Turds are not toys. Also, spaying "options?"

[slvrwhispr]

Izzy's big enough that I started switching her litter over from clay to clumping. I mixed the two for a bit so she'd get used to the new stuff and so I could see how she'd react. She wasn't eating it, it wasn't sticking to her, no big deal. So I cleaned out her box today and put all clumping litter (I don't remember what it is... Tidy Cats, something big-market like that). She immediately went in, made a BM, covered it up, and went on her merry way.

Seemingly, no problem. About an hour later, I notice her batting something around the living room floor. I investigate, and it turns out that it's one of her turds! I was like, what in the WORLD. I grabbed it with a kleenex and threw it away, then went and scooped the litter. A few hours later, she makes another BM... and a little while later, when I go to the bathroom, I notice that she has her turds, covered in clumping litter, all nice and lined up by the bath tub!

Is this a sign she doesn't like the litter? Does she think that they're fantastic toys now that the litter clumps right to them? Have any of your cats done this? If she's just being odd, how do I correct the behavior? I tried putting the turd back in the box to show her, this is where this goes, and she just took it right back out and started playing with it like it was a toy. So I gave her a toy, she played with it for a second, then went back to the turd.

I would never in my life think that playing with a turd would be fun... LOL. Add it to the list of differences between humans and cats, I guess.

[kehorner]

Anything can be a toy! Actually, I'm not sure that cats and children are all that different. I remember my brother calling my mom in a panic because he found his daughter in her room sculpting snowmen!

Did she play with it when you had the litter mixed? Maybe you should go back to that for a while. Another thought... I use litterboxes with tall sides (actually, they are large plastic storage boxes with sides about 1 foot high). This helps minimize the amount of litter that gets kicked over the edge, so maybe something like that would keep her from taking her poops on field trips.

On the plus side, at least the poops are covered in the litter... It could be worse.

[slvrwhispr]

When I was using the clay litter, every once in a while, she'd drag a small one out just to have something to kick around when all her toys were stuck behind the fridge. But she's got other toys now, and the turd seems to be her favorite.

LOL, snowmen... oh man, that makes me scared to have kids.

Edit: On second read, "taking her poops on field trips" made me giggle helplessly for about five minutes.

[kehorner]

Yeah... Every once in a while I say interesting things. Especially when I'm sleep deprived (finals week... three hours until the anatomy lecture exam on the head and neck.. oh boy...). I guess that's why they keep me around.

Anyway, how about those automatic litterboxes that scoop away the stuff right away? They're expensive, but I know one person who used one and really liked it. I'm sure other people here probably have opinions on them...

[Syd&Max]

I was reading this in my classroom during a study hall and started laughing - what a funny post! Sounds just like playing to me
I sure hope my daughter does not make a snowman! Sick!

[Ash]

I sure hope my daughter does not make a snowman! Sick!

She can't! Colour's all wrong!

Izzy surely was just fascinated by the clumping litter. You know how kittens are. Silly!

[slvrwhispr]

This is very, very true, Ash. There was only one wandering poop this morning; the rest had remained in the box. And oh, how I LOVE clumping litter, after two months of clay! SO much easier to keep clean. And at least now she doesn't kick as much of it over the edge of the box.

[Traci]

I'd agree with kehorner, get a taller litterbox...can even use a littermaid box. You really don't want Izzy in the habit of playing with her waste, it's truly unsanitary.

[slvrwhispr]

Taller litterbox. Check. I can't really afford a littermaid, and I honestly think she'd consider that more of a toy than anything she currently puts in it. I've been wanting to get her a litter box with a hood anyway, so less of the litter will get flung all over the bathroom. She doesn't really play in it, she just likes all the litter piled up on one side of the box, but a lot of it gets kicked out when she's making her piles.

[Tambrey]

I don't care for the hood ones...one more thing for me to deal with when trying to scoop the poop!...Plus it tends to keep the odor inside of itself, and some cats do not like that...I know I hate going to the latrine when we go camping! I would rather dig my own hole elsewhere!!...hahaha

I also use the Sterlite underbed storage boxes for litterboxes...even though some gets flung out, not near as much as with a regular litterbox...