Kitten Sleeping in Litter Box

kaseri · Dec 13, 2005

Hello.

I have a four month old kitten. He has recently started to play & lay down in his litter box even though there are clumps in it. He always uses his box for it's intended purpose but I don't understand why he is playing in it & laying down in it. I want to discourage him from using his box for play but I don't want him to feel like the litter box is a negative place & stop using it for elimination.

He has a cat bed & has free roam of the entire house. I'm at a loss here & I don't know what to do. Any information or assistance that you can provide will be GREATLY appreciated.

jekyllhj7 · Dec 13, 2005

Our cat does that when he is stressed or scared.
The first time he did it, he was a kitten and we thought something was wrong so we took him to the vet. It turned out that he was majorly teething. He had two fangs on each side!!!!
The vet said that when cats are scared, stressed or in pain they look for a small enclosed space to hide in (ie litter box)
He's at the age where he might be teething.
We are still working on finding an alternative hiding spot for him. (he spazzed out this past week when we put all the christmas decorations up) Until then I would just recommend checking with the vet, and at the very least - when you notice he is doing it keep the litter box VERY clean. (If I see that he is sitting in the box, I CHANGE it, then work on calming him down and working through whatever is bothering him.)
Good luck!

sbw999 · Dec 13, 2005

Usually cats are very fastidious and clean animals; they do not want to be anywhere that isnt clean for very long. But I did have a kitten once who would just hang out in the litter pan after he went, for a little while, then he would leave. Bottom line is that he grew out of it by himself, he just didnt care to be in the litter box any longer than he had to be. In the meantime, I would just try to distract your kitten if you see him doing this. Pick him up out of there, and place him in his little bed, or play with him, until he forgets about chilling out in his litter pan. You'll both have fun.

ashleynicole · Dec 14, 2005

Marlee went through a week or two of doing this, going and playing/laying in the litterbox. She stopped on her own. Now she still takes a while in the box after she goes, haha, she will go around the entire perimeter of the box and pretty much pile ALL the litter into the middle or onto her business. Then she tries to walk around the edges of the box (like a tightrope) and sticks one paw in at a time to scratch the edges of the box. What a weirdo!

liza24 · Dec 14, 2005

Prue did this when i first got her home, when she was REALLY sick. SHe would go, then jsut lay down, like the exertion(sp) was to much for her. now that she is healthy, she doesnt stay in there more then she needs too. She too is now anal about the box being clean. after she goes, she hides it, then cleans around the edges of the box. she will even do this afer Icis goes,lol

aries · Dec 14, 2005

This behavior reminds me of what Snow did when he was younger and it was just him and Pete. He would love to lay in the litter box when it was clean. I never caught him laying in it when it was soiled, but still - YUCK!

He's never been really sick. He is one of my healthiest since we rescued him and his boo-boo's healed from his rough time on his own in the wide world.

He finally stopped doing it, but now with four cats coming and going, even with two litterboxes, it is hard to find a time that someone hasn't just done something in them.

Maybe it is something that they out grow? Good luck!

menagerie mama · Dec 14, 2005

Every kitten I have ever had has done that. It's great fun, didn't you know?

Once they get a little older, their "meticulousness" (I think I just made up that word) kicks in and they realize how gross they're being and they stop.

riccadawn · Oct 16, 2012

I love TCS :-D

I realize this thread is really old, but I did a search for kitties sleeping in litter boxes because my 5-month old kitten started just hanging out/sleeping in his litter box. Tonight was the first time I'd seen him do it. I took him out, cuddled with him for a good long while, but then later I found him back in there again. After finding this thread, I decided maybe he's teething too. I don't really know how to tell though (nothing looked unusual in there to me?!), but maybe?! In any event, I got out the cat carrier, opened the door, put in a soft blanket, and...he went straight in there and is hanging out in there now! So he may have just been looking for a small space to feel secure while he's in pain from the teething. This seems to have worked for now at least. Just wanted to bump the thread in case it's useful to others

jlc20m · Oct 17, 2012

RIccaDawn said:
I love TCS :-D

I realize this thread is really old, but I did a search for kitties sleeping in litter boxes because my 5-month old kitten started just hanging out/sleeping in his litter box. Tonight was the first time I'd seen him do it. I took him out, cuddled with him for a good long while, but then later I found him back in there again. After finding this thread, I decided maybe he's teething too. I don't really know how to tell though (nothing looked unusual in there to me?!), but maybe?! In any event, I got out the cat carrier, opened the door, put in a soft blanket, and...he went straight in there and is hanging out in there now! So he may have just been looking for a small space to feel secure while he's in pain from the teething. This seems to have worked for now at least. Just wanted to bump the thread in case it's useful to others

i'm glad you responded to this old thread. my bella (who's a little over 3 months now) likes to play with her toys in her litter box when it's just cleaned/washed and attempts to bury them. she's doing this a little less now than when i brought her home from the spca, but she's still trying to bury her skineez squirrel at least once weekly, lol. she started teething a few weeks ago. i don't know if this is contributing...

jlc20m

CrystalBecameACatLady · Jul 25, 2017

So glad to find this thread. I had zero cats in my life...decided to get involved in TNR...now I have 6 cats in my life and 4 are 16 weeks on this Friday. One of the twin tuxedo boys is spending time laying and rolling in the yucky litter box and this thread had lots of information. Thanks everyone.

TWDFan · Jul 28, 2017

I just started fostering two 4-week-old kittens. I have two litter boxes in the playpen that they'll need to stay for the next two weeks. Right at this moment they're sleeping in one of the litter boxes like a two little goof balls. It's so strange because it seems like lying on the litter would be uncomfortable.

Kitten Sleeping in Litter Box

kaseri

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jekyllhj7

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sbw999

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ashleynicole

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liza24

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aries

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menagerie mama

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riccadawn

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jlc20m

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CrystalBecameACatLady

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TWDFan

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