 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsGeneral TopicsCat AnecdotesHealth and BehaviorRescue CatKB.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / November 2004HELP! Kitten Doesn't Bury Waste.
Hi, I am new to this group, but am wondering if someone has a solution to a problem I have never seen before. We have a wonderful male persian kitten we picked up from a breeder when he was 9 weeks old and he has been with us for about a month. He is truly sweet and a delight in every way but one... he doesn't seem to know how to bury his waste in the litter box. :-( He was litter box trained from the moment he arrived and even went to the litter box we had setup for him within moments of arriving him, but we soon noticed later that his waste wasn't buried in the litter and thought it was strange. Soon, we were able to witness the problem. He finishing "doing his business" and ATTEMPTS to bury it, but instead of stratching at the little to do so, he scratches at the sides of the little box! He then looks back to see if he has buried everything (he hasn't at all) and then turns around and tries again from another angle, but acomplishes nothing as he just scratches at the plastic sides of the litter box. He does this a couple of times and then gives up and gets out of the box leaving his waste exposed and soon a HORRID smell in the area around the box. We thought the litter box was prehaps smaller than he was used to since the breeder may have had a much larger box for multiple cats so we went and got him a very large one (actually used for small dogs) but it's no help. He sits in the middle of this huge litter box, finishes and then proceed to go scratch at the sides of the box again to bury his mess. :-( We then tried one of those automatic litter boxes that cleans itself. He is no better at buring his waste there but we hoped it would clean up for him. Instead, let's just say because the waste doesn't get covered by him it gets caught in the rake of the machine when it tries and pick up clumps and put them in the waste container! That is almost worse that a regular litter box! Has anyone seen this before? He is sweet as can be but isn't getting any better at understanding he needs to scratch at the LITTER when he is done no matter how many litter boxes we try. He continues to try and scratch the little box sides from three or four different positions after he is done. I grew up with cats and have never seen this before. Any ideas?? > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > is truly sweet and a delight in every way but one... he doesn't seem > to know how to bury his waste in the litter box. :-( This isn't weird; it seems to be an individual (to the cat) thing, re: burying their waste. Some cats do, some don't, incl. my cats. Cathy > He was litter box trained from the moment he arrived and even went to > the litter box we had setup for him within moments of arriving him, [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > > Any ideas?? >> Hi, >> [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Cathy Have to agree with you Cathy. The majority of the time my cat does her "business" outside, but now and then, depending on the weather, she does this inside. Sometimes she buries her poop and sometimes she doesn't. The resolving of any smells associated with the lack of a proper burial are easily resolved. I simply scoop, toss into the toilet and flush. Any residual odours are taken care of with a litter box deodorizer, much the same way we as humans deal with the unpleasant odours we give off. Judy > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > is truly sweet and a delight in every way but one... he doesn't seem > to know how to bury his waste in the litter box. :-( Perhaps he figured out that burying the item gives you very little reason to expedite removal operations. Think of it as a convenience ... no time wasted probing around for the little stinkers. > Has anyone seen this before? He is sweet as can be but isn't getting any > better at understanding he needs to scratch at the LITTER when he is done no [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Any ideas?? My cat does the exact same thing. I figure it makes it easier to empty the litter box *shrug*. Why does this behavior bug you so much? You seem really upset. Is it just the smell of unburied poop? Believe me, you could have worse problems. I had a dog who liked to eat the contents of used litter boxes =/  Signaturemonique << hen he is done no > matter how many litter boxes we try. He continues to try and scratch the > little box sides from three or four different positions after he is done. >> Is the litterbox too small? Try the jumbo size, even for "kitten"?? www.mimiforsyth.com Hi Ryan , Does it matter?. I find it easier to scoop out the poo if my cat doesn't bury it. Just be glad your cat is using his litter box and not pooping else where:) Alison > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] > > Any ideas?? > Hi Ryan , > Does it matter?. I find it easier to scoop out the poo if my cat > doesn't bury it. > Just be glad your cat is using his litter box and not pooping else > where:) > Alison It does matter because it STINKS unless covered. When Gnarly did not cover hers my rather large apartment would stink until I cleaned the box. I scoop once a day, but don't want my place to stink in between. Ryan--try training your cat. When you see an uncovered poo in the box, go get him, talk to her sweetly, pick him up gently and place him in the box. Gently take his paws and cover the poo with litter. Then praise him. Why be nice? Because you want covering the poo to be associated with nice things like petting and praise. This worked with my cat. >> It does matter because it STINKS unless covered. >> It stinks anyway, covered or not. >When Gnarly did not > cover hers my rather large apartment would stink until I cleaned the box. > I scoop once a day, but don't want my place to stink in between.>>> You only scoop once a day? Do you flush your loo only once a day? euw. Alison > You only scoop once a day? I scoop as soon as I know Hodge has been. (If I've not been around, I check. If I am around, I know, because there are usually tremendous crashing noises, yowling, a trail of displaced litter, and even the occasional knocking off the Booda Dome cover, followed by a mightily pleased looking Hodge trotting about and getting playful. He is a man, after all.) Signaturehttp://www.mindspring.com/~slywy/ > > You only scoop once a day? > > I scoop as soon as I know Hodge has been. I scoop before I leave for work, when I get home from work, & then late at night beofre going to bed. In the summers, when I'm not working, then 2 - 4 times/day - still averages out to 3X/day. > (If I've not been around, I check. If I am around, I know, because there > are usually tremendous crashing noises, yowling, a trail of displaced > litter, and even the occasional knocking off the Booda Dome cover, > followed by a mightily pleased looking Hodge trotting about and getting > playful. He is a man, after all.) Herrie is my first male cat, & he's basically the same. First, he often acts like he has a bulldozer in there - would probably make engine noises if he could: tends to build mouintains oif litter when done using the box. Then, esp. if he pooped, he will *bolt* out of the box (has managed to flip the entire thing over a few times), & do a flying run into the next room or two. Cathy > Herrie is my first male cat, & he's basically the same. First, he often > acts like he has a bulldozer in there - would probably make engine noises if > he could: tends to build mouintains oif litter when done using the box. This is funny! Cheeks zips all around like a monkey after doing her business, but is very dainty about the box and litter. > > You only scoop once a day? > > I scoop as soon as I know Hodge has been. It's my turn to "Eeeyuuu!" I don't even want to deal with the poos until they have been buried for a while! > (If I've not been around, I check. If I am around, I know, because there > are usually tremendous crashing noises, yowling, a trail of displaced > litter, and even the occasional knocking off the Booda Dome cover, > followed by a mightily pleased looking Hodge trotting about and getting > playful. He is a man, after all.) Maybe this is the difference. My little females do quiet little trips and dainty little poos, lol! We have a nightly ritual before bed, when I scoop and freshen and sweep around the boxes and fill the water bowls with fresh water while they each supervise. >Maybe this is the difference. My little females do quiet little trips and >dainty little poos, lol! We have a nightly ritual before bed, when I scoop >and >freshen and sweep around the boxes and fill the water bowls with fresh water >while they each supervise. if i put the plastic bag with poo on the floor while cleaning in and around the box, Shaina who is watching very carefully, will come up to it and try to bury it. -L > >Maybe this is the difference. My little females do quiet little trips and > >dainty little poos, lol! We have a nightly ritual before bed, when I scoop [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > around the box, Shaina who is watching very carefully, will come up to > it and try to bury it. That's really cute! >> >Maybe this is the difference. My little females do quiet little trips and >> >dainty little poos, lol! We have a nightly ritual before bed, when I [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > >That's really cute! she is very particular about cleanliness, but when she eats, the food ends up all over the place, off the mat. when she was a baby, she would lap her canned food and her nose was covered with food because she stuck her face into the bowl too much. she's a silly girl. :) -L >> You only scoop once a day? > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >followed by a mightily pleased looking Hodge trotting about and getting >playful. He is a man, after all.) lol btw, how is the Booda Dome? is it good for containing litter scatter? i want to get one for SHaina instead of a regular cube-like Booda Loo because i think it'll decrease the amount of litter scattered outside. i don't know how she does it, but every times she visits her litter box, there's sand everywhere around it. i have a huge mat it stands on and a smaller rug right in front of it, and both have a ton of litter on them by the end of the day. -L > lol > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > on and a smaller rug right in front of it, and both have a ton of > litter on them by the end of the day. There's always some that gets out, although not all around. I do have a track pad thingie that helps somewhat. (The litterbox is in the kitchen for reasons I won't go into, but there is no smell and it's not as awful as it sounds.) Hodge's issue is that he somehow manages to get pee out between where the cover and box and meet -- he's done that on all boxes. He's a man, after all . . . can't aim, apparently. Or, worse yet, *can.* Signaturehttp://www.mindspring.com/~slywy/ > > I scoop as soon as I know Hodge has been. > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > followed by a mightily pleased looking Hodge trotting about and getting > playful. He is a man, after all.) ROTFL, I'm glad I have a girl cat! She is so clean and careful. Alison > >> It does matter because it STINKS unless covered. >> > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > euw. > Alison Yes, I only scoop once a day. One box per cat, they are hardly soiled at the end of the day. As for my toilet, well, we have four for two people. I flush every time but I cannot vouch for my husband. He cleans his own toilet, too. Anything else? You provincials are so eccentric. > > Yes, I only scoop once a day. One box per cat, they are hardly soiled > at the end of the day.>>> A day is 24 hours so yes it will be soiled. A lot of cats won't use a box again if they have messed in it, mine won't . << As for my toilet, well, we have four for two people.>>> You have four toilets in your trailer? > I flush every time but I cannot vouch for my husband.> So you have a clean toilet and your cats don't. <<You provincials are so eccentric.>>> Hmm, I've never thought of London as being provincial. We English are eccentric per se-:) Alison >> > Yes, I only scoop once a day. One box per cat, they are hardly >soiled [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > You have four toilets in your trailer? now that's clever and novel. -L >>> It does matter because it STINKS unless covered. >> > > It stinks anyway, covered or not. perhaps you need a different type of litter. >>When Gnarly did not >> cover hers my rather large apartment would stink until I cleaned the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > You only scoop once a day? Do you flush your loo only once a day? >euw. uh i clean Shaina's litter box once a day too and there is no smell at all in our apartment. her litter box is in a corner of a living room (university apartments) and there is no smell, except for when she just goes there, maybe, but not even then. of course, i could watch my cat closely, spend the entire day at home and scoop her litter every time she goes, but that would generally prevent me from functioning in the world. -L > > You only scoop once a day? Do you flush your loo only once a day? > >euw. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > -L Heh. Good point. |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.