6 month kitten picks up poop and plays with it outside litter box

[basmathe20]

Hello,

I'm a first-time cat owner. For the last two weeks or so, our kitten randomly goes into her litter box and picks up poop or pee clumps with her paws and mouth and starts to play with it outside the litter box. She sometimes brings it out to the room where my wife and I are sitting and plays with it there. My vet said he's never heard of this behavior.

Do any of you have experience with this sort of behavior?

 

[vince]

One of mine used to pick up turdlets out of the litter box and play with them. Eventually, she stopped on her own. I think providing more structured play time with me helped somewhat. Eventually, she stopped doing it.

 

[Remi&RiRi]

Hi! I haven't experienced this personally but Im sure its a real pain!

These links seem to offer some useful advice:
Cat Plays with Poop? Here's What to Do - Upgrade Your Cat
Why does my cat play with his poop?

Ive read through some of these links and would definitely try some of their suggestions and like Vince said above, I would just make sure their are many things for her to play with and that she has some designated time to blow off some steam. Also to eliminate the behavior at the source it would be wise to clean the box as often as possible. Best of luck!

 

[gilmargl]

Oh dear - yes. I know this problem. Small kittens love to play with small things - so you have to watch that they don't run off with the plastic top of the de-worming paste, the top of your pen or anything else they can chew, break and choke on. Most of their toys are mouse size, less dangerous but not quite so much fun! What they find in the litter box is just the right size! If the kittens are in quarantine, and kept away from the rest of the household, you cannot always scoop on time, one kitten will always go to the litter box as soon as you've left the room. Yuck! But the good news: by the time they are old enough to leave the nest (12 weeks) they have usually found other games to play and litter is no longer interesting.
Your kitten is already 6 months old which makes his behavior rather unusual. Why not try table tennis balls? I've found these are a good investment - you will need a lot as they lose them under the furniture. When a litter of kittens leaves and we clean the room thoroughly we are amazed how many toys we find hidden away!

 

[vince]

Definitely ping pong balls! If the kitten can get in and out of the bathtub or shower on their own, that's better as the tub or shower enclosure keeps them busy chasing it in a small area, well-contained and less likely to be lost. You will definitely need a quantity of them though, as stated above.