# Litter tray behaviour



## Bonnie82 (May 4, 2011)

This isn't something I'm worried about... just curious, really!

Whenever Monty hears me scooping the litter tray, he runs over and jumps into it, digs a hole, then squats and either does a poo or a wee. He does this within the first 10 seconds of me kneeling down to scoop it. So I let him do what he needs to do, then clear it away. Is he thinking "Ooh, must do one quickly so Mum can clean it up immediately" or is he just weird?  Not complaining about this at all as it means a cleaner tray for longer!

Secondly, Monty has a strange "covering" behaviour, which may or may not be strange. He covers his poos really well, then scratches on all three sides of the litter box. It's one of those covered ones. He scratches at the sides for AGES, in a sort of obsessive way, and always just with one paw, so it's not like scratching post behaviour. He acts as though he thinks that scratching at the sides will cover his poo even better. Dinah doesn't do this at all.

Any ideas as to why he does it? Is he just a bit "special"? Can cats have OCD?


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

All of mine did this as kittens they grew out of it - Coda the kitten does it now - it's funny - no idea why though, it's just something I accept and deal with.:thumbup:


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## Bonnie82 (May 4, 2011)

I actually think it's really adorable, but did wonder what the reason was. Hopefully it's just a totally normal thing to do.  I'm glad he's not the only one! The only time it drives me insane is when I'm getting cramp in my knees from kneeling down waiting for him to finish so I can continue scooping. :lol:


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## carly87 (Feb 11, 2011)

Hi there

All of mine do the scraping at the tray thing and it drives me mad at 2 in the morning! Initially, the kittens were great at just covering and getting out of the tray, but mum swiftly taught them her bad habits. I've no idea why they do it! I used to think Tia was attempting to clean her paws off as she taps the tray as well as scraping. Then I got to wondering if she thought it would cover her poo better... Cats, who can fathom them?


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## ewelsh (Jan 26, 2011)

Hi

My 4 yr old cat Loulou still does it and now my kitten, but my kitten waits for me to clean the tray and brush all around the floor and then bounces into it and throws all the litter out....:mad2: Ha! so I think your kitty is a darling!

xx


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

Maybe it's something of a Pavlovian response? The mere sound of _you_ digging in the litter actually stimulates a response in the gut of the cat and makes them want 'to go'?


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## Jenny1966 (Feb 7, 2011)

Molly will scratch at the side of the tray for ages, most of the time forgetting to cover whatever she's done! 

She also will also, as soon as it's cleaned out, use it again!


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## anotheruser (Aug 17, 2011)

Yeah, my cats do the same. The 12w kitten more than the 1yr cat, but sometimes the kitten will carry on scratching, sometimes the floor, a bit on the fridge, I find it curious on what they do it for. I quite like what the other poster wrote about cleaning their paws.


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## MoggyBaby (Mar 8, 2011)

Oscar & Merson are the Side-scratch bandits in our house!!! Especially Merson!!! He really DOES go for it.

Abby, on the other hand, will go in the tray and do her stuff, watch me clear it out and then go back in again to do more!!!!! :incazzato: And she's pretty carp at covering up after herself too!!!!!


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## Bonnie82 (May 4, 2011)

I am thrilled that Monty isn't a weirdo.  Or maybe he is... but that means all of your cats are too.  It is cute watching him do it but I can't help but find it hilarious that he thinks it's actually achieving something! He looks so purposeful when he does it!


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## Catlover2 (Oct 12, 2009)

My NFC does it. Also, if I put fresh litter in, he gets in and 'does' something immediately??!!


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## Bonnie82 (May 4, 2011)

Catlover2 said:


> My NFC does it. Also, if I put fresh litter in, he gets in and 'does' something immediately??!!


Yep, Monty does that too.  If he happens to be out of the room when I'm scooping and misses the chance to go before I've finished, he'll go as soon as it's clean. Just after I've made it all tidy and levelled the surface.


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## jess91 (Jun 28, 2011)

all three of mine do a wee in the tray, straight after i clean it. EVERY SINGLE TIME!
i think it is 'pavlovian' (haha!)

i clean it regularly so its definitely not because it isnt clean enough for them


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## thedebonair (Sep 2, 2011)

My little Tobias (15 weeks) does the side scratching thing. He doesn't even try to scrape the litter itself, just the sides so it never gets covered.

The funny thing is Rocco (who is 2) will then come along and cover it over for him. I can almost hear him saying "I dunno, these young uns!"


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## anotheruser (Aug 17, 2011)

I wonder why they do it.
I mean, surely they realise it isn't covering it?

But then mine seem to scratch a bit, then do a bit of covering, then scratch some more. Maybe it's like Lee Evans says with the hairdressers and how they snip loads of times in the air, and the plumber practising before setting to work on the pipes?


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