Cats & Dogs - The Cat's Meow - My Cat is Ridiculously Posessive of Her Litterbox!

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The Cat's Meow - My Cat is Ridiculously Posessive of Her Litterbox!

Rob "Power of the Meow" Stanson

From Resty via Charter.net

"I adopted a three-month-old "barn cat" kitten around three months ago. She's extremely intelligent and very affectionate, both with me and anyone who stops in. I named her 'Killer' because she was a killer with her tiny razor sharp claws when I first got her. I've taught her a lot of tricks, such as 'fetch 'n' catch' with a little ball (she chases the ball when I throw it and carries it back, high stepping and strutting as she brings it back). I also taught her to sit pretty for her evening treats. I'm working on training her to 'wash her face' on command after she's eaten. I had her spayed about a month ago and that doesn't seem to be slowing her down at all.

"My problem is that Killer is very possessive her litterbox and she gets very upset when I go to clean it out each night. I've found that I need to trick her away with a little special food. While she eats that I race to the litter box and clean it out, quickly. If she comes in before I get it done she just glares at me then proceeds to start meowing very loudly. She'll then jump over my arm to get into the box where she tries to literally push me and the scooper away before throwing herself onto the litter, trying to cover the entire thing. Whenever I add new litter she rolls around and strokes the litter while meowing very loudly.

"Can you tell me why she behaves this way? None of my friends have ever heard of a cat acting like this!"

In the wild, where a cat does their business can be a very personal affair. When one cat goes in a particular area, it's a way of saying "this is my spot -- don't mess with it." But when another cat comes across that spot, they'll often do their business in the same spot, as if to say "nuh-uh -- it's my spot too! You can't have it!" For the most part we've bred the most extreme aspects of this out of the cats we keep in our homes. Still, there's always some part of it that's going to stick around.

You mentioned that your cat was a "barn cat." Having lived for a few generations in a more rural setting could have made her vaguely wilder than her more domesticated city-bred cousins. That coupled with a, perhaps, somewhat competitive first few months, could be making her more posessive than normal of her private toilet facilities.

I suspect she'll grow out of this behavior given the right circumstances. Still, right now what you've got going with her is a bit of a game, one she's probably enjoying. And, believe me, you want to break her of this habit, especially if you ever intend to have another cat in the house. Dueling litterboxes can be an ugly thing!

I recommend getting a second, identical litterbox and filling it with litter. Each night, after you've "bribed" her away with the gourmet food, quickly switch out the dirty litterbox with the clean one before she even has a chance to notice, and tuck the dirty one away outside or someplace else concealed. When she comes over, Killer will see that her box has already been cleaned and will likely wander off disinterested before too long. When she does, then clean out the dirty box, leaving it clean and ready to swap out the next day.

After a few nights of this, she'll see that her nightly litter game isn't happening anymore and will look for something new. Before too long you'll probably be able to go back to cleaning out the box normally each night.

One other thing -- should you ever get a second cat, I recommend a separate litterbox for each feline!

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Cat fancier Rob "Power of the Meow" Stanson has been an observer and studied cats for over twenty years. Visit him at "The Cat's Meow" where you can view the archives or ask him your own question which he will answer in a future column!

This news arrived on: 08/22/2008

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