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Ditzzy   KrazyKelli  
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 #1778176


Ditzzy
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 Is this normal?

My cat, Evy, drags things into her litterbox. At first we thought it fell in there by accident but now it’s clear that she pulls it in, this has been going on since we got her about a year ago. We’ve found dryer sheets, socks, gloves, and even a sheet pulled halfway in, in the litterbox. I was just wondering if this was normal or if there’s a way to break her of this habit. Thanks.
06/29/08  11:12pm

 #1778233


KrazyKelli
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   Message To: Ditzzy   In reference to Message Id: 1778176


 Is this normal?

It’s normal, though I know of no 100% solution to fix the problem. Much like natural mouse and bug catching, house cats will take anything they consider ’prey’ or a toy and walk around with it. They usually do this to hide it for edibility later or to give their owner as a gift. When the cat gets distracted by something such as actual eating, drinking, or using the litterbox, they’ll put the item down in or by the chore and do their thing. As for hiding the toys/prey, the cat will put that in any place that’s dark or well-confined, such as a shoe.

If it’s only the litterbox, it would either be the cat putting the toy down temporarily to do their business, then bounding off and forgetting about it... Or the cat is literally trying to bury the item in the box for later use. Also keep any loose items away from the litterbox, itself, as the cat may be trying to cover up their dirty work and using an extendable paw reach to do so.

To keep the cat from running off with things, keep things the cat can run off with tucked away in cabinets, drawers, and places out of reach of the animal. Ie, clean your house.

This is not a 100% solution, since all cats are different, but you could also train your cat to bring everything straight to you. The training mainly consists of putting something such as a small mouse toy or cat foam ball on the floor of an adjacent room, sit there, and wait for the cat to pick it up. When the cat does so, call the cat to you. [Getting the cat to come to you prior to this training is essential, btw. It can be achieved by calling the cat by name whenever you feed it, then giving the feline friend loads of affection. Thereafter going to the next step by calling the cat to you without food, but still with tons of petting and praise.] When the cat comes to you with the item, you give the cat attention (or a treat). Repeat this, eventually getting off any treat regimen you’re doing and only using affection, and the cat will eventually decide that every toy it finds that it can run off with will instantly be carried to you instead of the box.



06/30/08  12:08am


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