Sleeping in litterbox?

emilysw02

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We have a cat who is 16 years old, she just had a check up with the vet last week and apparently is in great health...my mum did mention that our cat (kitkat) has recently started sleeping in the litter box...the vet didn't have an explaination but I'm wondering if anyone else has had this problem or knows why she's doing this? It's just started within the last few months and is getting progressively worse...when we try to move her she goes limp and heavy as a rock and tries to refuse to leave. I just find it strange that as clean as cats seem to be she seems to enjoy sitting/napping in her feces!?! It's really disturbing...could she have mental problems? She is half siamese half tabby she also seems to get confused from time to time?

Thanks!

Emily
 

cloud_shade

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I have not heard of an older cat suddenly starting to sleep in the litterbox. Do you have more than one litterbox available to her? If so, does she sleep in both/all of them, or just one? If you only have one, you might try adding another one so she has a clean place to sleep separate from where she potties. I know that some cats like cool places (one of mine sleeps on the bathroom floor sometimes), and the litterbox might feel cooler to her. That's just a guess though. Has she had a senior panel (bloodwork) done recently?
 

berylayn

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wow, how odd that an older cat has just begun this behavior. I wish I could be of more help to you. I just wanted to add that my kitten Ebony used to do this when we first brought her home. I think she did it because it was familior territory to her and she was not used to us yet. Have there been any recent changes to her location or environment? Thats the only thought I have right now. I am sure some of the other members will have better advice for you later.
 

yayi

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This is my senior Joji. She isn't 16 yet. The litterbox is new. I bought it when I got my 4th cat, Wawa. I only saw her laying down on this one, not on the other 3. Also the cat litter is clean.
She did it for a month and now she no longer does it. Maybe it was a phase for her? Or because she's getting old, she may have been a little confused. Perhaps Kitkat is also going through an adjustment.
 
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emilysw02

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I don't think she has had any bloodwork done, I can't be sure though my mum takes care of that...is every cat supposed to have their own litterbox? I have a kitty (Poshy) and I love and adore her (her and kitkat don't like each other half the time half the time they sleep next to each other) and when kitkat sleeps in the litter box I am scared poshy will have an accident because she can't use it.

I was just reminded that the litterbox is right beside the dryer and our dryer is REALLY hot because it's breaking down and kitkat has seemed really cold the last few months...but even if the dryer isn't on she is sleeping there...maybe she is just waiting for it to turn on...plus the last month there have been a lot of furniture changes in our house and her little spot has been removed but we did try to accomidate her by keeping a pillow wrapped in her blankie from her old spot where she never moves from. The litterbox napping has been going on longer than the furniture change though.

Thank you all for being so helpful! I love cats and people think I'm weird sometimes for my attachment! My cat Honey died two years ago (which is why I have poshy now) almost to the day and I had her nearly all my life I'm 21 now and I've always had anxiety problems but when honey passed away I've had very severe mental problems with panic attacks and depression and general worry...it's hard to believe that missing a little pet could set me off but she was such a comfort when I was a kid cuz I always believed when she was in my room she would protect me from monsters haha.
 

momofmany

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My Shep (now 17) started doing that when she was about 16 years old. She has a cognitive disorder (think Alzheimers) caused by either a stroke or a brain tumor. The litter box was a safe place for her where she could escape from the other cats in the house. She is old and simply wants to be left alone.

We bought her a new litter box and put washable bedding in it for her to sleep in. She sometimes sleeps so hard that she pees in her sleep so the washable part was important. She used that for a month of so then found another spot in the house that she preferred. She moves to a new place every few months (current spot is on the washing machine close to the food and water bowls which are on the dryer).

A geriatric blood profile is important to cats once they hit about 10 years old. You start at that age to judge their normal range and every year thereafter to see if any of their counts start to get off base.
 

turtlecat

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There should always be 1 box for each cat, plus one extra. so, for you there ought to be 3 boxes. At the VERY least 2, so there's not a line to the bathroom. It's possible she finds the texture of the litter to be pleasing, and the location of the box. I wonder if a fresh box with bedding, like mom of Many said.. would be nice...
 

wellingtoncats

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Originally Posted by yayi

This is my senior Joji. She isn't 16 yet. The litterbox is new. I bought it when I got my 4th cat, Wawa. I only saw her laying down on this one, not on the other 3. Also the cat litter is clean.
She did it for a month and now she no longer does it. Maybe it was a phase for her? Or because she's getting old, she may have been a little confused. Perhaps Kitkat is also going through an adjustment.
Sorry, just had to say yayi - what a cute pic of Joji!
 

hissy

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Because she is in the double digits agewise she should have routine bloodwork done to be sure there is no underlying health issue. It could be senility creeping in, or the sand feels good on her joints. I would get her a box all to herself and fill it with dry beans instead of litter, then cover the beans with a soft cloth and see if she sleeps there instead, making her an equivalent of a beanbag bed. But I would encourage you first to have blood drawn on her.
 

scott dean

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My cat will be 16 in August. Emily just in the last couple of days began trying to sleep in the litter box. We get her out and she turns right back to it to go into it again. She is getting to the place where she will only sleep on a pillow on our lap. Here her sleep is deep and restful even into REM sleep with paws all a twitter. At the same time she began the litter box behavior, she became very skittish just walking around. Her only comfort is that pillow. She has been prescribed prednisone for 6 months for arthritis. I also thought the litter box behavior was for a safe place. We are talking to the vet this afternoon. If he has an answer and solution I'll post again.
 

nano

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Good advice so far. I will just add that older cats have a hard time getting comfortable and they get very desperate for some solitude if the house is bustling. Maybe she always feels the need "to go" and then just drifts off once she is in the box?
 

gayef

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Older cats don't seem as able to regulate their body temperature as younger, healthy cats. The fact that the box is next to the dryer tells me she is cold and found a place warm and dry to rest. Can you get her one of those fleecy beds and put it in a place free from drafts or cold?

Bloodwork is essential for older kitties. You should have the vet draw labwork each and every time you take her in now.

Best of luck,

G
 
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