HELP! Kitten Doesn't Bury Waste.

Hi,

I am new to this group, but am wondering if someone has a solution to
a problem I have never seen before.

We have a wonderful male persian kitten we picked up from a breeder
when he was 9 weeks old and he has been with us for about a month. He
is truly sweet and a delight in every way but one... he doesn't seem
to know how to bury his waste in the litter box. :-(

He was litter box trained from the moment he arrived and even went to
the litter box we had setup for him within moments of arriving him,
but we soon noticed later that his waste wasn't buried in the litter
and thought it was strange.

Soon, we were able to witness the problem. He finishing "doing his
business" and ATTEMPTS to bury it, but instead of stratching at the
little to do so, he scratches at the sides of the little box! He then
looks back to see if he has buried everything (he hasn't at all) and
then turns around and tries again from another angle, but acomplishes
nothing as he just scratches at the plastic sides of the litter box.
He does this a couple of times and then gives up and gets out of the
box leaving his waste exposed and soon a HORRID smell in the area
around the box.

We thought the litter box was prehaps smaller than he was used to
since the breeder may have had a much larger box for multiple cats so
we went and got him a very large one (actually used for small dogs)
but it's no help. He sits in the middle of this huge litter box,
finishes and then proceed to go scratch at the sides of the box again
to bury his mess. :-(

We then tried one of those automatic litter boxes that cleans itself.
He is no better at buring his waste there but we hoped it would clean
up for him. Instead, let's just say because the waste doesn't get
covered by him it gets caught in the rake of the machine when it tries
and pick up clumps and put them in the waste container! That is almost
worse that a regular litter box!

Has anyone seen this before? He is sweet as can be but isn't getting
any better at understanding he needs to scratch at the LITTER when he
is done no matter how many litter boxes we try. He continues to try
and scratch the little box sides from three or four different
positions after he is done.

I grew up with cats and have never seen this before.

Any ideas??

"Ryan" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

I am new to this group, but am wondering if someone has a solution to
a problem I have never seen before.

We have a wonderful male persian kitten we picked up from a breeder
when he was 9 weeks old and he has been with us for about a month. He
is truly sweet and a delight in every way but one... he doesn't seem
to know how to bury his waste in the litter box. :-(

This isn't weird; it seems to be an individual (to the cat) thing,
burying their waste. Some cats do, some don't, incl. my cats.

Cathy



He was litter box trained from the moment he arrived and even went to
the litter box we had setup for him within moments of arriving him,
but we soon noticed later that his waste wasn't buried in the litter
and thought it was strange.

Soon, we were able to witness the problem. He finishing "doing his
business" and ATTEMPTS to bury it, but instead of stratching at the
little to do so, he scratches at the sides of the little box! He then
looks back to see if he has buried everything (he hasn't at all) and
then turns around and tries again from another angle, but acomplishes
nothing as he just scratches at the plastic sides of the litter box.
He does this a couple of times and then gives up and gets out of the
box leaving his waste exposed and soon a HORRID smell in the area
around the box.

We thought the litter box was prehaps smaller than he was used to
since the breeder may have had a much larger box for multiple cats so
we went and got him a very large one (actually used for small dogs)
but it's no help. He sits in the middle of this huge litter box,
finishes and then proceed to go scratch at the sides of the box again
to bury his mess. :-(

We then tried one of those automatic litter boxes that cleans itself.
He is no better at buring his waste there but we hoped it would clean
up for him. Instead, let's just say because the waste doesn't get
covered by him it gets caught in the rake of the machine when it tries
and pick up clumps and put them in the waste container! That is almost
worse that a regular litter box!

Has anyone seen this before? He is sweet as can be but isn't getting
any better at understanding he needs to scratch at the LITTER when he
is done no matter how many litter boxes we try. He continues to try
and scratch the little box sides from three or four different
positions after he is done.

I grew up with cats and have never seen this before.

Any ideas??

"Ryan" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

I am new to this group, but am wondering if someone has a solution to
a problem I have never seen before.

We have a wonderful male persian kitten we picked up from a breeder
when he was 9 weeks old and he has been with us for about a month. He
is truly sweet and a delight in every way but one... he doesn't seem
to know how to bury his waste in the litter box. :-(

Perhaps he figured out that burying the item gives you very little reason to
expedite removal operations. Think of it as a convenience ... no time wasted
probing around for the little stinkers.

On 2004-11-20, Ryan penned:

Has anyone seen this before? He is sweet as can be but isn't getting any
better at understanding he needs to scratch at the LITTER when he is done no
matter how many litter boxes we try. He continues to try and scratch the
little box sides from three or four different positions after he is done.

I grew up with cats and have never seen this before.

Any ideas??

My cat does the exact same thing. I figure it makes it easier to empty the
litter box *shrug*.

Why does this behavior bug you so much? You seem really upset. Is it just
the smell of unburied poop?

Believe me, you could have worse problems. I had a dog who liked to eat the
contents of used litter boxes =/

--
monique

Hi Ryan ,
Does it matter?. I find it easier to scoop out the poo if my cat
doesn't bury it.
Just be glad your cat is using his litter box and not pooping else
where
Alison


"Ryan" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

I am new to this group, but am wondering if someone has a solution
to
a problem I have never seen before.

We have a wonderful male persian kitten we picked up from a breeder
when he was 9 weeks old and he has been with us for about a month.
He
is truly sweet and a delight in every way but one... he doesn't seem
to know how to bury his waste in the litter box. :-(

He was litter box trained from the moment he arrived and even went
to
the litter box we had setup for him within moments of arriving him,
but we soon noticed later that his waste wasn't buried in the litter
and thought it was strange.

Soon, we were able to witness the problem. He finishing "doing his
business" and ATTEMPTS to bury it, but instead of stratching at the
little to do so, he scratches at the sides of the little box! He
then
looks back to see if he has buried everything (he hasn't at all) and
then turns around and tries again from another angle, but
acomplishes
nothing as he just scratches at the plastic sides of the litter box.
He does this a couple of times and then gives up and gets out of the
box leaving his waste exposed and soon a HORRID smell in the area
around the box.

We thought the litter box was prehaps smaller than he was used to
since the breeder may have had a much larger box for multiple cats
so
we went and got him a very large one (actually used for small dogs)
but it's no help. He sits in the middle of this huge litter box,
finishes and then proceed to go scratch at the sides of the box
again
to bury his mess. :-(

We then tried one of those automatic litter boxes that cleans
itself.
He is no better at buring his waste there but we hoped it would
clean
up for him. Instead, let's just say because the waste doesn't get
covered by him it gets caught in the rake of the machine when it
tries
and pick up clumps and put them in the waste container! That is
almost
worse that a regular litter box!

Has anyone seen this before? He is sweet as can be but isn't getting
any better at understanding he needs to scratch at the LITTER when
he
is done no matter how many litter boxes we try. He continues to try
and scratch the little box sides from three or four different
positions after he is done.

I grew up with cats and have never seen this before.

Any ideas??

"Alison" wrote in message
...
Hi Ryan ,
Does it matter?. I find it easier to scoop out the poo if my cat
doesn't bury it.
Just be glad your cat is using his litter box and not pooping else
where
Alison

It does matter because it STINKS unless covered. When Gnarly did not
cover hers my rather large apartment would stink until I cleaned the box.
I scoop once a day, but don't want my place to stink in between.

Ryan--try training your cat. When you see an uncovered poo in the
box, go get him, talk to her sweetly, pick him up gently and place
him in the box. Gently take his paws and cover the poo with litter.
Then praise him.

Why be nice? Because you want covering the poo to be associated
with nice things like petting and praise. This worked with my cat.

"Cathy Friedmann" wrote in message
...

"Ryan" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

I am new to this group, but am wondering if someone has a solution to
a problem I have never seen before.

We have a wonderful male persian kitten we picked up from a breeder
when he was 9 weeks old and he has been with us for about a month. He
is truly sweet and a delight in every way but one... he doesn't seem
to know how to bury his waste in the litter box. :-(

This isn't weird; it seems to be an individual (to the cat) thing,
burying their waste. Some cats do, some don't, incl. my cats.

Cathy

Have to agree with you Cathy. The majority of the time my cat does her
"business" outside, but now and then, depending on the weather, she does
this inside. Sometimes she buries her poop and sometimes she doesn't. The
resolving of any smells associated with the lack of a proper burial are
easily resolved. I simply scoop, toss into the toilet and flush. Any
residual odours are taken care of with a litter box deodorizer, much the
same way we as humans deal with the unpleasant odours we give off.

Judy

"Mary" wrote in message
m...

It does matter because it STINKS unless covered.

It stinks anyway, covered or not.

When Gnarly did not
cover hers my rather large apartment would stink until I cleaned the
box.
I scoop once a day, but don't want my place to stink in between.

You only scoop once a day? Do you flush your loo only once a day?
euw.
Alison

"Diane L. Schirf" wrote in message
ink.net...
In article ,
"Alison" wrote:

You only scoop once a day?

I scoop as soon as I know Hodge has been.

I scoop before I leave for work, when I get home from work, & then late at
night beofre going to bed. In the summers, when I'm not working, then 2 - 4
times/day - still averages out to 3X/day.

(If I've not been around, I check. If I am around, I know, because there
are usually tremendous crashing noises, yowling, a trail of displaced
litter, and even the occasional knocking off the Booda Dome cover,
followed by a mightily pleased looking Hodge trotting about and getting
playful. He is a man, after all.)

Herrie is my first male cat, & he's basically the same. First, he often
acts like he has a bulldozer in there - would probably make engine noises if
he could: tends to build mouintains oif litter when done using the box.
Then, esp. if he pooped, he will *bolt* out of the box (has managed to flip
the entire thing over a few times), & do a flying run into the next room or
two.

Cathy

"Alison" wrote in message
...

"Mary" wrote in message
m...

It does matter because it STINKS unless covered.

It stinks anyway, covered or not.

When Gnarly did not
cover hers my rather large apartment would stink until I cleaned the
box.
I scoop once a day, but don't want my place to stink in between.

You only scoop once a day? Do you flush your loo only once a day?
euw.
Alison



Yes, I only scoop once a day. One box per cat, they are hardly soiled
at the end of the day. As for my toilet, well, we have four for two people.
I flush every time but I cannot vouch for my husband. He cleans his own
toilet, too. Anything else? You provincials are so eccentric.