My Cat is keeping me awake!!!!

jsidari

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OK.

So I have been living with a roommate and his cat for 2 years. The 2 cat's have never gotten along and to be honest mine is the aggressor. But nothing like this has ever happened before.

Just last week my cat has been going in his litter box and just digging. He has claws so it was been scratching against the litter box making a pretty loud noise as well (even when not using it to relieve himself). Well the box is in my bathroom in my locked bedroom at night and I wold say he does it TWICE AN HOUR every hour the whole night. It drives me NUTS!

Why is he doing this?

I have changed the litter and cleaned it out and he still does it. My girlfriend thinks maybe the other cat was in his litter box and it's a territory thing. Should I wash it? Buy a new one? I just don't know why he is doing that. Not to mention the litter gets on the floor and is becoming a mess.

Oddly enough I think he only does it when I am home because when i get home from work it is pretty clean.

Please, any advice so I can get some rest???

Thanks.
 

cirque

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Add more litter boxes. Try redirection after the cat goes, distract them into doing something else and not being focused on scratching. Cats often do not like doing "both" things in one box.. if you have two cats you need 3-4 litter boxes at least.
 
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jsidari

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Originally Posted by Cirque

Add more litter boxes. Try redirection after the cat goes, distract them into doing something else and not being focused on scratching. Cats often do not like doing "both" things in one box.. if you have two cats you need 3-4 litter boxes at least.
Thanks for the reply. I do try to redirect the cat but he just goes back and continues to claw at the box and dig through the litter. For the most part the cats are COMPLETELY separate and have one litter box each. Is this the only thing it could be that my cat just needs more space? He has been so good for 4 years now just using his box and being very CLEAN about it,
 

cirque

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Some cats do not like to do both things in the same box, so if you have 2 cats that could mean needing to have 4 boxes.


Depending on the types of litter we used here, I noticed KC would scratch and "play" more then other times. Now that we use Feline Pine (pellets of wood that expand when wet turning into a powder-like substance) that she does not scratch much anymore. I am not sure if she grew out of it or it was related to the litter type though. When she does dig around for a good spot, if the litter is used its very quiet.

More recently however I did notice Buddy go #1 in one pan, go #2 in some other pan and then come back to the first one and scratch because the OTHER pan smelled (to many pouce treats I think). Needless to say at 5am this type of thing sucks.. so I ended up moving the pan he was scratching at (while he watched) to another location with his others.. he stopped the scratching that morning at least and I was able to go back to sleep.. Now we have 2 fullsized, 1 mini pan all in the same area :p And then one more full sized high sided pan on our landing which seems to be mainly a #2 box now..phew! Stinky kitties!
 

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I will politely disagree with Cirque and tell you to please get your kitty to a vet. Leaving in an aggressive/stressful environment can wreck havoc on a cat that craves peace and balance. Your cat could be blocked with crystals or have some sort of bladder infection and be in the box trying to go and not being able to.This sometimes creates the type of activity you describe as the cat becomes frustrated at its inablity to go. I would strongly suggest you make sure this cat is healthy. Then once it has passed a vet check, go from there trying to determine what might be wrong. Please act quickly- bladder infections and crystals are not pleasant
 
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jsidari

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Thank you Hissy. I do sense something amiss with my cat. If it is not the case - better safe than sorry.

Again - thanks.
 

sweets

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I'm going to second what Hissy recommended. When Frantic developed crystals in his bladder, that was the first behavior I noticed. He would go into his litter and scratch like he was digging to China thru the litter box. He knew he had to pee, but when he tried, it hurt too bad.
 

cirque

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Originally Posted by jsidari

Thank you Hissy. I do sense something amiss with my cat. If it is not the case - better safe than sorry.

Again - thanks.
Yep, I also agree.. I should have mentioned a call or vet trip could also be in order. Although it did not come to mind because you mention the cat going so it sounded more like a behavior issue vs a health issue. Good thing Hissy has such a great eye


Good luck with the kitty!
 

kcowan

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Get another box and put it in your room. That's the only solution. Use a good scooping litter (special kitty is good) and you won't smell it. Yes you'll have to clean the area often, and put plastic sheeting in the area around and under it. Your kitty is worth it.
 

kcowan

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OOps. I didn't read the whole post. DO get your cat to a vet. He could have FUS and he might need to be put on prescription food and get meds.
His urine could be chrystalizing. If the problem ends up being chronic, there are herbal remedies you can use at the first sign of recurrence.

kelly
 
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