Weird Litter Questions

tabaqui

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Now, this is something I've always wanted to know about, but was afraid to ask due to possibly looking foolish. But I've never had a cat that did this before, and neither did anyone I know offline... and Luci's done it ever since he was little.

When Luci uses the litterbox, he goes just like normal.

But then he spends forever and a day in there scratching not only the litter, but the box, the wall, the pipe above him, by the toilet, at the wastebasket... sometimes he's left the box, only to go up to something in the vicinity that was out of reach, and keep scratching at it like he's still doing this in the box.

And then, sometimes after he's done with that, he seems to actually try kicking as much litter out of the box as possible. Like it's some sort of deranged cat game, to him. I swear I can go in there at the end of the day and there's this huge pile of it somewhere by the box. I've watched him and sometimes it looks like he might be doing it on purpose?

I change it proper, and it's big enough for him, and he's healthy, and he does it no matter what kind or brand I put in, and I've tried varying the amount you're supposed to put in the box. What on EARTH is that boy up to? Is there some sort of kitty OCD I don't know about, or is he just weird?

 

goldenkitty45

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I've seen cats do this a lot - they are just goofy or obsessive/compulsive cats.

Whenever mine have done that I just clap my hands and tell them to knock it off. They stop and leave.

You might also change the pan to a covered one - it would help somewhat.
 
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tabaqui

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Heh, I've tried clapping my hands or shooing him out. Usually he just ignores me.

Or goes back in and resumes when he thinks I'm not looking. *gigglesnort*

I'll look into the covered pan idea tho.
 

maherwoman

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All I can tell ya is that some cats are just like that. I had a kitty once that would go for, literally, HOURS (especially at night) until I got up, went over, and basically chased her out of the litterbox (and sometimes she would just go on back when I laid back down...lol).

Some kitties don't quite get the idea, and that's all it is. It's funny (and somewhat annoying), isn't it? Some just aren't as coordinated as we'd like to think they are. LOL!!
 

goldenkitty45

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I've had ones that didn't bother to cover up and another would go and spend 15 mins "cleaning" up what the other didn't do!
 

nebula11

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Emmet is completly OC when it comes to being in the box...he can be in there forever....It also doesnt help that he wants every piece of kitty waste buried and his brother and sisters just let all their stuff sit on the top.....
 
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tabaqui

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So glad it's nothing terrible, then.

I guess I'll just be grateful he actually uses it!

 

audrey

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Lol! My kitties do that too!!!! lol It's horrible!!! I put a rug under the litter pan and they will litterally shovel the litter out. linoleum is the worst!!! lol easier to clean, but it always looks dirty!!! Trinity will actually leave litter on the edge of the toilet when the litter pan is in the bathrooms!!! they do it to annoy us all!!! lol
 

momofmany

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Originally Posted by Tabaqui

I guess I'll just be grateful he actually uses it!

Which is exactly why you never want to scare him away from the litter box by clapping your hands. My Scarlett does the same - she's obsessed with covering up anything whose smell she doesn't like (including litter waste, hair balls, and food she doesn't like).
 
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tabaqui

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Heh. Well, as I said, he doesn't pay me any mind when I did try, so I've stopped and just started resigning myself to sweeping up insane amounts of litter off the floor every time he's done.
 

lionessrampant

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Lola sometimes misses the point of actually covering the mess, because she's too busy scratching the walls of the litterbox in the vicinity of where she's left her...um...offering!
 

momofmany

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Originally Posted by Tabaqui

Heh. Well, as I said, he doesn't pay me any mind when I did try, so I've stopped and just started resigning myself to sweeping up insane amounts of litter off the floor every time he's done.
If you use open litter boxes, consider getting a deep rubbermaid type bin. It's so high that they can't sweep over the top of it!
 

betty ann

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My cat Dinah does that, too... I can't figure it out!! But she also likes to scratch around the inside of the tub, although she's definitely not doing her business in there. Just pawing at it forever. Sometimes, she does it REALLY fast! Idunno, she's just a weirdo
 

avocado

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my Francis does this... we have an automatic box and after he uses it he perches on the edge and wipes his paws on the wall. he is kind of a fancy boy and he likes to keep himself very clean... no litter on the paws at all. the sound of him wiping his paws drives me up the wall.
 

sylorna

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Chester makes what I call "kitty pyramids" in his litterpan. All of the litter in the pan must be piled up ontop of his buisness, much like a sandcastle. He will also go in and cover Dollys stuff too..because she doesn't cover her own.

An idea though, for those of you who have cats who can jump (not too old or have leg issues) and kick all of the litter out: Why don't you look into a top loading box? They -look- funny, but I hear they're effective and would certainly keep the litter in the box during the kicking marathons!
Here's a link as an example: Top Loading Box
Hope this helps
 

mugsy

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Little Pete is the obsessive one in my house. He'll go into the box and spend 15min scratching before he actually even goes. Then another 15min spent covering it up when he's done. The funniest thing is when Shorty goes in. The minute he hears Shorty scratching he'll run to the box with such urgency and then sit and watch Shorty intently until he leaves
. Then Little Pete jumps right in and spends 15min cleaning up after Shorty. And Shorty is pretty good at covering up his stuff, but I guess Little Pete finds it unacceptable
 
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tabaqui

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D'you guys know if a Petco/Smart would have a top-loader?

We have a very small apartment and the cat's box is in the bathroom under the sink (there's not a cupboard there), so I wanna see if one of those would even fit before I bought one.
 

commonoddity042

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Originally Posted by Betty Ann

My cat Dinah does that, too... I can't figure it out!! But she also likes to scratch around the inside of the tub, although she's definitely not doing her business in there. Just pawing at it forever. Sometimes, she does it REALLY fast! Idunno, she's just a weirdo
I love your signature.
 

rockcat

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When my dad's cat stayed with us her litterbox was set up in the spare bedroom. She is used to it being filled to almost 1" to the rim. Oliver immediately let me know that this was not acceptable. He jumped in and scooped out most of the litter all over the carpet. I could just hear him saying "Mommy, there is waaaaaaaay too much litter in here."
 

sylorna

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Originally Posted by Tabaqui

D'you guys know if a Petco/Smart would have a top-loader?

We have a very small apartment and the cat's box is in the bathroom under the sink (there's not a cupboard there), so I wanna see if one of those would even fit before I bought one.
The link I have up there is for petsmart, and I've seen them in the store too. I don't know about petco though.
 
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