Hello, I'm new here and came for some advice! My kitten, Sassy is 3 months old. I've lived with cats before when I was with my parents. Now that I am on my own, she is my first full time job. So far everything has been great, but I think she might be rolling in her poop. When she comes out from her liter box to climb on me, she smells horribly like it, and has it on her paws. She cleanse herself just fine, but almost makes it last priority. It has been bad to enough to where she is tracking it around the house, or on me! Last night was the icing on the cake...I woke up in the middle of the night and smelled something and turned the light on, it was cat poop in the bed! She was playing with a toy mouse next to me, which makes me assume that she had done it some time before and I must have rolled on it at some point. Anyone have an input? Her liter was cleaned that night before I went to bed.
Daily Kitten Chat Forum » Cats & Kittens
Rolling in her poop?
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Gosh, audrey, I hate to welcome you to TDK with such a nasty problem! But I'm sure you'll get some helpful advice here. Could it be the type of litter? Some litter gets stuck in paws and it can really get stinky. But, the cat poop in the bed... (yuck!)... could it be that Sassy is constipated? Was it a really hard ball of poop? If she's constipated she might be straining to have a bowel movement but she may not be able to be completely successful. Sorry to be discussing poop, but....
Posted 3 years ago by WillowandWindismom #
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Do you have a lid on the litter box? You might try taking it off so she has more room to dig and bury her messes. An enclosed litter box is about the same for a cat as a porta-potty is for a human. The more enclosed and odiferous it is, the faster they want to get in and get out. So rather than bury their messes, kittens tend to step in it in their haste to get out of it. Also make sure the box is big enough. Depth is good, but it's not as important as length/width.
Also make sure her poo is well-formed enough that she's not dragging it out with her.
I hope some of this is helpful! Litter box issues are a pain but they can almost always be resolved!
Welcome to TDK!!!
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Hello and thankyou! I thought initially it was just stuck in her paws, but as long as i've been around others cats, they've never smelled the way she does. Her whole body smells like shes been having a field day in there! And, as for the poop in bed, it was a few drops and either she did it in the bed, or maybe it was stuck to her? Sadly, (and very gross)my boyfriend woke up with it on him! When he got up it was mashed into the sheets, we think he rolled on it in his sleep. He was not a happy camper! --I have changed her liter to a different brand and changed the level of the liter in the pan thinking maybe it was too much or too little. Neither have proven any kind of change.
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I feel your pain. Taco does this a lot, he's not the best at covering his messes and tends to step in them while trying his best to cover up. What helped me is keeping the litter box in an area where I can see him when he goes and hopping in to teach him how to cover his mess correctly when I noticed him going. Eventually he started picking it up on his own how to somewhat avoid the mess. They get better as they get older. I would recommend picking up some kitty wipes. We use them a lot. Instead of having to give Taco a bath after his mess, we just wipe his paws off if he accidentally stepped in it.
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Hello Lisa! I do have a lid! That is the next thing to go! Her poop does seem to be formed enough for it not to come out with her. I think the box is a normal size, when i bought it at the store, it seemed to be a "normal" size compared to all of the other ones there. I am planning on taking the lid off tonight and seeing what that does. THankyou so much!
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Hello ginirosaru! One of my friends told me it should get better with age...I hope thats the case. We've been dealing with it fine (although the smell isn't that great) up until last night. It was kind of the icing on the cake. I mean, I know its not intentional, but cats can be so finickey (sp) that i am assuming theres a meaning to behind HOW the poop actually made it down the hallway and up into our bed. How did you teach tavo to cover it up?
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Every time I noticed him in the litter box, I came over and quietly waited till he was finished. I'd then take his paw and dig it in the fresh litter to cover up his poop for him gently guiding his paw with my hand. He started picking up that he doesn't have to prance around in the poop to get it covered and that fresh litter covers the mess up. It took some patience but he started to pick it up after a few weeks.
Perhaps you can try this while you are in the house and able to watch him, and then at night when you are sleeping and times where you aren't able to check up on him you can confine him to a smaller area, or an area without carpets? That way if he tracks you can just mop the floor really fast instead of dealing with huge messes.
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Audrey, others who've already replied have given you some great feedback.
Please make sure Sassy's litterbox is big. Bigger than you think she needs, bigger than you think she'll ever need. No lid is better than lidded; no rim is better than rimmed. My personal favorite cat litter box is a black plastic cement mixing tray (commonly sold at Lowe's or Home Depot), and it usually costs significantly less than commercially made cat litter boxes.
Next, her diet. If her feces are loose or drippy, walking in them is going to result in it smearing all over her fur. Please make sure you carefully monitor her diet, so that her stools are firm. If she's currently on a low-quality food, that may have a lot to do with her stools. Feeding a high-quality food, where at least 3 of the first 5 ingredients are meat, is a good idea. When you feed a high-quality food, less food is needed, stools are firm, and stool volume is reduced.
Third, her litter. The smaller the particles of litter, the more likely she'll actually want to dig around in it. If you want her to learn to bury her feces, a smaller grained litter (like Tidy Cat Scoop) will probably work better than a larger textured litter (like Feline Pine).
And last, you mentioned that she's only 3 months old, and isn't around siblings or her mama any more. She hasn't learned to cover up her litter, that's all, and it makes it easier for her to step in it.
Keep the litter box somewhere where you can observe her using it, and after she's used it, go ahead and help show her about scooping. (Use your litter scooper, but move gently and don't startle her.) As soon as she shows any inclination to make a scooping motion with her front paw, praise her and pet her like you've never seen anything so wonderful! Lather, rinse, repeat; soon Sassy's litterbox habits should be just fine.
Good luck, and let us know how she does!
Posted 3 years ago by anncetera2 #
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Audrey...Welcome to TDK.
In the last several yrs. I've have the pleasure of learning all sorts of things about cats & kitties. Whether they're feral or one of your own indoor-only cats or kitties, I've found that some of them simply like to play in the litter as if it were a toy box. Even the 2 ferals I just trapped & had spayed & neutered this last couple of weeks chose to lay inside their litterbox,even tho they had a nice comfy bed to sleep in.
I think w/the ferals,it's a familiar smell to them & they feel safe in the litter. With the kitties,they all just love the play & the way the litter bounces around when they smack. Like the others have said,I'msure Sassy will grow out of her habit. Give her more toys & playtime attention when she is not in the litter doing her business. I think her attention span for the box with slowly diminsh. Look at it as only temporary,& her habits will soon change.
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Thankyou everyone! Sassy lives with just my boyfriend and I, and I can honestly say she is a very active kitten that never stops! I love that about her too. She came from a a shelter/humane society that had her mother and siblings. From what they have told me she is Bengal/mix, I love the fact that she doesnt stop!
I believe her poop is in good shape (haha). She gets great food that is definatly not low quality. I have Tidy Cat Scoop that I changed out after the first few weeks she was with us, so i'm hoping that it isn't the problem.
I plan on taking the lid off and watching her closely the next few days. And you are all right, she plays in there like its a sand make to build things! I hear liter go everywhere when she gets in there. Then she comes out and shakes like a dog and comes to me.
I have a feeling she will grow out of it soon, I just needed advice from everyone. I really appreciate you all, I have to admit, I havea horse and am on a horse forum as well and they weren't nearly as friendly as you all have been to me, thankyou!
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Welcome to the TDK family, I have one cat that just loves to roll around in the fresh litter, and then runs thru the house afterwards....I think he thinks its like a giant sandbox. And I have another one, Ms. B who 'has' to be first in the litter box and will wait patiently until I have moved so she can 'bless' the new litter. The suggestion of wipes is a great one, and the cement mixing container is fantastic, I replaced all of my boxes with three of them (yes I have 5 furrbabies) and they love the big size. Your baby hasn't learned yet how to cover and with no one else to teach her, its up to you as psuedo parent to take that in hand. Again welcome to our family.
Posted 3 years ago by AZDEBRA 5/27 & crew #
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AZD, you cracked me up about the kitty that had to bless the box. My Jasmine used to do that and it was soooooo funny. No what time or what day I filled it with all new, fresh litter, she could summon what was needed to christen it. And yes, she would sit and watch patiently, and intently while I did it, almost licking her chops with anticipation. Then she'd sling that litter everywhere! I kept her litter box inside a bigger, high sided open box that a VCR came in, with a door cut for her majesty to strut in and out of.
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thank you everyone for the advice! I watched her today when I got home....it appears she did everything right, she got in kicked it all to one side so you could see the bottom, thats where she stood. Then she pointed her butt into the liter and pooped, turned around to check it out and the dug as if she was looking for burried treasure. She did cover it up even though it took her a while, and she barely (if at all) smelled like it.
Now i'm confused. I guess she doesn't do it all the time, but she didn't even step in it once. Hopefully it stays that way, I took the lid and am still a little nervous to sleep at night.
I will definately be out tomorrow to buy the big cement mixer and some wipes.
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Audrey, the litter should be deep enough that Sassy has a hard time scraping well enough to clear a spot that reaches clear to the bottom. (This usually means at least 3 inches deep.)
Remember to scoop frequently. If you have only one cat, twice a week should be sufficient, but every day or every other day would be ideal.
Posted 3 years ago by anncetera2 #
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I had the world's tiniest Siamese who insisted on the world's largest litter box. She also hated an enclosed box, and she loved to kick and throw litter around, so the area was quite messy. And that's one problem you face with having a rimless and open litter pan.
One solution I found was to have a piece of plywood under the large litter tray, and a large cardboard box over the litter tray that fit on top of the plywood. I cut a doorway for the cat to enter and exit, painted the plywood, covered the box with wallpaper, and had a prettier "comfort station" for my can than I did for myself.
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Lisa, except for the cement mixing box I have the other litter boxes in cardboard boxes because Ms. B (my blessing kitty) 'needs' to scratch something when she uses any litter box (including the wall if there is nothing else) and cardboard boxes are easier to replace than me patching the wall all the time.
Posted 3 years ago by AZDEBRA 5/27 & crew #
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