Cat keeps rolling in litter!

[jezahb]

This is driving me nuts. My kitty girl Khaleesi is rolling in the litter box whenever it is clean, or if there is enough litter on the ground between the boxes. I am trying to keep the litter off the ground, but I cannot NOT clean the boxes. However the moment she sees a clean box with no poops or pees in it she rolls. It is making me not want to pet her as her coat has this chalky, almost greasy feel now due to the litter dust, and today she had a watery eye as she got a piece of litter in it (removed the litter and eye seems ok, may put some tetracyclin eye ointment in it as a preventative measure against eye infection). I also have sensitive skin and the litter has fragrance to it, which irritates MY skin if she comes asking for a cuddle and my bare skin comes in contact with her. It has gotten to the point now, after a couple weeks of her rolling in it that using wet wipes isn't helping and actually made her fur stiff and spiky as it mixed with the dust. I think she is doing it because the air is really dry right now and I am sure her skin is itchy...but I am at wits end here. What can I do? My lovely black panther kitty looks like a grey spiked hair rat and I can't stand petting her...HELP! 

P.S I use Special Kitty Light and Fresh clay litter, pretty sure she shouldn't be ingesting that when she cleans herself

 

[ruaryx]

Hmm, sorry I don't have any experience with this but I was going to suggest that you can switch to an unscented litter if the fragrance irritates you.  You can also get a dehumidifier if the behavior is stemming from the dry air.   

Also wanted to mention that changes in behavior might be due to some kind of illness.  You can take kitty to the vet to rule out any other problems.  

 

[jezahb]

Yea, been running a humidifier but it is still dry in here. The behavior isn't "new" so to say, just intensified. She started rolling in freshly cleaned litter boxes when she was a kitten, but didn't do it often and stopped when I went on a business trip and the boxes got dirty. It broke her of the habit for a while, but now she is resuming it and a lot more frequently. 

 

[ruaryx]

Hmm, have you seen this?

http://pets.thenest.com/cats-roll-around-litter-box-12913.html

 

[abby2932]

Hmm, have you seen this?

http://pets.thenest.com/cats-roll-around-litter-box-12913.html

I had no idea this was a thing!

If my cat was doing this, the first thing I would do is switch litters. Maybe just buy a small bag of a different brand of litter to see if she'll still use it but not roll in it. How weird!

 

[jezahb]

I just put all new litter in the boxes last week, two boxes full of it  

 

If I change it to a different brand that will be 20 bucks down the drain. Why couldn't this have happened when the litter was needing to be changed soon anyways? LOL

Any suggestions for a good clumping litter? I don't want to use the super expensive natural stuff as it doesn't clump well and it is so light it would track everywhere in my apartment. 

 

[kitcatmeow]

My Max used to roll around in the litter when we used cat attract. After he was using then of I switched to a walnut litter because I can't stand the smell of scented ltter or the dust from clay.

 

[purrsngrrs]

I just know that cats roll in sand or dust so that any moisture on their fur gets dry. I think its quite natural but cat should not do it excessively. Hopefully change of litter works.

 

[jezahb]

Yea, the walnut stuff is great. I actually used to work for Blue Buffalo (who make it) but the issue is I am allergic to nuts. Kinda an issue LOL. My friend tried it once and after kissing one of her cats my lips blew up like I was stung by a bee, not fun.

I ended up buying Natures Miracle corn fiber litter, it was cheap (10 bucks for a bag that equals 17 lbs of clay litter supposedly). I hope it works, but at least if it doesn't I am less concerned about Khaleesi licking it off since it is natural. I was really getting uneasy with how much clumping litter/litter dust she was probably ingesting while cleaning herself.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

That sounds good.  Please let us know what  you think of the litter!

 

[kitcatmeow]

Yea, the walnut stuff is great. I actually used to work for Blue Buffalo (who make it) but the issue is I am allergic to nuts. Kinda an issue LOL. My friend tried it once and after kissing one of her cats my lips blew up like I was stung by a bee, not fun.

I ended up buying Natures Miracle corn fiber litter, it was cheap (10 bucks for a bag that equals 17 lbs of clay litter supposedly). I hope it works, but at least if it doesn't I am less concerned about Khaleesi licking it off since it is natural. I was really getting uneasy with how much clumping litter/litter dust she was probably ingesting while cleaning herself.

Wow thanks for sharing that. We don't have allergies in my family, but I will havre to make sure none of the kids friends have nut allergies.

 

[jezahb]

Wow thanks for sharing that. We don't have allergies in my family, but I will havre to make sure none of the kids friends have nut allergies.

Yea, it is a good thing to be aware of. I think Blue Buffalo needs to put it on their packaging honestly, nut allergies are so dangerous and people are unaware that the walnut cat litter could cause a reaction. 

 
That sounds good.  Please let us know what  you think of the litter!

Well she has stopped rolling. The moment I changed litters she stopped. So that is good, but I am not a big fan of the litter so far. It isn't very good at covering smells, mainly poo poo odors. Using clay litter I never smelled the cats waste unless the boxes were dirty or one of them had loose stools, but now whenever they go number 2 the whole house smells of it. Even if they cover it. Disappointing. 

 

[MoochNNoodles]

 
Yea, it is a good thing to be aware of. I think Blue Buffalo needs to put it on their packaging honestly, nut allergies are so dangerous and people are unaware that the walnut cat litter could cause a reaction. 

Well she has stopped rolling. The moment I changed litters she stopped. So that is good, but I am not a big fan of the litter so far. It isn't very good at covering smells, mainly poo poo odors. Using clay litter I never smelled the cats waste unless the boxes were dirty or one of them had loose stools, but now whenever they go number 2 the whole house smells of it. Even if they cover it. Disappointing. 

Oh that's too bad.

But regarding the allergies; my DD has a peanut allergy and I didn't even think about the walnut litter as an allergen source.  Maybe I would have if she were also allergic to tree nuts; but I think my mind is more tuned to allergy triggers like that than someone who is unfamiliar with nut allergies in general.