Expert: Becky - 2/25/2005

Question
Hi, I have a siamese (maybe 9 mths) kitten,that showed up on my door about a month and a half ago. It gets along great with my older (1 yr old) cat, and my dog,(toy terrier).
It has become a member of our family, very quickly. All the animals run and play together, its great.

It is house broke, and uses the litter box just fine, however, it also seems to think it is a toy, or thinks its catnip or something.
It makes no difference whether it has been freshly cleaned, or in desperate need of being changed, this new cat lays (and sleeps) in the sand, then rolls in it, and then jumps around playing in it and batting the  feses around. It makes a horrible mess.

THE KITTEN SMELLS HORRIBLE AFTER DOING THIS AND, ITS GETTING TO BE A REAL PAIN TRYING TO KEEP THE KITTEN CLEAN.
ANY SUGGESTIONS TO WHY THIS KITTEN IS DOING THIS, AND WHAT I CAN DO TO STOP IT?  

I have changed brands of litter a couple times trying to stop this behavior.
I have got a cat bed for it, thinking maybe the owners before me had one for it, but it did no good, the kitten still heads for the litter box to sleep and play..

Help... I am really ready to go nuts and I am afraid I am going to have to get rid of it, but we really have come to love the darn thing if it wasn't for this problem.

Answer
Hi Sharon,

LOL....don't mean to laugh, but your kitten sounds like a real character!!   I love Siamese!!  They have a mind all their own, don't they?
I would suggest getting a covered cat pan.  It may not solve your problem, but at least it will contain the "flying objects" !   Another suggestion .... maybe a very small litter pan, just big enough to get in and do her thing.  It doesn't have to be something made for a pet. Rubbermaid has all kinds of tubs that make great litter boxes.  I use their heavey duty tub, it's very deep and my cats can scratch all they want without makeing a huge mess.   I feel like she will eventually outgrow the sleeping in the litter box, but who knows?   I can relate to the smell...my cats are bad about coming to me in bed after a trip to the box, and puttin their stinky paws on my face!!  I hate that!!   I really think though,  time will take care of this, especially when she gets a little older.   Oh yeah....have you tried toys?  Maybe she just needs something to play with.  My cats love those little mice that look real!

God Bless,
Becky