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About Dear Tabbi
Expertise
My expertise is in helping people understand their cat (or cats) and their behavior. Questions are welcome even if you don't have a cat....just a question about them. Hopefully my experience, suggestions, and comments will be of help to you...and your cat (or cats). Looking through my past responses to questions will give you additional information and/or answers too.
Domestic Cats = cats (no matter what breed) who are tame or not wild, or abandoned cats who were pets that became wild, but can be tamed again.
Ferals = cats who are born with one or more parents who were wild stray cats. They usually have had no interactions with people. They have an inbred distrust of humans and are difficult to socialize. They are skittish, hide, and are afraid of people. They take a lot of time and patience to work with them. A lot of kittens from shelters had a feral parent.
Experience
Since I was a child, over 45 years, I have been owned by a LOT of cats and kittens of almost every temperament, behavior, and personality. I have had experience with neurotic, disabled (including blind), stray, and 'problem child' cats and kittens. (A few normal cats too!) Plus all the things a lifetime of owning cats and research has taught me. I also have experience in feral cat behavior (which is different from domestic cats), and some experience with feral colonies that includes colony feeding and feral cat TNR (trap/neuter/release).
Education/Credentials
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Awards and Honors
* One of the top 50 Experts Of 2008 *
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You are here: Experts > Animals/Pets > Cats > Cat Training and Behavior (Domestic and Feral) > cat behavior
Expert: Dear Tabbi - 10/22/2009
Question
Dear Tabbi:
My cat recently began sleeping in her kitty litter box and we can't get her to stop. How can we get her to stop doing this? What does it mean?
Answer
Alva,
That is a question that still baffles professionals. There is not really a good answer I can give you because it is not known for sure why they do it. The general consensus is that it is either a security issues, a stress related issue, or a medical issue (such as being constipated, having pain, etc).
I've had 2 mother cats that slept in the litter box when they were weaning their kittens. There was no rhyme or reason for it, and it ended up that the kittens of one mother started to sleep in the litter box too! For one of them I got a soft deep cat bed and she seemed to like that. Maybe because of the protective sides (the insecurity issue)and started sleeping in that. The other cat I pulled out of the litterbox by the scruff of her neck and said "NO!" loudly and firmly everytime I caught her in it and she finally got tired of being 'scruffed' and stopped doing it.
Here are a 3 links to articles about cats sleeping in the litter box that you may find helpful:
(copy and paste, or type, the whole link into your address bar)
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/a-cat-sleeping-in-the-litter-box-could...
http://www.helium.com/items/1520018-why-do-some-cats-sleep-in-their-litter-box
http://www.for-the-love-of-cats.com/SleepInLitterBox.html
I hope this helps.
Tabbi
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