Help! My kitten likes to play with her poop!

[AngeleK]

OH well that makes sense. She does seem highly intelligent in our opinion, maybe she just needs more complicated toys? Do you have any suggestions for something Erissa enjoys?

She also tends to behave and lay down until I close the bedroom door at bedtime. She immediately starts acting up and jumps on the door to wake me up. I'd leave the door open, but we have to keep her off the computer and instruments :/

 

[bear]

Erissa was a Turkish Van. Her original breeder taught her to fetch crumpled paper balls. I had been able to get her to retrieve over 39 times. However, as she got older, you had to make them much harder to get to. an example would be to let her see you through it to the top of the 6 foot entertainment shelf. Then maybe the mantle. We ran out of places that were a challenge, so she stopped playing.

Yet for a young kitten this might help get some energy down before bed time. However, it might also get crumpled paper dropped on your face at 1 AM.

Closing the door may be effective. It might also get seen as a challenge.
Another way that might get your kitty a little active, is to stage a hunt before getting in bed. Look for about 15 places where you may or may not put kibble. Mix the locations for variety. Let kitty go looking for about 8 to 10 kibble as you go to bed. It might take her mind off the challenge of the just closed door.

 

[danteshuman]

I agree with challenging her mentally. I would also get an automatic litter box and put it next to her regular box. Maybe in time you can ditch her old box, and have her "toys" removed before she pulls them out to play with them.

 

[Stephg143]

These replies are great! Lol! Probably not funny to the repliers but I got a good chuckle
Sounds like a difficult situation, glad it’s been resolved

 

[AngeleK]

I think the kibble thing might be a good idea, we will try that soon. She usually has a snack out at night but maybe if she has to look for it she will feel less bored. Last night we played classical music for her and she seemed a bit calmer, so that seems to help too.

 

[Tagrendy]

I recently adopted a 7-month old feral kitten, Ceci. She is completely litterbox trained and adjusting well to being an indoor cat. Overall she's been well behaved. She hasn't been peeing or pooping outside of the box, but she recently picked up the habit of digging up her poop and playing with it like a ball. She has plenty of other toys that she loves playing with, but when I'm not home she prefers to play with her own poop! I don't know what to do. I looked all over for someone with a similar problem, but so far haven't found anyone. I'm getting tired of cleaning up smooshed poop off the carpet. I've tried verbally scolding her and spraying her with water when I catch her in the act. I also tried ignoring her after she watches me clean up. Does anyone know what else I can do?

Maybe she likes the scent of her poop, which could indicate vitamin deficiency, maybe worth checking that. For now, what I would do is prepare a lemon water and spray on the poop when she is playing with it ( not her ). Keep in mind cats learn very slowly, so whatever you're doing will need long period of consistent repetition.

 

[AngeleK]

the lemon water is a great idea too! I'll look into that : ) I'm so glad everyone here has such great suggestions, my local pet shop had NO IDEA what to do lol They have great quality food but other than that it's really geared more towards dogs :/