I've always thought of cats as extremely intelligent pets, but the behavior of this one cat I've owned for over a year just has me baffled. She correctly chooses to pee using the litter box, but she seems incapable of understanding exactly how to use it. The first problem has always existed, the second has only started in the past couple months.
Does anyone know how to correct this baffling behavior? I'm at my wit's end.
- The box is about 45 cm wide by 60 cm long (or so), but she chooses to use only the very end farthest from the wall. This leads to a supersaturated region of acrid ammonia-smelling dirt that doesn't even clump properly, after only 1-2 hours after cleaning it... I'm having to do so 3-4 times each day to get rid of the stench.
- She doesn't comprehend how to cover up what she leaves... she stands outside the box trying to shovel nonexistent dirt on it. She'll do this upwards of 10 minutes at a time, then give up, and then the next time she's in the area start doing it again because she smells pee. This wakes me up at least twice every night. I'm also worried she'll cause nasty damage to her paw-pads since this is beyond the normal extent of their use.
Does anyone know how to correct this baffling behavior? I'm at my wit's end.