Sitting in litterbox

[magichop]

I have 2 cats, brother and sister from the same litter. They were both fixed at 6 mos. We moved into a new apt 1 month ago. The male has just started to sit in their shared litterbox!

What is up with this behavoir? I'm kind of distressed about it.

The only thing I can think of is that the litterbox is now in a low cupboard from which I removed the door. So it is kind of cave-like. Maybe he feels safe in there? But he's sitting in poop for heaven's sake!

 

[Anne]

Hi Magi and welcome to the forums!

What is he doing in the litter box exactly? Just sitting? Could he possibly be straining to defecate or urinate?

Are there any other behavioral changes?

By the way, I moved this thread to the behavior forum.

 

[magichop]

No other behavoir changes. He just sits there. Not straining, not trying to do anything. Just hanging out... watching me watch him. It's totally bizarre.

My mom thought that he may have a hairball and wants to be close to the litterbox just in case? I brush them frequently so I haven't had to be diligent about hairball remedy. I'll try giving him some tonight if he does it again.

Thanks for moving this thread. This is all kind of new to me.

 

[sandie]

Usually they will find a small place, such as a litter box to hide from something. I have found when my cats would do this it is because of stress. If you take hime to a vet and nothing is wrong with him, I would look into anything that may be upsetting him. Good luck!

 

[Anne]

Maybe you could offer him an alternative? A cozy box with a cover on top an an opening at the side? You could even spray som Felliway on it to make it more attractive.

Other than that, assuming it's a stress-related behavior problem, you can try an set time everyday when you lure him out with some interactive playtime. Do you have some kind of fishing rod type toy? That might distract him from his worries.

 

[magichop]

So far so good last night and tonight. Maybe the extra attention is helping. I must buy him some more of his favorite little furry mice.

What a coincidence, I was just reading "Think Like a Cat" by Pam Johnson-Bennett tonight. I just read about Felliway synthetic pheremone spray... interesting!

Thanks so much for the help. You all have been super responsive!

 

[Anne]

I'm glad to hear things are getting better.

That's an excellent book by the way! I put it in the shop's selected books on behavior.

 

[chloe111]

I also have 2 cats. 1 female and 1 male. My male cat sometimes likes to jump in the litterbox and scatter the litter around. After he is done, he will just lay down in it. I think he is just crazy!!

 

[magichop]

Yes, ditto for him! He can barely wait for me to change the litter so he can get in it and scratch away. Sometimes I have to put the fresh litter in around him because he's already in the box after one scoopful! He's definitely attached to his litterbox!

Keeps up the pressure to keep it clean though. I live in an apartment and would have to pay big bucks to remove cat urine from the carpet... so I'm a slave to the box. I'd never want him to think twice about using the box vs. some corner of the carpet. It's probably a good thing all the way around!

 

[Anne]

Our Gezer is like that too

We call him "the engineer" as he's always making new construction with the litter. He seems so focused, like he's building something in there (and around...).