How do I get my dog to stop treating the cat's box like a salad bar?

[Pajama Mama]

Ewww! My dog keeps eating the cat's ummm, poo. It is so disgusting. It seems unhealthy for him too. He seems to vomit when he's been grazing in the box. Our dog has been with us for 4 yrs since he was a baby. The cat is fairly new. Shadow followed the cat around for a couple days when we got him. He then realized that the cat was kinda boring to follow. They lie within a foot of each other when they sleep and Shadow doesn't bother when the cat goes anywhere. They are both males. Could that be the issue? Is it our dog's breed? He's 1/2 black lab and 1/2 Austrailan shepherd. Shadow will eat just about anything. But cat poo? Help

[LaxMom]

No, I think dogs just like to snack out of the litter box.

 

Our litter box is located in the attic, with a decorative screen in front of the attic steps. That keeps her out, but the cat goes through as he pleases.

[Ottakee]

Get a horse. Then the dog can have a BIG buffet of horse poop to eat. They seem to love that as well.

 

Sorry I don't have answers for you but that is yet another reason why our critters are outside.

[Night Elf]

BTDT. I've learned to check that litter box many times throughout the day. I think it's the smell that attracts the dog so I keep the box as clean as possible.

[Annie]

Top entry litter box. My cats had no problem adjusting to it.

 

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754439

[joannqn]

I have one litter box that's actually a storage box with high sides. It's located in our kitchen "pantry" which has a swinging child's gate in the entry. Cats can jump over it but the dog can't get in to the area. The cat's food is also in there to keep the dog from eating it.

 

We have another litter box upstairs. It's your standard side entry covered box. I turn the opening towards the wall with enough room for the cats to get in but not enough room for the dog.

[ChristusG]

My sister is a vet tech and she has told me that the protein in a cat's poop is what attracts dogs to it. Very nutritious LOL! I think it is totally disgusting. Cats poop in our yard and my dog (a 9 year old Jack Russell) thinks it is just the greatest thing. Ewww! When we had cats (which we recently got rid of because I found out I'm very allergic) we had a big cage that we put them in at night so they didnt' run around the house being mischevious. In that cage we also kept their litter box and food. We opened the top door of the cage and left it open so that the cats could come and go as they pleased, but the dog and kids could not get into the litter box.

[hornblower]

One of my dog fosters was a dedicated cat 'cookie' eater & taught one of my own dogs to indulge :glare:. I don't know that it's that unhealthy if they just get the poop - dogs are omnivores & will eat all sorts of things. Any dog who is a snacker does IMO need to be wormed more regularly.....The litter is another thing. Some dogs actually like the litter too - if you're using wheat scoop etc it's ok but the clay types are unhealthy to ingest IMO.

 

As for keeping the dog out, build a cupboard & put a cat flap on it or put it in a closet with a sliding door & a board blocking the top.... you want to put it somewhere where the dog can't get in but the cat can. My cat is very regular so usually I beat the dog to the box anyway. I clean the box at least once a day.....

 

You can buy cupboards

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&x=0&ref%5F=nb%5Fss%5Fgw&y=0&field-keywords=cat%20litterbox%20furniture&url=search-alias%3Daps

or if you're handy, get some ideas from the Ikea hacks

http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/2009/07/ikea-ps-locker-into-litter-box.html

 

The easiest by far is, as I mentioned, a cat flap on a sliding closet door. Install the cat flap on a 8 inch wide piece of wood the height of the closet door. The closet will not close fully - it will bump into the wood piece.

[Cindyg]

Top entry litter box. My cats had no problem adjusting to it.

 

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754439

 

Ditto this. My fat little puppy was so disappointed!

[Satori]

We have the electronic kind that swoops up poop automatically, so a top entry won't work. I'm thinking of putting up a child gate in the room where the litterboxes are.

[jujsky]

We had to put up a baby gate in the section of the bathroom that contains the litterboxes. The cats can jump over it, but the dogs can't get in. Dogs do some pretty gross things sometimes.

[Pajama Mama]

I had no idea that cat poop was nutritious. Maybe I should offer Shadow some ketchup with his "fries". Yuck. I guess we'll try a cat box with the top entry on it. Thanks for the ideas.

[Susu]

I don't know the answer, but the imagery of a dog lingering over the cat litter box, carefully selecting this topping or that for his "salad" really got me laughing!

 

(And this is probably the main reason I don't have cats! lol)

 

Susu

[Mary in VA]

So far the dog hasn't discovered the "treats." But my dd scoops at least once a day. We figure that way the dog won't be attracted by the odor. Seems to be working so far.

 

I remember when I discovered our last dog eating the "treats" in our back yard! EWW!!! And it always gave her a very upset stomach. But sometimes she would roll in it!! So she'd stink AND have an upset stomach. I loved my dog, but sometimes she was so frustrating.

 

Mary