everything he needs is in there, so it should work out

I have a 2 year old that I regularly nip those ends off his claws--those things are sharp, and he doesn't normally scratch me (and never on purpose) but he gets carried away playing sometimes.  It helps tremendously if you get them used to it young!  Just nipping the tip off makes a huge difference. 

But...I think they quickly learn who they can play rough with and who they can't.  My older kitty who is 12 will play VERY rough with my hubby, scratching, biting, he holds him down and tickles his belly and it is game on!  He will wrap himself around my hubby's arm and hang on biting and kicking, and my hubby loves playing rough with him (he wears long sleeves).  But I can walk in on the middle of one of their play sessions and pick him up and he instantly goes limp like a ragdoll.  He plays very gently with me, always has.  But I never tolerated it when he was younger either.  I would just stop and walk away when he would start that mess with me.  Your baby may figure it out too!

Yeah, don't scold him for anything regarding the litterbox. You don't want to create a litterbox avoidance issue :/. Just pop him in another room for a few seconds. Or learn to enjoy it---he won't be that playful for much longer!

Thanks hbunny!

Yeah, I started clipping the pointy end of his claws soon after I got him. He quickly got used to it, since I love holding his paws and touching his toe beans lol
Now he actually likes to sleep holding hands with me, on my pillow next to my head. It's adorable c:

And he never scratches anymore. I think he learned not to do that the very first week he was here. The biting is tiresome since it's actually painful. I remember the second night he was with me. He tried to wake me up to play (I barely slept the first weeks) and bit my finger so hard, he pierced the skin and drew blood. He did wake me up lol
But after that, it got infected. I didn't realize until later that day. It was hot and red and it hurted. Then it occured to me that I never cleaned the wound, so I did, put antibiotic cream, and waited. It was gone the next day.
But since then. I'm cautions with his biting.

I guess I'm the one that plays gentle with him. My brother and his girlfriend play rough. My stepfather too. I'm just hope that he doesn't learn to play rough with everyone, since me and my mom have very fragile skin and she wouldn't like getting bitten. But again, he's close to 4 months and close to teething according to my vet, so that may be a part of it too. Gotta wait~

Thanks Willowy!

Oh my, that never occured to me!
Since he thinks is a game, I just try to tell him "Not a toy" or "Not a game" if he does something wrong. Like when he tries to play with my hair (wich is very long). I just pick him up, put him on the grond, and give him his own toys as a disctraction. Later he comes to my lap, lies down and starts to purr and falls asleep.
I didn't think it could lead to litterbox avoidance to scold him for this. I won't do it again, you're very right. Thank you!

While on the subject of litterbox, now that he just went to use it... why does he always meow when at it? 
The first times I thought it was 'cuz of tummy aches, and the vet checked him and it was. But now he's totally healthy and still does it. Got used to it? 
A google search told me he may be sick or just a "loud pooper", and since he's no longer sick, I'm curious...

Lol.........what can I say? My kitten, just turned 7 months and was neutered 2 days ago. He's a rescued abandoned injured kitten when he was found and was just 3 weeks old. Now his wound had healed completely.
Every time I clean out his litter box, wherever he may be in the house or he could be sleeping somewhere, no matter how silent I scoop his litter box, before the second scoop, he's already next to me :lol3:
The box I have is transparent. He'll move around and follow the scoop as he can see through the box. After awhile, he'll just jump into the box and start chasing the scoop. I'll have to carry him out and tell him do not do that. Sometimes he listens and sometimes he ignore me and jumped in again.
Think he finds it amusing, not sure if he thinks that we are really stealing his pee or poo. Probably is the sound of scooping sand and movements of the scoop. I scoop the box 2-3 times a day and the last scoop is before all of us hit the sack.
The second day after his sugery, he watched from afar while I scoop his box. Yesterday, he came over to inspect but did not jump in as I level up the litter. He just stood and watch.
My kitten is very inquisitive, he'll inspect every package that comes to my house, all our grocery bags and shopping bags. He will also want to check out what we are eating and after his approval, he'll just walk away.
My kitty sometimes do meow when he is about to pee or poo. Not sure if he is super urgent to do it while still have to dig a hole before doing it. It's just occasionally he meow, not all the time.
Enjoy your kitty and talk to her every time. Mine too will meow if I'm in the room with the door closed. Think he hear some noise and wants to know what is going on in there and do his inspections :lol3:

That all sounds so adorable, TabbyTom xD
Atlas is still too little to do all those things, but he does love to know what am I eating if I eat in the room. Not even to have some, just to smell it lol
And his litterbox is a covered one, but not transparent. Still, he likes to sit on the side of it when I scoop the back of it and kinda plays alone when he hears the sounds of sand moving. Is when I get to the front of the box that he decides he has to get in to see what's up! lol
And the meowing is so weird when he goes to use it. Doesn't sound urgent or pained, just... "I shall announce you, I has to poop" xD
I talk to him from the other room when I hear him meow and then he repeats himself a couple times and goes to do his business lol
 

January's litter box is an open box, no covers. Make sure you get him a big box. They grow pretty fast. Also fill up around 2-3 inches of litter, this way, less chances of pee reaching the bottom of the box and getting stuck and it's easier to scoop.
January will meow whenever it's time for his meals. And when I asked him if he's hungry? He'll response by meowing and when I asked him, do you want 'Morm Morm'? ( our local dialect meaning to eat, btw, I'm from Singapore), he'll meow even louder and longer :lol3: sometimes when it's not really time yet, I'll tell him later, he'll mumble and run away and go somewhere to be alone. He's a responsive kitty.

Oh, no worries. His box is very big, for an adult cat. He actually needed a stair the first weeks to be able to get in, but now he uses it perfectly fine
The measure of sand is puzzling for me, but I'll try to use a ruler and see how much is in there... Since he's so little I worry it might be too much ^^U

And he does meow when hungry, or when I'm eating lol
But he has his schedule and is starting to get used to it, so he doesn't complain as much as he used to when I adopted him c:
They Know stuff lol

What you can do is get a stick and put the measurement on it. Every time you clear the box and level it, plunge the stick in and you'll know how deep it is and whether to top up more litter.
My kitty is a digger, so I give him deeper sand. And also I think when they get bigger, they also get heavier. So more sand for comfort when standing on them.
Yea, good to feed them on schedule

Thank you!
I'll definetly try that
It's nice to get advice from other cat owners ^^

You are welcomed
This is a great place to get advice. Not that I'm an expert, I too learning a lot from this site. I just want the best for January so I try to make things more convenient for him and myself.

Crizze said:

 I love holding his paws and touching his toe beans lol
 

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Love me some toe beans too!! 

hbunny said:

 
Love me some toe beans too!! 

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YAS!