# Kitty not covering his poo!!!



## Milky's Mammy (Oct 17, 2011)

I've had Milky (7 m.o.) for 2 months now. When he first came home he was very good with the litter, we didn't even have to teach him how to do anything, he just knew to dig and cover his poo. 

Recently, for maybe the past 2 weeks, he's started to poo and leave without covering it with the litter. Is there anything I can do to change him back to his old ways:?:


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## cooncatbob (May 27, 2011)

Some cats when they have had soft poo in the past won't cover it because they don't want to get it on their paws.


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

It's true what _cooncatbob_ says, cats don't like to get poo on their paws. They lick their paws and then use them to wash their cheeks and face...nope, definitely do not like getting it on their paws. 
Another reason may be that the litter is a bit too deep. If it's clumping clay litter or regular clay litter and it's too deep it can be too heavy to move around. My girl doesn't like to cover her poo if the litter is more than 2-1/2 in. deep. 
Sometimes if you change litter, they may be ok with it for a while and then decide they don't like it after all. I switched to _Sweat Scoop_, my boy had no problem with it, but my girl after 2 wks. refused to cover and then started doing it outside the box, tho she was ok to pee in it. So I went back to clumping clay litter and she's ok with it unless I put a bit too much in. You might try _"Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract Litter"._ That might get him covering it again.


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## Milky's Mammy (Oct 17, 2011)

Thanks for the info!

I'm thinking maybe the clumping litter is a bit too deep then, as I haven't switched types since he's been with us. I'll try taking some out tonight and see if there's any change...


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## yingying (Jul 19, 2011)

I think it's pure behavior, not necessarily the soft poo issue. My Meatball has exactly the same problem, and her poo is perfectly normal. I remember when she was a kitten she did cover her poo, though not covered perfectly. She then covered less and less, like one scratch or so. Now, as soon as she finishes her business in the box, she dashes out as fast as she can and never goes back. She is using the same litter, same depth all the time. And she never eliminate outside box. So I guess she just doesn't like the smell. Meatball is such a Diva 

My Metoo, in contrast, covers perfectly. Sometimes I have to DIG to find her poo. If Meatball just finished in the box and Metoo passes by, Metoo will even jump in and cover for Meatball. I have no idea how to teach Meatball to cover her own mess. Fortunately her poo doesn't smell very bad, so it's not causing a lot discomfort


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## Milky's Mammy (Oct 17, 2011)

yingying said:


> I think it's pure behavior, not necessarily the soft poo issue. My Meatball has exactly the same problem, and her poo is perfectly normal. I remember when she was a kitten she did cover her poo, though not covered perfectly. She then covered less and less, like one scratch or so. Now, as soon as she finishes her business in the box, she dashes out as fast as she can and never goes back.


 
I was also guessing that it might be a behaviour problem... My Milky is exactly how you described Meatball. His poo is normal but no idea why he only partially covers/doesn't cover the poo. Last night I got home to partially covered poo. I don't think there's any specific time/reason he won't cover it, he just covers it when he feels like it! Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions???


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## yingying (Jul 19, 2011)

I would say, as long as the kitty is using the box, if he doesn't like to cover the poo, then so be it, big deal. I don't want to "train" Meatball to cover her poo, because I'm afraid my "training" may make her stop using the box. As I mentioned, Meatballs poo doesn't smell (I can smell a little when she just finishes, but after 5 min or so its gone), so it's not very disturbing behaviour. I would rather spend time searching for ways to minimize the smell, rather than teaching the kitty to cover his/her poo.


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## Milky's Mammy (Oct 17, 2011)

That's true, better to cover the smell than cause him to stop using it!


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## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

Miu does the same thing. She covered good when she was a kitten then suddenly just stopped and had a poop outside the box prob. I had to resort to drastic measures to change this.

She now does her thing then she would scratch at odd places like on the wall behind the litterbox or right beside it (I think she's lost a few cat marbles). After that, she just runs off wildly, leaving the poop uncovered.

I say whatever. She had a poop outside the box problem and now I'm just so thankful she's doing it in the box that I don't care at all if she covers or not. She's trained to poop after her bedtime snack and I scoop it up immediately anyways.


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## Milky's Mammy (Oct 17, 2011)

Got home last night and he covered his poo 90% so I'm just gonna let it go!


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## Viljaana (Oct 6, 2010)

Our 6-month-old kitten has the same problem, though he has never covers his poo. He tries though: scraches the sides of the litter box, the bathroom carpet or the shower courtain only rarely touching the litter. Afterward he runs away.

The rest of our family me, my partner and our 6-year-old cat Wizard have been trying to teach him: I once saw Wizard inspecting his covering while he was still watching, and covering it properly. Then the trainee continued covering . We've tried that too, covering the poo for him while he watches (Belive me, I do hear voices saying "crazy cat lady" when digging the litter box with bare hands and talking softly to the cat watching me ) and praising him when ever he actualy touches the litter while covering. I think it's helped a little.

I must say that the poor covering skills doesn't bother me much, but my partner hates it, so I've tried my best. Right now I do though hope he would do better job with it: he has diarrea. It's harmless and will pass soon, but the smell it disgusting.


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## Milky's Mammy (Oct 17, 2011)

I watched Milky get in the litter box this morning to do his business and hoped that he would cover it. He scratched the litter a bit, mostly missing his poo or not scratching near enough to it, then scratched the sides of the box for a while, almost 360 degrees of it! Then he inspected his poo for a while and perhaps he thought it smelled bad, so he finally scratched near it and managed to cover it up. Finally he is back to normal again!!


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

Good! hope he continues to do so.


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## Fran (Jan 9, 2008)

Gracie is a "partial coverer", too. She was not so good as a kitten, went through a diligent phase, and now at full grown has reverted to partial cover...

We always joke about it we hear all the random wall scratching and such :roll: "oh, honey - Gracie's flushing, can you go do her box...??" 

Fran


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