Not Your Typical Litter Box Issue

[weebeasties]

Sam uses the litterbox just fine the only issue is how enthusiasticly he likes to dig in it. He will sling litter up to two feet outside the box. He will even do "litter patrol" to make sure the other cats have covered their business to his satisfaction and if not he will jump in and cover it up himself. This leads me to sweep up about 3/4 cup of litter out of the floor every day. That's not really the problem. The thing is that once the litter is in the floor he LOVES to roll around in it. He acts like it's catnip. I can keep the litter swept up through the day when I'm off of work, but the other 5 days he is blissfully rolling around in it until I get home. Gross. You don't really want to snuggle with a baby who may have been covered in litter 5 minutes ago. Does anyone know WHY he gets so happy playing in litter? If it makes any difference he is about a year and a half old and has done this since he was about 4 months old. I kept hoping he would grow out of it. All the litterboxes are scooped twice a day and dumped, scrubbed, and new litter every other week. Any insight on his behavior would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Summercats]

I am not sure. My guy came from a shelter, with a few litter boxes for many cats. At first he spent a great deal of time arranging the litter before use and after. I assumed he was used to trying to find a clean spot to use. He is still fastidious but does not spend as much time sorting the tray before use.
I plan to try to find a tray with a rim that keeps more of the litter in as he gets a lot outside the tray as well.
My guy does not roll in the litter but maybe yours does as a way of scent marking as there are other cats.

 

[susanm9006]

If you have the space you can pick up a washing machine plastic tray about 30 inches square for around $20. It gives you plenty of room for the litterbox, and the cat to roll around along side of it and at least keeps the litter off carpets.

 

[danteshuman]

I would suggest pricing an automatic litter box ... & buying a BIG plastic tub with a lid. Put the self cleaning litter box in the tub, cut a hole in the lid on one side, place the lid hole on the opposite side of the litter box. At least that way he can't roll in the used litter (hopefully) and the litter flinging will be contained.

 

[weebeasties]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. All the litterboxes are in tiled areas so clean up is easy. Most of them are covered boxes so that cuts down on tne mess as well. Sam's issue happens mostly with one particular box. It's the huge Petmate Giant Litterbox. It measures about 20" x 35" so finding a tray that fits might be difficult. I would really like to keep this box because one of our cats is humongous and this is the closest one I could find to fit him. (It's actually too small and I have joked he needs one of those kiddie wading pools) I have wondered if Sam likes rolling in the litter because he likes getting the scent of the other cats on him.

 

[maggiedemi]

If it's clumping litter, then at least it's clean litter that he's rolling around in! Non-clumping would be grosser to roll in. What I do to cut down on the litter thrown outside the box is tip the litterbox back and give it a little shake so that there is no litter near the opening part of the box. Then when they kick the litter it goes in that one spot. Am I explaining that right? It's hard to explain, but it helps...

 

[weebeasties]

If it's clumping litter, then at least it's clean litter that he's rolling around in! Non-clumping would be grosser to roll in. What I do to cut down on the litter thrown outside the box is tip the litterbox back and give it a little shake so that there is no litter near the opening part of the box. Then when they kick the litter it goes in that one spot. Am I explaining that right? It's hard to explain, but it helps...

Yes, it's clumping litter so it's cleaner. I do get what you mean by tipping it back so there is a clear zone at the front. I will definitely try that today. Sigh...he's such a little oddball....he's lucky that he's so adorable!

 

[weebeasties]

The guilty party.

 

[Summercats]

weebeasties
Aw gorgeous boy!

 

[Caspers Human]

"Who? Me?!"

 

[Summercats]

Caspers Human
If that is Casper in the photo in your avatar, he is super cute

 

[Caspers Human]

Yes, it is! Thank you!

He's the sweetest, most well-behaved cat I have EVER known!

 

[danteshuman]

He is a cutie pie ... erhm I mean handsome The only thing I could think of was giving him a a quick wipe down with a cat wipe (unscented) once a day provided it didn't irritate his skin.

 

[Lalka]

Why do Cats Roll Around in a Litter Box?

Did you try changing to a different litter? From what i read its a normal behavior and your Sam is beautiful btw These green eyes with light brown coat...

 

[weebeasties]

Why do Cats Roll Around in a Litter Box?

Did you try changing to a different litter? From what i read its a normal behavior and your Sam is beautiful btw These green eyes with light brown coat...

Thank you so much for the link! It gave me some ideas about WHY he may be doing this. I thought it was pretty weird but at least I know now that he's not the only one doing it. After reading the article I'm thinking it might be the type of litter as well. I'm slightly nervous about changing litter because we have 8 cats and they all have good litter habits with the current litter. Don't want to "rock the boat". I'm going to first try some strategies to keep the litter out of the floor to begin with. Then if there is still an issue, I will try changing the litter. Thanks so much everyone! You guys are awesome!

 

[arouetta]

How much room do you have in your place? A wading pool might actually be a good solution, if you have a room or a basement to put it in.