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Ugh! Why can't boys aim?!

3K views 10 replies 10 participants last post by  Alpaca 
#1 ·
The litter box situation at my house is starting to get to me.

I almost HAVE to have litter boxes with lids because Trey can't aim to keep it in the box for his life! But the problem it causes actually has to do with Pancakes. After she finishes her business... she always tries to paw at the sides and top of the lid instead of the litter! It gets very loud and bothersome at night. And of course pawing at the sides it's going to cover anything so she keeps trying until about 5-10 minutes later when she finally gives up. It never happened when we didn't have lids.. But then Trey was accidentally peeing all over the floor!

UGH it's getting old. Anyone else ever have either of those problems to deal with?
 
#2 ·
The obsessive scratching yes. Mow coversandcoversandcoversandcoversandcoversandcovers.......

After a few minutes I start gritting my teeth and I always wind up going in there and shooing him out. Plus he's persistent, I can't just yell from the other room "Enough" I have to be in his line of sight and headed towards him before he quits and saunters off all proud of himself.
 
#4 ·
there are some very high sided one piece boxes available, our feral tammi cat did the claw and try to bury on the lidded box thing, I cut the top of the lid section off, she can still claw against it, but it doesn't seem to resonate as loudly anymore..
 
#6 ·
One of my cats (I think it's Harli) sometimes shoots over the back of the box. She seems to go next to the edges of the box. I even have high-back ones, (and jumbo sized one downstairs) which help some but about once every other week she manages to pee over it. I keep about 4 layers of paper towels underneath.

I'm starting to wonder if she is actually spraying, but haven't noticed it out-of-the box.
 
#7 ·
I was watching the animal planet show about fixing cat behavior (the name escapes me...i know you can find it online though) and the behaviorist they had said it was because they are trying to get rid of the smell. I notice my cats do it much more often in the covered boxes, presumably because the odor lingers.

This does make sense to me. However since the boys have discovered what boys everywhere discover (that they can pee standing up, lol) they were missing in low trays.

My solution?
Rubbermaid tub. I'm a big meany and I make them jump in and out, and I buy the high sided ones 'cause Muffin thinks they are actually a sandbox and that flinging the litter everywhere is great fun.

Solved the problem, at least in those boxes. They still do it in the covered boxes, but after the actual covering they don't do it in the opentopped rubbermaid tubs. (Also the tubs cost about $10, so I don't feel bad replacing them once a year.)
 
#8 ·
My solution?
Rubbermaid tub. I'm a big meany and I make them jump in and out, and I buy the high sided ones 'cause Muffin thinks they are actually a sandbox and that flinging the litter everywhere is great fun.
Rubbermaid tubs are the only kid of litter box I use. Otherwise Nito would drape his poo over the edge of the box. Luckily no one shoots pee, but both my girls are overzealous in their burying, especially Cinder Lou. So it keeps the litter from being flung everywhere too, another plus.
 
#9 ·
I've never had boys, so I don't know about the spraying outside the box thing. Sometimes my girls will have an accident, as in they do their business too close to the edge of the box, but that's what the plastic mats underneath the boxes are for...makes for easy clean-up.

As for excessive scratching, Rochelle does this every time, and yes I usually have to chase her out after a time as well...I timed her once...almost 45 minutes scrathingscratchingscratching...arrrg! Half the time she doesn't even scratch at the litter...she scratches at the shelf next to the box, the wall, the carpet, the plastic mat underneath the box, electrical cords...it's just stupid to watch, lol. She also refuses to use a covered box...I think she isn't comfortable with the limited visibility, as she likes to stand with her front paws on the sides of the box to look around when shes doing her business. The funny thing is, half the time, she won't even cover her stuff all the way...so Alice goes in after her and finishes up what she failed to do. Aren't friends great? :p
 
#11 ·
Yes, I had to purchase a high-walled open litterbox for my boy, Jack. He was flinging litter around because he was so into burying his poop. He still gets some out, but it's much better than the conventional ones. I also don't opt for covered litterboxes. I mean, can you imagine the smell they have to put up with every time they go?
 
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