Plaid Dad Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 How do I teach our adorable kitten to cover her waste in the litter box? :eek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doran Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 How do I teach our adorable kitten to cover her waste in the litter box? :eek: Hmm. Not sure you can really TEACH her, though if she'll stick around after she goes, you could try showing her how it's done, by using a stick/poop scoop/tool. Barring that, other things I'd consider would be: 1. Does she feel completely safe in her box? Is it lidded and private. She may be bolting out of there because it frightens her in some way. 2. Is the litter suitable? Some cats dislike some litters. Small granules are best for little ones. The crystals and pine nuggets are sometimes too chunky for little paws. Maybe others will have more offerings. Good luck! :o Doran Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karenciavo Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 My adult cat doesn't cover it up. We use crystals and scoop often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay in Cal Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 If the kitten is very young, she may not have learned to do this super well--and in my experience, some cats are better than others. With a tiny kitten, immediately after she has used the litter box you can hold her paws and make scratching movements--repeated instruction can help. I've had kittens I've "taught" to use a litter box properly. But after years of cats--some are good at this, others not. All of mine do scratch and try to bury, but some just have bad aim with the litter, and make ineffective little mounds of clean litter. Scoop often! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Lynx Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 I have a kitty that was taken from her mother a bit too young, and she doesn't. she's 14 years old, and still does not. Believe me, there are worse things they could do ... sigh ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 I second Kay's suggestions. We've had to do this many times with kitties who've lost their momma. It doesn't take that long to "teach" them this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 Litter box house will let you avoid looking at the er, mess:o. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle T Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 We currently have three indoor cats. Two bury their business, one of them just proudly leaves it on top of the litter. I've heard that in a household with more than one cat, this can be a way of stating dominance, but I have no idea if that's true or not. Anyway, I don't think you can teach it. If you don't already have a litterbox that's covered, you might want to get one! Oh, and scoop often. Michelle T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in NC Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 It is a sign of dominance. I would not get a pan with a cover since many cats hate it and will actually start going outside the box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maria/ME Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 I "third" Kay's suggestion of showing her how it's done. We had a kitty who entered the house with a grown cat. They were not very happy about sharing a litterbox. It got full too fast and kitten would'nt cover her business. We got another larger box for her only and 'reminded' her how to dig. That seemed to do the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigitte Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 We have a kitten who doesn't cover her poop, despite all her scratching. Of course, how could she cover it when she is scratching the cabinet, wall, and toilet that surround her box instead of the litter! She scratches every surface EXCEPT the litter. It is pretty funny to watch. Our older cat does cover his. With this kitten we had to switch to the scoopable litter. She is very particular (not to mention perculiar). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plaid Dad Posted March 1, 2008 Author Share Posted March 1, 2008 Thanks, everyone. This kitten isn't tiny anymore, and she was raised without her mother, so had no one to show her how to do things. I'm actually grateful she's as tidy as she is, all things considered! :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cin Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 We have a kitten who doesn't cover her poop, despite all her scratching. Of course, how could she cover it when she is scratching the cabinet, wall, and toilet that surround her box instead of the litter! She scratches every surface EXCEPT the litter. It is pretty funny to watch. Our older cat does cover his. With this kitten we had to switch to the scoopable litter. She is very particular (not to mention perculiar). We had one of those too. He would scratch the sides of the box, the roof of the box, and then march out like he was stud-man, NOT the idiot who didnt' know what to scratch...:rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet in WA Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 It is a sign of dominance. I would not get a pan with a cover since many cats hate it and will actually start going outside the box.We used a cover only to keep our older dog from dining from the litter box. Now that she's passed on, we don't use the cover. It really is cleaner -- our cat used to urinate against the inside of the cover and it dripped down between the cover and the pan all over the floor, all over the hinges of the cover, etc. Much more trouble to keep clean. Now, all her waste stays in the pan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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