Incessant Litter Box Scratching! - help me

[Not the Alpha Cat]

Hi There! First off let me say THANK GOD this message board exists!

I used to have only 1 cat and he had a habit of scratching the sides and 'roof' of his litterbox when he was done his business. It is a loud and annoying habit. Last summer we added a new kitten to our family and the two cats get along like peanut butter and jam...so much so that she has picked up his habit of scratching the plastic sides and top of the littlerbox. This is especially annoying at night when we are trying to sleep and one (or both) of them spend 5 to 10 mins scratching.

Any thoughts on why they do this and how to make then stop without scaring them away from their litter box altogether?

thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou

[davet]

it is thought that animals scratch after using the liter box or even using the out doors is to spread the odor around as a signal to other animals that this is their territory and you had better keep out...After my dog does her stuff she scratches so hard you don;t want to stand behind her..i thisk this is instinct and if it is annoying i would move the liter box or get a different typoe material so it doesn't make so much noise...i don't think it would be wise to try to stop the habit because it goes back millions of years.....

[Traci]

If you are referring to an actual cover on the litterbox, the solution is to remove the cover.

Cats also tend to scratch around the sides of the box to remove litter debris from their paws and pads, so put a runner or carpet sample in front of the box so they can use it to step/scratch/remove debris.

[Not the Alpha Cat]

Thanks for your feedback...

I did remove the cover of the box long ago but now they scratch at the plastic sides of the bottom of the box.

I'll try getting a sisal mat or something for them because I live in a loft 1 bedroom and short of moving the kitties outdoors I can't do anything about the noise if they don't stop!

Thanks again

[Ash]

My cat, Tater, scratches the lid of his box for what seems like eternity too! There is a small mat at the opening of the litter box and he come half way out of the litter box and starts pulling at the far end of it back and forth so that it slaps against the floor also making a racket! There is no hope. If you take the lid off, they'll scratch the walls around the box or they'll pull at the mats and make noises with them. (I wont remove the lid because it keeps the other cats from throwing their litter all over the laundry room floor and I put the clean litter containers on top of the litter box's lid.) I originally thought all this scratching was to get the litter out of their paws but why in the world would he want to come half way out of the box to pull at the mat?? What a nutty cat!

[NicoleK]

We have the same issue with our cats every once in a while and it seems to happen when the litter box is not up to their satisfaction. We have 4 cats and have to scoop twice a day otherwise they scratch and scratch and throw litter everywhere. We used to have this problem all the time and then we switched to scooping twice a day and they do it a LOT less - now they just scratch for a minute or so rather than 10 minutes!! Maybe scooping more frequently might help - especially right before bed so they have a nice clean box at 2AM when the scratching is the most annoying. : )