1 Year Old Cat Sleeping In Litterbox- Keeps Jumping Back In!

I have two cats that I've had for about a year and recently one of them started sleeping in the litterbox. I work with lots of cats so I'm used to strange behavior but this one has me stumped. I found him and his brother as babies drenched with no mom(their eyes were still blue even) and they've been my babies since that day. One is sleeping in the litterbox every chance he gets and I don't know why. I make sure him and his brother have plenty to do during the day. Both are neutered and have their vaccines. Normally well behaved.

Everytime I take him out the litterbox he jumps right back in! Sometimes I will even catch him sleeping in the kitchen trash or rooting in the bathroom trash! Could it be he's just a grubby type of guy? I know that litterbox sleeping can sometimes mean a cat isn't feeling well so I'm going to ask my vet but I was wondering what other people's experiences have been with this type of behavior. How did you deal with it? He eats normally, plays normally, and he's his usual snugglebug self but he's just obessed with the litterbox and anything smelly like garbage cans and it's making me crazy. His brother doesn't have any of these issues and is as grumpy as always.

Is it a covered litter box? We've had several cats at the shelter that liked to sleep in the covered litter boxes, so we simply gave them another one with a big soft towel rather than litter. Sometimes a cardboard box on its side worked, but most preferred the "litterbox bed".

Although it's unusual, there are "grubby" cats. We have a feral at the shelter that likes to roll in dirt, walk through puddles, sit in the rain, etc.. The other ferals sometimes get disgusted and clean him, but he seems oblivious to their disgust.

Or, to follow along with jcat 's suggestion, take the cover off of the litter box, and get him a covered bed (not another litter box) so he doesn't confuse the two as both being for peeing/pooping, as well as sleeping.

Are you sure he isn't eating any of the litter? If so, it could be a sign of anemia. Initially, anemia would not necessarily affect his eating, etc. But, it could escalate if not treated. Between the litter box issue and him rooting through garbage/trash, I wonder if he doesn't have some sort of chemical/electrolyte deficiency/imbalance.

jcat said:

Is it a covered litter box? We've had several cats at the shelter that liked to sleep in the covered litter boxes, so we simply gave them another one with a big soft towel rather than litter. Sometimes a cardboard box on its side worked, but most preferred the "litterbox bed".

Although it's unusual, there are "grubby" cats. We have a feral at the shelter that likes to roll in dirt, walk through puddles, sit in the rain, etc.. The other ferals sometimes get disgusted and clean him, but he seems oblivious to their disgust.

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Yeah, it's a covered litterbox. We have two or three covered litterboxes and the rest are uncovered. He seems to have taken a liking to a particular litterbox. The only case of a grubby cat I've ever dealt was was like yours, a feral who liked rolling in puddles and in general, being gross except she never did the litterbox thing. She often ended up cleaned by the other cats as well!

FeebysOwner said:

Or, to follow along with jcat 's suggestion, take the cover off of the litter box, and get him a covered bed (not another litter box) so he doesn't confuse the two as both being for peeing/pooping, as well as sleeping.

Are you sure he isn't eating any of the litter? If so, it could be a sign of anemia. Initially, anemia would not necessarily affect his eating, etc. But, it could escalate if not treated. Between the litter box issue and him rooting through garbage/trash, I wonder if he doesn't have some sort of chemical/electrolyte deficiency/imbalance.

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I don't think he's eating it. Everytime I catch him in there he's sleeping or rolling around. Sometimes it's when it's been freshly scooped and other times not(yuck). He was treated for a very minor case of anemia a while back and it's since gotten better. I was thinking that if I maybe move the litterbox and put a covered bed its spot instead might work. I've noticed he doesn't really use the covered litter boxes and uses mainly the uncovered ones so maybe he thinks the covered ones are little hiding/nap places? I'm wondering if he's just got odd behavioral quirks from being separated from his mom too early. I'm still going to ask the vet just to make sure he doesn't have a deficiency of some kind like you mentioned. Just because I don't see him eating from the litterbox or something from the trash doesn't mean it isn't happening so better safe than sorry.

I'm going to try these suggestions and see how they go. If he just likes having covered areas to hide or nap in, they should work. For the trash, that will just take me being more vigilaint. I'll update with progress and thank you both for the tips!

Update:

The vet says that he's ok. no anemia or anything(thank goodness). I moved the litterbox and put a covered bed there and he likes that. I even gave him a couple extra boxes to play in and he seems to really enjoy it. I still do catch him rooting in the trash or sleeping in it but I decided to watch him once when he was rooting in the trash. He likes to pull out certain things like cotton swabs/q-tips or anything stick like and run around with them in his mouth! Haven't figured out the napping in the trash yet but I've been making sure that it stays out of reach as best I can. It does seem like he just finds covered types of shelters comforting or maybe he just really wanted that specific spot cause he hasn't bothered with the litterbox since unless it's to do his business. Thank you guys for your help! I was so worried but it seems like he just has grub tendencies(trash digging) and having his naps in a new favorite spot.

Glad to hear the vet says he is OK! Also, happy to hear that he is using all the boxes in the right manner!

The trash thing is weird, but maybe if you can find a way to keep him from getting to it that alone will break the habit. The other option would be to buy a dog-proof trash can (haven't seen ones labeled as cat-proof!), maybe one that also attempt to seal in odors, in case that is what is drawing your cat to rummage through/lay on the garbage? See if this article might give you some ideas about a trash can you might want to try.

5 Best Dog Proof Trash Cans: Keeping Your Dog Out Of Garbage!

Trash digging is sort of a hunting activity and the q tips and other things he finds are his prey. You definitely want a cat proof trash bin and you want to set him up with more acceptable hunting events. A simple hunt could be some cat treats covered with plastic cups so he needs to tip the cup to get the treat. Or cut some holes in an overturned cardboard box and load it with his toys so he has to fish them out. And of course the wand with a toy on a string is great hunting fun.

FeebysOwner said:

Glad to hear the vet says he is OK! Also, happy to hear that he is using all the boxes in the right manner!

The trash thing is weird, but maybe if you can find a way to keep him from getting to it that alone will break the habit. The other option would be to buy a dog-proof trash can (haven't seen ones labeled as cat-proof!), maybe one that also attempt to seal in odors, in case that is what is drawing your cat to rummage through/lay on the garbage? See if this article might give you some ideas about a trash can you might want to try.

5 Best Dog Proof Trash Cans: Keeping Your Dog Out Of Garbage!

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Yeah I think he likes stinky stuff. We have a different trash can than the ones in the article you showed me so I think I'll look into getting one of those! I'll be moving in a couple months with both my boys coming with me so I'll make sure to get a trash can they can't get into!

susanm9006 said:

Trash digging is sort of a hunting activity and the q tips and other things he finds are his prey. You definitely want a cat proof trash bin and you want to set him up with more acceptable hunting events. A simple hunt could be some cat treats covered with plastic cups so he needs to tip the cup to get the treat. Or cut some holes in an overturned cardboard box and load it with his toys so he has to fish them out. And of course the wand with a toy on a string is great hunting fun.

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His favorite types of toys are wand toys but he's broken several of them playing to rough. He still has plenty though so I'm not too worried about that. He's kinda rough on his toys but I think he might like the game with the treats hiding under cups. It will let him nose around in something that isn't trash and he'll get something he can actually eat too. Or a toy so he doesn't get too much treats. I hadn't thought about the holes in a cardboard box, it might be something he'd like since he's a nosy young guy! I'll search around for more hunting type of activities. Thank you!

You may also want to get a hamper with a good tight cover. Cats become a little niffy if they sleep in the contained dirty clothes.