Plays in dirty litter box!!!

[Lacox]

Hello, my cat is almost 1 year old. We found her outside when she was about 6-8 weeks old. She has been loved ever since. But she has this problem of always playing in the litter box when it’s dirty! We always have to give her a bath afterwards.. how do we stop this from happening?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!

[Lilith]

Hi and welcome

Little guttersnipe!

I'm reminded of when I bred Siamese and brought one litter out to play in the garden on a summer's day. Sun, leaves, lawn, fresh air ...They found the drain and crowded into it and would NOT leave it alone ...

Cats may be 'clean' but they still seem to enjoy smells that we don't.

I'd advise supervising her and, if you're around, cleaning the tray as soon as she uses it (sorry if you're already doing this or if she gets up to her mucky tricks while you're out.)

Also, while many cats are accustomed to regular baths, I feel this can be stressful and also lead to skin problems ... could special pet wipes be used instead (easier for you too or does she get caked?)

Or is there room for another cat tray, just to see if she'll dance about in that rather than the used one?

Hopefully other people will be along with more advice, it's quite a strange problem; perhaps she didn't get training she should have had from Mama. I do hope you manage to cure her - please let us know how you get on, good luck!

[Lacox]

Thank you for the quick reply.. we supervise her all the time. When we are home she is always around us.. it’s only at night time or when we are not home she does this..
I’d say we end up having to give her a bath probably around 3-4 times a month due to this.. I usually do give her a wipe down, but a lot of times the cat poop stuck all over her. So I have to give her a bath..
I’ve never seen this behavior in a cat before. I grew up with cats and I’ve never seen a cat want to intentionally get dirty.. especially in the litter box.. I can understand if it’s fresh brand new litter, it may be fun for them..
Idk, it’s frustrating.. cause not only does she get it in her self, she somehow gets cst poop on the wall and floor around her box.. and when it’s on her, anything she ends up snuggling up on us now dirty..
I appreciate the thoughts and comments.. if u think of anything else that could help.. thank you

[Lilith]

Eeewwww ...

Do you think maybe something like this might deter her?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rosewood-Openi ... itter+tray

This is my favourite hooded cat tray because of the opening top on the lid and the colour, though it comes in fashionable grey, but there are all kinds and prices on the market, but I'm wondering if the hood might curb her errm paw painting on the walls and general frisking about.

Very ladylike, isn't she?

Good luck!

[Lacox]

Lol, her painting on the walls and very lady like
I was laughing over that.. lol
To be honest I thought by having an enclosed litter box would make her want to sleep in it.. but the one you send me a link too might actually be a good idea. I like the open top on it.. I’m actually going to look into that! I hope that will do the trick!
Thank you for your suggestions and helping me through this..
from one cat lover to another; “cats rule!”

[MarySkater]

I know you can get powered litter trays that automatically rake out the faeces after the cat leaves. This would only help if your cat leaves the litter tray for a while before going back to it. If she deposits and immediately starts playing with it, it wouldn't solve the problem.

I did a couple of searches for self-cleaning litter trays. This one seems to have quite good reviews:
https://www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp ... pf_id=8926

You can also get closed litter trays where the cat's entry is actually on the top, not the front. I don't know how well cats take to them, but it should certainly stop litter being thrown on to the floor.

I hope you find a solution to your problem; it's not one I've heard of before.

[Lacox]

Thank you for getting back to me about the self cleaning ultra litter box. I have never seen that style before and seems like it would be a good investment.. I don’t have that kind of money to spend on a litter box as this time unfortunately. But it is something to consider for the future if she keeps this up..
I know, I have never heard or seen this before either.. I’m so lost of what to do.. lol

[Antonio]

Sometimes cats just do not like the "home smell" they have on their coat because it's too human and not enough wild.
Somewhere I had read that they hate to smell like a sofa or like the house where they live, or have any kind of perfumed and civilized smell on them.
This is the reason why several cats like to roll in the dirt as soon as they have the chance. It's to cover their smell with something that could help them to disguise during a hunt session

My cat used to roll on the spot where the neighbour's Golden Retriever would pee
Just think how smelly she would come back home... That's why I only take her outside under strict control and that's why I fenced all possible ways to reach others' courtyard

[MarySkater]

That's an interesting thought, Antonio. Maybe Lacox could try putting on plastic gloves and rubbing a handful of garden soil over the cat, or something else that would smell "natural," without being offensive to humans.

I've seen a wildlife rescue programme where, if the rescuers have to handle a fox cub, but hope to get the mother to come back and collect it, they rub the cub with earth to take off the human smell.

[Kay]

It might help if you have a really deep litter layer so burying her poop completely is easier for her - and if you also use a scented litter the smell will be disguised much more

So hopefully she won't be able to find it