Cat litter!! Cat scratches everywhere BUT over the poo

moneysavvy35 · 3 March 2014 at 12:21PM

Hi

My cat uses her tray as normal, but for some reason cannot understand that she needs to use the litter to cover her poo. Its very strange as she scratches ride the sides of the tray, she even scratches the garden window sometimes as the tray it's up pushed up against it.

I feel sorry for her as she scratches away at the sides, smells her poo and realises it's not covered then starts the process again. It still never gets covered with the litter.

I have tried to mimic the action in front of her by scooping the litter over the poo but she still don't get it?!

Any ideas on what to do? We had her from 4 months and is now approaching 11months. Thanks in advance....

basill · 3 March 2014 at 1:07PM

One of ours is seven and scratches high up on the cabinet next to the tray. every time. I think he is a bit daft.....

B

tea_lover · 3 March 2014 at 1:11PM

Ours is a bit similar (he's 8). He can cover a wee no problem, but it's far more hit and miss with poo. He also scratches the floor by his food trays as the mat there is the same pattern as underneath his litter tray (they're nowhere near each other).

donnac2558 · 3 March 2014 at 2:06PM

My boy is 15 and never covers his poo. The girl comes along and does it for him. I don't really get smell though as Pura seems to kill it anyway, unless of course you are leaning over the tray just after he dropped one.

Brallaqueen · 3 March 2014 at 2:08PM

Could it be an indication of sight problems?

CaptainAmerica · 3 March 2014 at 2:23PM

donnac2558 wrote: »

My boy is 15 and never covers his poo. The girl comes along and does it for him. I don't really get smell though as Pura seems to kill it anyway, unless of course you are leaning over the tray just after he dropped one.

One of mine never covers up just leaves it on top so daddy can see it and easily remove it rather than fertling through the litter tray hunting poo!!!

cattie · 3 March 2014 at 4:41PM

I don't know if it would help if you were to use a deeper tray as then the litter wouldn't be inclined to go over the sides of the tray & more chance of it going on the poo.

Or perhaps try some shredded paper in place of cat litter, not sure if it'll work but it's something a friend uses for her cat?

It does seem strange as cleanliness is said to be ingrained in cats & thankfully my boy does cover his, even if the noise & effort he puts into doing so can sometimes seem to go on ages.

Fluff15 · 3 March 2014 at 5:04PM

My cats both cover their poops and also scratch on the sides of the tray for ages after - I have extra large trays that are deep with litter as they're big kitties so I don't think it's a size problem. I think they just like making sure their paws are clean from the litter afterwards, they'll also come and wipe them on the mat once they've finished in the tray. I've never thought it was an issue, they've done it since we've had them at 12 weeks - I thought they just really liked clean paws! If she's still happily going in the tray and not outside of it, which could be a sign of stress, I'd leave her to it.

joansgirl · 3 March 2014 at 6:28PM

I'll second what Fluff said. Be glad she's doing it in the litter tray and not on the floor! I've suffered the latter and would have preferred the former whether it was covered or not!

spidercrab · 3 March 2014 at 7:01PM

My cat sometimes used to sit in the litter tray with his bum hanging over the side and the poo would end up on the floor. He would then try and cover it up with the litter from the tray. Bless!

pink.1970 · 3 March 2014 at 7:10PM

I have two cats both different in their litter ways, older one has never covered his poop, and the kitten will dig for England if you let him just to cover a tiny poop.