I've had my 4-year-old mini aussie for about 5 months. First 3 months she was separated from my two cats by a baby gate 24/7 so they each got half of the apartment. Last 2 months I've been letting them all mingle during the day, baby gate at night. The cats hiss and whine sometimes when she walks by and generally aren't amused by her high energy, but things have reached the "stay away from us and we'll try not to resent you too much" phase.
For the last two weeks, she has developed a habit of laying in the litter box that I keep in the hall closet. She's not eating poop, she's just hanging out in there. It's a rubbermaid tote with the lid on and a big entry hole cut in the side because my cats are too lazy to jump into an unaltered tote and like having a roof. I've caught her in there 4 or 5 times, usually when I hear the cats whining in the hallway. I don't know what prompted this behavior, there haven't been any changes in the environment lately. She has a crate that she loves and should fulfill the cozy den instinct. She does like rolling in strong smelling things, she can't pass by fresh mulch without going for a nice roll (don't worry, I make sure to put the mulch back in place afterward ). She's not really rolling in the box, just laying down in there. I gave her a bath today before trimming her fur and caught her in the box two times since then.
I'm concerned that this habit will lead to the cats avoiding that box altogether, and they only have one other box. It's also not the most sanitary thing and I want to stop it ASAP. Any ideas?
For the last two weeks, she has developed a habit of laying in the litter box that I keep in the hall closet. She's not eating poop, she's just hanging out in there. It's a rubbermaid tote with the lid on and a big entry hole cut in the side because my cats are too lazy to jump into an unaltered tote and like having a roof. I've caught her in there 4 or 5 times, usually when I hear the cats whining in the hallway. I don't know what prompted this behavior, there haven't been any changes in the environment lately. She has a crate that she loves and should fulfill the cozy den instinct. She does like rolling in strong smelling things, she can't pass by fresh mulch without going for a nice roll (don't worry, I make sure to put the mulch back in place afterward ). She's not really rolling in the box, just laying down in there. I gave her a bath today before trimming her fur and caught her in the box two times since then.
I'm concerned that this habit will lead to the cats avoiding that box altogether, and they only have one other box. It's also not the most sanitary thing and I want to stop it ASAP. Any ideas?