Contemporary Cats Don't Cover Their Turds

[SoDesuKa]

When I was a kid, cats used to be scrupulous about covering their turds. They'd use their right paw and gather up plenty of sand to make sure their leavings were well covered. Now, they don't bother. The cat I've got now makes a gesture as he's leaving the litter box - he paws at the ground outside the box.

Are we seeing the end of a tradition? Will future generations never see a cat covering its turds?

[GodlessBiker]

1. Or the litter boxes are just getting smaller.

[Richardo]

2. I blame society, encroaching liberalism....

...and the Gay Agenda. :)

[Lavender Brown]

3. I guess my cat is old school

:silly:

[benny05]

30. So is my older cat who is female

But her step-brother doesn't cover up...could be a generational issue, LOL

Or maybe gender...you all tell me(politely, pls)...:hide:

[Lauri16]

4. I think it's all the blatant non-covering that's shown on tv

Our youngest cat doesn't cover either. The older one's do, but the youngest is mocking all the violent non-covering that she's subjected to on tv.

[graywarrior]

5. My cat actually knocks his little "presents" outside the box

and swats them under the washing machine. When he uses the cat box at 2 am, he scratches for at least 5 minutes making me want to strangle him.

[ikojo]

31. My 15 year old cat has never covered her

litter mess. She will stand on the box, however, and scratch and scratch and scratch some more.

I always thought that if she was a human she'd ride the short bus to school but reading this thread, it seems she is not out of the ordinary.

[Avalux]

6. My cat is obsessive/compulsive about covering his -

each session in his covered litterbox lasts about 20 minutes. Not only does he thoroughly cover his 'deposit', he makes sure he paws every side all the way around and the top. It's very strange. :crazy:

[SoDesuKa]

9. Fastidious Animal

Maybe the cat isn't really that fastidious, he just likes to hang out in the litter box. He paws the sides to make you think he's actually doing something. Actually, he's a privacy freak.

[meow2u3]

7. I read something about cats who don't cover their poop

Those are the ones who rule the kitty roost. The rest of the kitties under their dewclaw cover it up; but the top cat doesn't to show'em who's boss!

[liontamer]

11. none of my cats do

although they don't mind scratching for 10 ridiculous long minutes afterwards

[meow2u3]

32. One of my cats did

Smokey, my late semiferal, not only didn't cover up her crap, she ruined every LitterMaid we got because she had this habit of exposing her specimen for every other kitty to smell.

I guess it was because her mother died before she was fully litterbox trained.

[mark414]

8. another product of the vast homosexual agenda

[SoDesuKa]

12. Or At Least, Moral Relativism

It was a slippery slope. You can name any number of places where it started - zoot suits, divorced politicians, hair dye ... Sooner or later it would lead to cats brazenly leaving their turds uncovered.

[El Fuego]

10. Maybe they're more likely to do it outside.

[terrya]

13. My cat is very fussy about covering them

She's very attentive to it.

[Blue_In_AK]

14. I don't know...

...but I've got one who's peeing all over the house, and he's about to pay a visit to Dr. Death if he doesn't cut it out.

[SoDesuKa]

16. He's Spraying

Male cats spray to mark their territory. You don't need to take him to Doctor Death, just an ordinary vet with a scalpel to remove his testicles. That will quiet him down.

First, it is important to understand the difference between spraying (urine-marking) and indiscriminate urination. A cat who is not using the litterbox, who is urinating outside of the box, is usually motivated by a different set of circumstances. Urination of this kind is found in the form of a puddle on a horizontal surface. A cat who is spraying will usually urine-mark a vertical surface. This cat’s urine will be running down a door or the side of a chair. There are many reasons why cats spray.

Cats are very territorial, and it they perceive their territory to be threatened, they will mark it as a warning to others. Unaltered cats tend toward more territorial marking than neutered cats ...

http://www.metrokc.gov/lars/animal/Educate/cassidy/Cat/cat26.htm

[Blue_In_AK]

17. He's been fixed...

I actually think it has more to do with his advanced hip dysplasia. I think it's getting pretty painful for him to move around and so he's just peeing wherever he happens to be when the urge strikes him -- although at least he's managing to do it on hard surfaces and not the carpet ... but still I'm getting a little tired of mopping up after him. It's a sad situation to watch him degenerate; his mom's got the hip condition, too, but so far she seems to be a bit more fastidious about making it to the box. It's just sad.

[SoDesuKa]

18. Prince Charles Syndrome

He lives with his mother and he's peeing all over the place? It has a name.

[Blue_In_AK]

20. You are kidding, of course?

Seriously, does anybody know of any cures for this -- not the dysplasia, which I think is irreversible, but the peeing thing, or would the kind thing be for me to put the old guy down? He's about 11.

[SoDesuKa]

21. Eleven Isn't Old

Eleven isn't old for a cat, but I agree, it's getting up there. You can start spending a lot of money for various diagnoses, but you already know his chances for recovery are slim. I'd say you have a tough decision in front of you. How many more years are you expecting him to have? And if he's suffering . . .

[Blue_In_AK]

22. We're kind of used to having our cats live to grand old ages

around here. My daughter's cat finally had to be put down after she was 20 because she had a wound on her chin that wouldn't heal, and since there was a baby in the house.... Our old cat just died in January at 17 or 18. Punky seems young, but both he and his mom are in pretty bad shape. His sister seems to have dodged the bullet so far. I'm afraid you're right that I might have to be making this sad decision to terminate the two lame ones. It's pretty sad.

[SoDesuKa]

23. Doctor Death

You'll feel better if you consult a vet who verifies that the dysplasia, which is causing the incontinence, is incurable. Sounds like you already know that. If it's any comfort, lots of people here on DU have been through the same agony you're going through. It's really tough to put a beloved animal down, especially a young one. My sympathies.

[Blue_In_AK]

25. Update --

it's not the hip dysplasia kitties after all causing the pee issue. We caught the fat cat in the act, so she's heading to the vet tomorrow to see if she's got a UTI that we can treat. Dr. Death is held at bay for the time being.

[Eastside Blue]

19. Mine did the same thing ...

Chino started going outside of the litterbox and I initially thought he was reacting to the new house. He finally urinated on the hardwood floor right in front of me. Turns out he was letting me know he had a urinary tract blockage.

[Jokerman]

15. May be the litter

I had a cat that would bury it in regular old clay litter but when I tried the "Fresh Step" stuff, he would go on top and get out without even leaving footprints.

[BiggJawn]

24. These are single male cats, right?

Dr. Dobson says single men are incomplete animals, why wouldn't the same hold for cats?

[FizzFuzz]

27. I'd like to impose incompleteness upon Dr Dobson

with a pair of rusty pliers.

[Writer]

26. My old lady cat did just the same thing...

I'm not sure why she started to paw outside the pan, although I cleaned it constantly. She had a LOT of output!

If it's a generational trend in cat box usage, it's news to me!

[greekspeak]

28. My cat covers and covers well

He also covers the floor with litter in his mad kicking in the litter.

[libodem]

29. Sometimes Toonsie buries hers

and sometimes it's like she just rolls the turds in the chrystal litter and leaves them on the top....makes it easier for me to scoop poop. That chrystal litter really absorbs smell, and it lasts a month ....for a single cat...using the box. We have such lovely demure conversations in the lounge.

[SoDesuKa]

33. Thoughtful Animal

Make sure you tell Toonsie she has at least one fan on Democratic Underground - me. What a thoughtful cat. She rolls them up and makes them easy to scoop. See? The old values haven't gone away.

[Not_Giving_Up]

34. Out of three cats, only one covers

She not only covers her own, but before she gets in the box, she covers anything that needs it. The other two (her brother and daughter) will scratch until I say "OK Bear (or Scribbles), the man in China is complaining that litter is falling on his head." Then, they will exit, with nothing covered. They also paw at the TOP of the box...what are they covering there???