New kitty is very weird

[Eireann]

As many of you know, I got another kitty to keep my existing kitty company after her boyfriend had to be put to sleep last December.

New girl just LOVES to play. I've been having problems with her chasing other kitty. I've had some loud words with her about it. She plays with all the toys, races around, climbs up the climbing tree, gets into boxes, you name it.

Now I've discovered a really dismaying fact. New girl likes to hook shit out of the litterbox and play with it. I've had to pick up turds off the floor (using toilet paper, of course) and flush them. I've been cleaning the box more often these days, obviously, but I'm not home all the time. I have this horrible thought that there might be turds elsewhere that I haven't found.

Has anyone else run across this problem? I can't very well use something that will keep her away from the litterbox - what's the solution?

[Dave1982]

Has anyone else run across this problem? I can't very well use something that will keep her away from the litterbox - what's the solution?

You could try a self-scooping box, or get a "Clever Cat" litterbox, which is basically a big plastic storage container with a hole in the lid. This forces the cat to have to hop in and out, and would prevent litter scattering and the removal of turds.

[Kittish]

We (room mate and myself) have the same problem with one of the resident cats here. The only sort of solution we've found is to provide toys of the same approximate size and shape (peanuts in the shell, etc) and to keep the litter boxes quite clean.

One thing I also do when I see her obviously fishing in the litter box is spray her with my 'NO bottle'. This is simply a spray bottle filled with water, set to shoot a stream. One of the BEST things I've ever found to discipline a cat and/or get its attention. These days most of the time I only even have to reach for the bottle and whatever cat I'm looking at will cease and desist whatever activity prompted me to reach for it. Bear Bear did look at me a little warily the first couple of times she actually used the litter box after she got zapped for fishing, but relaxed and did her business when I didn't do or say anything to her.

Getting past the ewwwwww factor, from what we can see, what Bear Bear likes about this kind of 'toy' is that it's really great (from her point of view) as something to bat and chase around on a vinyl floor.

[Dave1982]

Ah yes......water bottles are a wonderful deterrent for poor cat behavior. We have several at my house, stationed in different rooms so there's always one within quick reach (though more often than not, they are used by myself and my kid brother to take potshots at each other ). I found some great ones at the Dollar Tree. 32 oz, and of course, $1 each.

[protege]

It could be worse... one of my cats decided to take a shit on the kitchen table

[Bright_Star]

Get a covered litter box & have her "fixed".

[Eireann]

She's already fixed. I think she just wants to play, play, play, and despite the fact that she already has several toys at her disposal, she's going for the brown stuff. I couldn't believe it the first time I saw her doing it - she was picking it up IN HER MOUTH!

Now, when I hear a lot of scratching in the box, I go over there and watch her closely. I think I'll invest in some catnip toys.

[protege]

Some kitties will play with whatever they can find. My Baxter is like that. Last night, he was playing with the plastic ring that I'd removed from a milk container (the thing that holds the plastic lid in place.) Not sure why, but he actually looks for those things. If he can't find it, he'll play with something else--the screws for whatever computer I'm working on, small tools, Matchbox cars, etc., whatever he can get his paws on. Oh, and he is fixed. Kitties are strange critters

[BookstoreEscapee]

The water bottle worked on my cats for a little while...for a bit all we had to do was shake it in their direction. Then the boy just started staring at it as if to challenge it. We gave up on the water bottle.

(Luckily they're three years old now and have settled down a bit since they were kittens.)

[fireheart]

Could be worse...youngest kitty tends to treat my bedroom, the bathroom and the hallway as his own personal litterbox. We have THREE litter trays in the house, all of which are in the study. Eldest kitty tends to bully youngest one out of them...

[Eireann]

Yeah, I have to leave my bedroom door closed to Da Babes - which reminds me, I have to wash my robe. One of them got in there recently when I accidentally left the door open, and, well, you can guess the rest.

Anyone out there willing to send me some Nature's Miracle?