# HELP! My girl will not cover her poop after each use



## kw95y (Nov 6, 2009)

I have 2 cats, Spicy (F) 7 yo, MaoMao (M) 9 yo. and 1 LB.
For the last 3 yr or so, Spicy stopped covering her poop after each use. After she goes the litter box, #1 or #2, she would scratch the wall of litter box, but not to cover her own track. Even though the LB has a cover, I still can tell she just went to #2. If this isn't troubling enough, MaoMao start peeing everywhere in the house 10 mo ago. 

When Spicy first came to our house when she was less then 4 wk old, she learned to use litter box in one day. She's a natural, covered her track all the time. Over course of years, we tried various brand, but eventually sticks to Arm & Hammer. I think somewhere in between trying different kind of litter, she decided not to cover her track.

Any suggestion other than scoop out her poop right after her each use?

MaoMao is under 2 wk of antibiotics for treating UTI, but his peeing spree doesn't seem to going to stop at all. Any suggestion to redirect/correct his behavior? My husband is threatening me to kick them out of the house...


----------



## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Welcome to CatForum and I hope we can help. 
For the non covering kitty, sometimes using a very large litterbox can help as it puts their "doody" further from the walls of the LB and they may scratch the litter material instead of the walls. Your cat *is* showing great poop-covering instincts, unfortunately, she is scratching the walls and not the litter to cover the poop. Not too much you can do about that other than scoop immediately or cover it yourself until scoop-time.
For the pee-cat, you're already getting his UTI treated by the vet so now you'll have to address other issues that could be causing his behavior. Cats are normally very clean and fastidious, they do not LIKE or WANT to make messes. The fact that the kitty is peeing elsewhere, is the cat trying to tell you something, and you need to figure out what that is. It could be the kitty needs those pee-spots cleaned thoroughly with an enzymatic cleaner to remove all traces of urine odor. I like to use OdoBan, Nature's Miracle and Simple Solution. Next is to perhaps try different litter materials and another thing to try is *more* litterboxes in case MaoMao doesn't want to share or doesn't like to do #1 in a box that he's done #2 in. 
Is MM normally a laid-back cat or is he jumpy or nervous at all? 
Is he picked on by Spicy? 
Are there any recent changes in the home that could have upset him?
Something to consider ... UTIs are *very* painful and cats associate that pain with their litterboxes, which is why they begin peeing elsewhere, in hopes of finding somewhere else to pee that it maybe won't hurt them. He could still not *trust* his litterbox to not hurt when he pees, in which case you'll just need to give him time to grow confident with his litterbox again. You could also try a "cat attract" litter to help encourage him to 'go' there.
Best of luck,
heidi =^..^=


----------



## kw95y (Nov 6, 2009)

Thank you for your input!
The LB we use is the jumble size (The largest conventional one you can get in the market)
At first I thought Spicy run out of room to cover her track, but her body frame is actually small, there are plenty of room for her. I notice when she goes in to LB, she will go to inside end, scratch (the wall), then do her #2, scratch; turn around, scratch (the wall), #1, and some more scratch. I had a feeling that she doesn't want her pretty palm to get dirty.

MM normally a laid-back cat. Spicy is the jumpy one. They do play, and Spicy does pick on MM. But not to the normal extend I think.

I gave birth to my son two yr ago and I think both kitties adapt well. This peeing spree didn't start until 8 mo ago. Yesterday while we were cleaning his pee-spot, he did it right afterward.

As far as the LB, any other suggestion you have? If I make one myself (anything bigger), I don't think I can find the liner for it.


----------



## Jeckel (Aug 11, 2009)

Many members have used large storage totes as litter boxes with success:










edited to add: as for a liner, perhaps a garbage bag would work?


----------



## Tortietudelove (Nov 24, 2009)

I'm glad I found this thread, because Teya is a non-covering girl. She does the entire scratching around too, but never manages to cover. It's been this way for over a year. I've tried different litter boxes, including the storage totes converted into litter boxes, to no avail. Any other suggestions? I already cover it or scoop it immediately. I've even covered it with her right there for her to see what I'm doing, and she'd sniff it and then walk on, but she doesn't seem to get it. I still love her regardless, but it would help to find a solution.


----------



## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Five years here with a non-covering cat. Shadow just won't do it. I've altered our LitterChset to have it vented outside. This helps with dust AND fresh-poop smell when she doesn't cover.


----------



## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Cinderella has informed me that Divas do not cover.


----------

