No matter what we try he won’t stop scratching the wall next to his litterbox while trying to bury his shit. The only thing that works is physically blocking him from scratching the wall, but the only thing I can think to put between his box and the wall is a shoerack, which I would really like to be able to use without the risk of shoes falling into his litter. We’re in a small apartment so working with very limited space and can’t just have it pulled away from the wall. Just wondering if anyone has any ideas on what to replace the shoe rack with
Did You try enclosed litter box? The she would scratch walls of the litter box. It helped with my cats
This. And also it helps to keep everything clean.
Yes of course
I second the litterbox with a cover suggestion. It should help a bit, or at a minimum, keep the scratching confined to the litterbox itself.
Still, scratching like this isn’t uncommon for cats. What I have noticed with my cats over the years is that they start young learning to cover the smell but they forget “why” they do it and “scratch whatever” out of habit as they get older. (I am talking many years or transition, btw.)
Once cats get really old, having them used to a litterbox cover helps if they start to miss the litter completely. (We had an “old man” once that just forgot how to aim and his butt always ended up over the edge of the box.) Still, not something you hopefully need to worry about any time soon.
TBH, each cat behavior is unique. Watch and adapt as you can.
We’ve had a lot of cats, some of which have wanted to scratch more than the litter. The simplest solution is to get a litterbox that has a cover. Some of those have doors, too, and you might have to remove that because some cats won’t use them. A side benefit of the cover is that you won’t get much litter flung out of the box.
I’m hesitant to buy one because weirdly enough he seems to be claustrophobic but I might try.
They have some with open tops and high sides.
To add to the other lemming’s reply - if you can’t find one of these of your liking or with high enough walls, you can always buy a storage container tub and cut out a U shape on one side to be used as door.
If damage to the wall is the concern here, maybe just sticky a small sheet of clear plexiglass to the wall? Catto probably wouldn’t notice, let alone care.
Flattened cardboard box? Just replace it now and again as it gets shredded.
How often the box is cleaned and how often the litter is fully exchanged also can have a big impact. Some cats have zero tolerance for touching ‘used’ litter.
It may be worth investigating different kinds of litter as well, especially if it appears he doesn’t want to touch the litter with his front paws to ‘wipe’.
my cat used to do this. I think it’s less wall-scratching and more his trying to get his paws clean. If you have clumping or perfumed litter it may be irritating his beans. You might try switching litters or putting a bit of rug on the wall. switching my old boy to a non scented corn-based litter stopped this habit, ymmv
Out a scratch post next to box
