Kitten Question (Litterbox)?

Question

I have a kitten who is about 20 weeks old and she plays in the litterbox. She will sling stuff around until dried poop or pee comes out and then starts to play with it around the house. I can't afford any fancy litterbox so does anyone know what I can do to stop her from playing in her litterbox?

Answer 1

I think she will outgrow this phase. Meantime, you could fashion a top out of a cardboard box that is bigger than the litterbox and tall enough for cat to stand up. You can get these free at grocery stores. Just ask at the produce dept. Just cut off the top flaps, turn box upside down, and cut one of the ends out, so it is like a cave. (I would not cut the whole end out, leave part of corner, so it will be stronger.) Put it over the litter box and it will keep the "stuff" from being flung all over. Have you discovered cats love boxes in general? I keep a flat (used to contain 24 bottles of water) next to my desk. Cat likes to lay in it to be near me. My cat even likes to crawl into paper grocery bags.

Answer 2

Firstly, a good start will be to remove the poo shortly after she's been, I use 2 freezer bags over my hand, then tie it in a knot and place it in the bin, or you can use Nappy bags, but freezer bags is the cheaper option. My male cat does the same thing, he doesn't play with it though, he just 'likes to flick clean litter out of the box'. I clean it daily, before I have a shower, also I spray it with bleach and then rinse it, before filling it again. Does she have any toys? Even a cardboard toilet roll can be lots of fun for a cat, an old golf ball to roll around the floor? toys don't have to cost money, my male cat chases our shadows! hours of fun for him, LOL. Sounds like she 'really' wants to play. Try some 'CATNIP SPRAY', spray her bed, cat gym or favourite toy with a few squirts of this (it's like a natural high for cat's) my cats go berserk, rubbing themselves over it and I'm sure yours will too. It will give her more incentive to play with the item you've sprayed rather than her litter box. Catnip spray is available from most pet shops and it's not expensive to buy, You just give the item a few squirts every few days. soon she will forget all about playing with the litter box. Best of luck! Have fun!

Answer 3

My cat (Dave) used to do that too. He didn't have any toys yet. I went and got him some of those rattle balls at the dollar store (6/$1) then I went and got some of those disposable roaster pans from the grocery. The biggest ones were only a dollar or two. I put a couple here and there as litter pans. Now, he plays in the big one (which is clean) and pottys in the others. He does however, take his toys and bury them in the clean box, then 'hunts' them down and tosses them out.
Cats do weird things. They're babies and to them, everything is fun and everything is a challenge.

Answer 4

First things first - Scoop out the litterbox as often as possible. Second, try and distract her. Buy her some cat toys and spread them around the house for her to play with. If you don't want to buy toys, then make them. Give her a empty wooden thread spool, or take an empty pill bottle and fill it with dry beans and hang it on a string for her to play with. You can even give her the plastic rings from milk jugs (my kitten loves them).

Answer 5

My cat's 13 years old and she still plays poo-ball from time to time! She also used to bury her toys/my watches/money etc in the litter when she was younger. Nobody ever said cats don't have revolting habits!

Hopefully yours will grow out of it - all you can do is keep emptying out the waste as soon as you know it's there so it's clean for her.

Cat-nip toys help in the main, but sometimes there's no stopping her because nothing comes close... it just HAS to be poo-ball, I'm afraid!

I empty the litter try as soon as I know she's been in there (sometimes she'll even come and moan at me to do it if I haven't noticed!). Poo-ball usually happens at night when I'm asleep. I whip it off her as soon as I see it and mop the floor immediately. There's not much else you can do - except laugh it off!

They're hooligans, the lot of them!

Answer 6

She's just playing which means she's happy. You can close the door to the room the litter box is in usually cats go by the door when they need to use the box and soon after she's finish ,clean it . Just until she grows out of this. Try it for a couple of days then leave the door open and see what she does.

Answer 7

If you got it from a pet store than you know that they sleep in their litterboxes. Those little cages aren't exaclty comfy! They probably didn't really have a form of entertainment either. Try to distract it with different toys, like mice and teasers and w/e, they are really inexpensive and sometimes you can make your own! Anyway, good luck!

Answer 8

I suggest you try scooping the litter box whenever she goes to remove the play toy. You may also consider giving her a different type of toy to play with (something with cat nip in it -- you can pick them up at Petsmart or Petco). That should keep her more interested in things outside of the litter box...of course a good old piece of string, pipe cleaner, or twisty-tie always work as good cat toys too. If you have the money...invest in a laser pointer. They are great entertainment for the cat and owner! :)

Answer 9

This is normal for kittens to play in their litterbox, it is a source of entertainment for them. I would suggest putting out maybe one or two toys for her to play with. Perhaps placing the litterbox in a kind of boxed in area will help to lower the chance of her wanting to play in it. Either way it is a kitten "thang", she will eventually grow out of it as she matures.

Answer 10

that's kittens for you. she's just a that playful stage where they play with everything. my cats did that when they were kittens. get a litterbox with a lid on it that way the stuff doesn't get thrown around. and good luck. don't worry they do grow out of it.