# Adult Cat plays and rolls around in the litter box



## infinity88 (Mar 20, 2008)

Our 3 year old cat has always been an over-zealous digger. Often digging so hard that litter just comes flying out of the box. That's not so much of a problem, I can deal with it.

But as if digging isn't enough, he gets excited and rolls around in the box, too. Several times he rolls around. He spends 5 minutes doing this. When he finally comes out, he has litter all over him.

We use a clumping litter (which I'm reconsidering, but keep reading), so its basically like sand. He gets filthy with it, then he goes about his day and we find little piles of litter that have fallen off him where he sleeps -- on the bed, on the cable box, on the kitchen counter.

He has always done this to some degree. Everything I found online about it were from kittens and people said they would just grow out of it. He's now doing it more than ever before.

Now... the reason we are using a clumping litter, which may not be a valid reason, is because we have a baby on the way. I like the idea that I can remove all of the urine from the box with each scooping. We are in fear of toxoplasmosis, so I do the litter box (not my pregnant wife). But if I use a litter like Feline Pine, the urine just sits in there and breaks down. I fear that is less sanitary, and then even though it wont get as stuck all over the cat and get tracked everywhere, the germs will be worse.

So I either need a better understanding of the sanitariness of a non-clumping litter (e.g. perhaps feline pine is still perfectly sanitary despite not scopping out the urine, in which case I'd switch to it and not care so much if he rolls around in it), or I need to figure out a way to stop the cat from basically playing in the litter box...

Any advice would be appreciated... with the baby on the way, its not just an annoyance anymore.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

My cat Toby would roll around in the litter almost everytime I would clean it. My kitties are mostly indoor kitties, and I guess he thought that was the best 'dust bath' he was going to get. He developed a problem with it, a piece of litter went down his ear canal and he lost his equilibrium, walked with a head tilt and could not jump up or down. The vet said it was good I brought him in as an infection could have reached his brain and been deadly. He recovered completely, but I could never dissuade him from rolling in the cat-sand.

I understand your concern for cleanliness, especially with a baby. I think if you keep things vaccumed, swept and use clorox wipes on the counters and table before preparing/eating each meal, then any negative effects will be minimal.

Because I thought about my Toby again, I wonder if kitties roll in the dust to control the oil in their hair/skin? Can you groom your kitty, brush him to remove loosened hair and maybe give him a cornmeal bath to remove excess oil? Then maybe he won't feel the need to roll in the litter.

Best of luck, and let us know how it goes!
Heidi


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I had another thought...

When we moved to this house, I had my husband build a cat box. This cat box is HUGE. It is 2'x4', with a hinged lid, and it looks like a hope chest or blanket box. It has an entrance in the front center and we bought a flexible pet-door flap and cut the opening to just smaller than our largest cat. The smaller opening and the flap would help to knock off any litter clinging to fur and keep it from being tracked all over the house.

Perhaps you can alter a litterbox in this manner? One that would help to brush off the litter on his fur. You could even just screw a strip of 'brushes' (like paint brush bristles) to the sides so he would get brushed with each entrance/exit of the box.


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## infinity88 (Mar 20, 2008)

Brushes is an interesting idea... it might get some litter off, but he'd probably still have that dusty feeling and smell to him. It makes me not want to pet him because I feel like I've been in a sandbox afterwards. I tried Feline Pine for a time when my wife was away, and he still rolled in it, but he doesnt get nearly as dirty since the pellets are basically just natural. It seems safer.. I just worry about germs, but I'm not sure if germs are an issue. Just because I can't scoop out the urine doesn't mean its not clean, maybe the pellets neutralize it... but I don't know...

edit: how cute are they? the white one, Mac, is the culprit here...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/infinity88/


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Is Mackeypoo cross-eyed? I think he looks adorable!

Well, if sanitary is the issue, I cannot think that rolling in any litter (unless fresh out of the box) is 'sanitary'. Even scooped daily, there will still be little bits of 'stuff' left behind. You can buy cat wipes, like baby wipes, and use them on him before a petting/snuggle session with him...
Personally...I wouldn't worry about it unless you can see feces stuck on his fur. Cats usually keep themselves pretty clean and I can't see a little bit of 'dirt' hurting anything. Even a new baby. 
However, a compromised immune system is something else entirely. I have been taking several serious immuno-suppressants for almost two years. I still mow the lawn, clean the barn behind the horse, scoop the litter box and do the house cleaning. I don't wear a mask and I have only caught a cold twice. I tend to wash my hands and face quite a bit. I think that is the best defense against any organisms.


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## infinity88 (Mar 20, 2008)

Mackeypoo is so cute. He kind of is cross eyed but not really. His eyes are closer together than I've ever seen on a cat. When he was a kitten he really looked cross eyed, now not so much except when he gets that crazed look on his face 

Thanks so much for your replies. I think I will try Sweat Scoop, which I just found out about from another thread on this awesome forum. Its more natural, non-clay, but still scoopable... sounds like a win-win. Worth a shot anyway.


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## CataholicsAnonymous (Dec 4, 2006)

The good news is that toxoplasmosis should be the least of any of your worries if you scoop the box daily. The toxo spores are passed in the feces and they don't begin to emerge until the feces is 4-5 days old.


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## infinity88 (Mar 20, 2008)

4 - 5 days.. I hear so many conflicting reports on that. I've heard its only 24 hours, and thus why you should scoop every day. But then I've also heard reports of it being only 12 hours, and so you should scoop twice a day! What am I supposed to believe... the wife is so worried she's liable to ask me to scoop every time they squat, and its just not realistic.


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## CataholicsAnonymous (Dec 4, 2006)

Well, I decided to research some more. (Hate to give erroneous info!) I remember reading several sources saying 4-5 days, back when I had a cat with symptomatic toxo infection. But now I see several reputable sources saying 1-5 days. 

But here's something interesting: "Physicians will often test women for Toxoplasmosis when women become pregnant. You are actually better off if you are positive on the test, because it means you have been exposed and are immune from acquiring the infection. If you are negative, you and your baby are vulnerable. It is best to get tested before you become pregnant if at all possible."

In my readings, it is also pointed out that 50-80% of humans do have a positive toxo titer, making them immune to the disease.


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## CataholicsAnonymous (Dec 4, 2006)

Heidi n Q said:


> However, a compromised immune system is something else entirely. I have been taking several serious immuno-suppressants for almost two years.


I, too, take drugs to suppress my immune system. I don't even think about taking extra precautions, stupid me. I've been on immuno-suppressant medication for 3 1/2 years, and have had two colds in that time. For me, that's a lot, though, because before that I would get a cold maybe once every 10 years! Sometimes I miss my immune system. :lol:


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## infinity88 (Mar 20, 2008)

My wife was tested for it, although she had to ask for it. They didn't want to bother testing because exactly that statistic. We have always had cats, so they said she's safe because its unlikely she's not immune. But she insisted.. and guess what? Nope... negative. She's not immune. 

Don't trust your health to anyone but yourself.

We could get the cats tested but its very expensive, and they could always get it afterwards, so we are pretending they do have it and playing it safe.


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## infinity88 (Mar 20, 2008)

Haha .. that actually makes sense. He's been doing it much more lately, and perhaps not so coincendentally I'm keeping it cleaner than ever before, too, due to the pregnancy. I also notice he does it the most right after I change it. But yeah, I definitely dont want to let it get dirty just to try it out 

I'm going to try Shweat Scoop... perhaps he wont want to roll in that. And then even if he does it probably won't matter too much since it isn't dusty. As long as it clumps good enough for me to keep it super clean and the cats like it (I think they will, i could probably put bricks in the box and they'd still use it, I'm blessed with how laid back they are).

You really gotta "trick" cats into doing the right thing don't you?


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