My Cat Refuses To Cover

Ok so my cat refuses to cover her poop after she goes i have no clue why shes just lazy or is there something else going on shes been doing this since she was a baby

One of mine doesn’t either.....but her brother goes to the box and does it for her.

Feeby (14+) stopped covering her poop years ago - although out of blue now and again she will. I have never figured out why. Depth of the litter, perhaps? I have noticed that when the litter is a little deeper she is more inclined to do so.

Since your girl has not really ever covered it up, I would just say that is quirk of hers. You could always add a little more litter and see if that makes a difference.

My fiancé's cat doesn't really cover either - but she thinks she is! She'll literally scratch the sides and cover of the litterbox like she's covering her poop, and that obviously doesn't work.

I just look at it on the side if we ever have to pull in a fecal matter sample for either of the kitties for the vet, it'll be easy to tell whose is whose.

She scratches the cat box but doesnt cover it

I didn't mention it, but yes, Feeby sometimes scratches the box NOT the poop. So, she 1.) doesn't bother to even scratch, or 2.) she scratches the box only, or 3.) she actually scratches the litter and covers the poop. The last one being very rare!!!

Same shes scratches the box i have to like scoop her poop so she will stop

jeep, a feral i raised from birth, never covered his. HK always covered his before jeep and through his entire life, but after jeep passed on HK stopped burying his and never started again. as homages go, i've seen better...

Krista buries her good poops. Her looser poops she lays bare for all to see (and smell.)

"Look at what you did to my gut and butt! Just look at it!"

I went and bought deodorizing kitty litter hoping that may help is their reason why they dont

Spookyandsammy said:

She scratches the cat box but doesnt cover it

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My Ruby does the exact same thing.

Welcome to TCS, BTW. If you'd like to "formally" introduce yourself, and your cat(s), we have a New Cats on the Block forum.

I read once that it is a dominance issue and a cat who feels as if they are at the top of the food chain does not cover their poop. Jamie covers his poop and also takes any pee pad that the dog has used and balls it up and throws it in a corner. My two older females do not cover their poop.

My sweetie Speedy who passed away in November never covered his either...omg the smell. But he was pretty much the best cat in every other way..I don’t know why he never did I don’t know if it was just something he didn’t feel he needed to do LOL. Anyway I would end up taking the litter scooper when I would find it and just cover it up with letter and then 10 minutes later dispose of it. I wouldn’t worry about it too much. He lived to be almost 17 and always had that issue LOL

Spookyandsammy said:

I went and bought deodorizing kitty litter hoping that may help is their reason why they dont

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Be careful of things like that. They often include fragrances or other chemicals that could turn your cat off using it. I like using baking soda. It works just as well and it doesn't annoy my cat's delicate sense of smell. You may want to look at the litter you are using as well. I like World's Best Cat Litter. I think it is wheat-based. It clumps well, it's very absorbent, and even traps odors better than clay. But clay is good too. Whatever you get, think simple, low dust, and unscented. Your cats' noses and lungs are far more sensitive than yours.

And here am I thinking that my Barley is the only one who does not cover his poop for everyone to smell and see...

He just scratches the sides of the box or the wall probably thinking its the right way to cover the poop, but no. It does not even do an inch of the job. LOL.

So your cat not covering her poop does not probably mean she is lazy. She is just being, well, like some cats.

Some cats just don’t cover. Maybe their mom never showed them how or maybe somehow they are missing the instinct. In multiple cat homes, another cat may do the the job for them but otherwise you are stuck with covering it or immediately scooping it out.

fionasmom said:

I read once that it is a dominance issue and a cat who feels as if they are at the top of the food chain does not cover their poop.

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susanm9006 said:

Some cats just don’t cover. Maybe their mom never showed them how or maybe somehow they are missing the instinct.

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It is true that more dominant cats don't cover their poop but there could be another reason.

In the wild a cat covers its excrement in order to hide the smell so that predators and other cats can't tell where they are. Sometimes a dominant cat won't cover in order to advertise to other cats that, "This territory is taken."

But, also, if a cat is secure in its territory and doesn't have to worry about predators or interlopers it might not feel the need to cover its excrement.

It, very well, could be that your cat feels safe and secure in her territory and doesn't have to worry about other cats trying to move in on her turf, plus she's got a human who scoops up her droppings on a regular basis so she doesn't feel the need to cover her litter box when she goes.

Bottom line: You have a happy cat.