Litter box cleaning turns into "play time"...

[catlover73]

Atlas may outgrow the behavior in time. One of my cats Starbuck used to climb in her litter box when I would go to scoop and it cover me with litter when she was a kitten.  She stopped this behavior on her own as she got older.  I remember the first time I went out of town and one of my friends was cat sitting.  I warned her about Starbuck's behavior and instead of spraying my friend with litter she decided to climb on her to watch.  She never did this to our friend.  When I got back home the litter flinging behavior was gone.  I think she thought I was stealing her poops and was trying to stop me.  I have adopted other kittens since then and never seen this behavior again. I used to wear dirty laundry to scoop out the litter boxes and take a shower when I was done due to her antics.  

If I was in a hurry to scoop the litter boxes I would give her to my hubby since she loved to cuddle with him. If he was not home I would lock her in the bedroom with her toys and there was usually another cat in there for her to hang out with.

My youngest cat Casey is two years old and he has to use all 4 litter boxes right after I scoop them. He also makes little noises to let me know what he is doing.

 

[plan]

I think CatPack gave the best advice...just get him out of the room for the 2 minutes it takes to scoop. A few minutes with a door between you won't kill him.

And what others said as well. He'll almost certainly grow out of this. Good luck.

 

[crizze]

I took the advice and started locking him inside my room (or with my brother if he's there at the time) when I clean the box. He usually makes a fuss, starts meowing like he's being murdered, and jumps on the door (specifically, he tries to grab the door knob!)

Smart kitty is smart lol

But lately he started to calm down when I lock him in, meows for a while (or not at all sometimes), goes to lie down on his carrier or in my desk chair and stays there until I open the door again.

Thank you all very much for the advice!
Saved me a bunch of wounds on my hands and stressing out over it

Thanks! 

 

 

[tabbytom]

My boy January got neutered just a month ago. Now he is not interested even if I jumped into his litter box :lol3:
At times he just watched from afar or don't even bother to see what I'm doing. The very most is he just sit next to me and supervise me

 

[crizze]

My boy January got neutered just a month ago. Now he is not interested even if I jumped into his litter box

At times he just watched from afar or don't even bother to see what I'm doing. The very most is he just sit next to me and supervise me

I have scheduled to neuter Atlas in 2 weeks, so maybe that will settle him down a bit too xD
I still can't clean the box with him next to me tho, he'll try to get in anyways. But I just came back from doing so, he was at the top of the cat tower, relaxing, and when I came back, he was still there. Didn't even care lol

 

[tabbytom]

I have scheduled to neuter Atlas in 2 weeks, so maybe that will settle him down a bit too xD

I still can't clean the box with him next to me tho, he'll try to get in anyways. But I just came back from doing so, he was at the top of the cat tower, relaxing, and when I came back, he was still there. Didn't even care lol

Let us know the outcome after his neutering.

 

[crizze]

Let us know the outcome after his neutering.

 Hi,

Well, he got neutered today. He' been doing fine so far
He's resting in my lap right now. When we got back home I let him rest in his cage another hour, then let him out in my room, with all his stuff in it. He ate, had water, used his litter box, and wanted to play too. I gave him a bit of light play, no moving around too much, and now he's sleepy again. The anesthesia has not fully passed yet, he's still a bit drugged, but he seems fine. Came to my lap on his own and purred for me a bit while there. I'm hoping he'll be feeling better tomorrow

 

[tabbytom]

Oh good, Atlas is home. He'll be a little drowsy still. The anesthesia will wear off in a day or two.

He'll sleep more than usual and let us know if he's still interested when you clean his litter box.
My boy now dosen't care even if I jumped into his box now :lol3:

 

[crizze]

 

[hbunny]

HAHA  Glad to hear Atlas is back to himself.  It took my poor boy 2-3 days to get back to feeling perky, but he was almost 2 when he was neutered.  He slept a LOT and ate a LOT right after he came home.  2-3 days, he was back to his old self.  I still don't think he knows "something" is missing back there!!

I didn't really restrict Shortstack's play.  I kept a watch on his incision, but he did well through it all, it never bled or anything, looked like a tiny vertical scratch.  It just took a while for the fur to grow back--that was really weird looking when he would walk away with his tail up 

 

[pegleg]

While on the subject of litterbox, now that he just went to use it... why does he always meow when at it? 

The first times I thought it was 'cuz of tummy aches, and the vet checked him and it was. But now he's totally healthy and still does it. Got used to it? 

A google search told me he may be sick or just a "loud pooper", and since he's no longer sick, I'm curious...

One of mine likes to tell me he's going to have a poo, then let me know all about it afterwards. Unless he's meowing unhappily during it's fine.

 

[tabbytom]

@Crizze
It's good to hear that Atlas is back to normal
One or two things to take note. Make sure the litter don't get stuck to his you know what after he peed. If there's litter stucked there, use a damp tissue and clean it off for him so that the surgery site won't get infected. The other thing to watch is whether there's any foul smell or yellowish pus. If there is, bring him back to the vet, most likely it's infected. For bleeding, don't think there'll be any. It's just a tiny weeny slit and it's almost not noticeable.
I did not restrict January's activities. After he came back and after the anesthesia wore off, he was up to his old self. But now, he slowed down a lot. Once in awhile he'll do his circuit around the house, other than that, he'll just laze around or wants me to carry him. So I have to play with him and make him run so that he can get his exercise :lol3:

 

[crizze]

 
HAHA  Glad to hear Atlas is back to himself.  It took my poor boy 2-3 days to get back to feeling perky, but he was almost 2 when he was neutered.  He slept a LOT and ate a LOT right after he came home.  2-3 days, he was back to his old self.  I still don't think he knows "something" is missing back there!!

I didn't really restrict Shortstack's play.  I kept a watch on his incision, but he did well through it all, it never bled or anything, looked like a tiny vertical scratch.  It just took a while for the fur to grow back--that was really weird looking when he would walk away with his tail up 

Poor baby!  

He's back to his usual self, already wrecking havoc again lol
But I don't think he minded it at all. He was very calm during the recovery time (except when he got back home and wanted desperately to get out of the carrier, but he was still too drugged to walk well), but now he doesn't even seem to remember it happened c:

 

One of mine likes to tell me he's going to have a poo, then let me know all about it afterwards. Unless he's meowing unhappily during it's fine.

Yeah, that sounds about the same 

He just meows really loud but stops as soon as I answer him back lol
A "What is it?" is enough. Then he starts moving his litter and makes no further fuss. Apparently is really important for him to let me know when he's doing his business 

@Crizze
It's good to hear that Atlas is back to normal

One or two things to take note. Make sure the litter don't get stuck to his you know what after he peed. If there's litter stucked there, use a damp tissue and clean it off for him so that the surgery site won't get infected. The other thing to watch is whether there's any foul smell or yellowish pus. If there is, bring him back to the vet, most likely it's infected. For bleeding, don't think there'll be any. It's just a tiny weeny slit and it's almost not noticeable.
I did not restrict January's activities. After he came back and after the anesthesia wore off, he was up to his old self. But now, he slowed down a lot. Once in awhile he'll do his circuit around the house, other than that, he'll just laze around or wants me to carry him. So I have to play with him and make him run so that he can get his exercise

Thanks for the advice! 
He has no stitches or collar on tho. The vet made sure he'd be comfy enough so he wouldn't mess with the wound, and it's healing pretty quickly. I took him for a quick check of it yesterday and he's doing great c:
I know how to care for wounds, so no need to worry. He'll be fine in no time ^^
I hope he'll settle down soon too 

He's way too hyperactive sometimes lol