My cat

[scm2117]

Has anyone ever dealt with a cat that doesn't cover up his own waste after he poops in the litterbox? My cat is a little over a year old, and for the past few months hasn't been covering up his waste (he used to).
It really makes it stink a lot when he goes. What's up with this... how do I re-train him?

[KatBudz]

It's a typical behavior in male cats. My 1.5 year old male only half covers his and doesn't care. A coworker of mine also has a male and he doesnt even bother trying to cover it, he just poops and leaves. I don't think males care as much as females when it comes to covering their poop. I doubt there is a way to get them to start again.

[Owned_By_Two]

Neither of my two males cover their poop when they're done. Sometimes I think it's because they're proud of it LOL

But seriously, I'm thinking it's because they share the litter box (so they leave it uncovered for the other cat to see). It's hard to cover up a mound of poop, and would take a lot of time and effort to do it right. If it's not covered properly, the other cat might possibly step on it the next time they hop in the box. That would be messy. At least if they leave it exposed, both of them know where it is and can avoid it. Just a thought. Now I'll get my mind out of the toilet...

It would be interesting to find out if males that do not share a box cover their poop or not. Then I would know if my above theory has any merit.

[KatBudz]

That is actually a good theory, and it does make sense. Because my male used to cover his poop, but then he stepped in it a few times and slowly stopped covering it. And he does share the LB with my 5 yr old female. Either that, or laziness

[October]

When you've had a cat that pees on your furniture, all I'd say about not covering poop in the liitterbox is -- way to go! Full credit!

[scm2117]

J.R. doesn't share the house with any other animals.
It's just him, alone...
I really wish he'd cover it up. It stinks AWFUL.

[marie73]

Cinderella didn't cover most of the time. My diva left it to her minions to take care of.

[scm2117]

Maybe someone can think of a clever way to retrain your cat to cover

[Heidi n Q]

One of my female cats doesn't cover her poop, but I don't have to deal with smell at all. We have a home-made LitterChest that is the size of (and looks like) a Hope Chest. All 8, and up to a dozen, cats use it. Shadow has *never* covered her poop, sometimes the other cats may bury it or if it sits long enough it dries on the outside and would stop stinking. BUT our LitterChest is vented to the outside with clothes dryer ducting and a low cfm bathroom exhaust fan to remove dust and odor. The LitterChest is behind my office chair, less than a yard away. I don't smell *anything*, even if they've just deposited a poop.

I think it would be difficult to get a cat to change its' habits. For something like this all you could do to *try* would require you to be present at every deposit and use your hands to guide his front paws to bury the poop. Most cats would object to that type of handling. My Mother has a declawed cat who refuses to step into the litter ... she backs up to the littertray and hangs her butt over the edge. Once she has pee'd or poo'd, she takes off like a shot! She buries NOTHING, and if she laid a stinky, it *will* stink up the whole house unlesss/until someone either scoops it out or kicks litter over it to neutralize the odor.