My 12-year-old cat has started sleeping in her litter box instead of her basket. This has been going on about a month now and I don’t understand why she prefers the litter box over her bed. I replaced her bedding in the basket with soft towels, but she goes straight to the litter box. I think this behavior is really disgusting. Do you think she is getting senile ? She was not doing this in May when I took her to the vet for her annual checkup.
Any time a cat exhibits even a slight change in its behavior, you have to wonder what’s going on to prompt it. Despite what some people may believe, cats aren’t entirely capricious creatures with no whys or wherefores for their actions.
In this case, the first thing to consider is the cat’s age. Not because of the possibility of senility, although some elderly cats do develop what could be compared with Alzheimer’s in humans, but because of other physical ailments whose incidence increases as a cat gets older. For example, older cats are more likely than younger ones to develop kidney disease or bladder problems.
Because of the possibility of problems associated with aging, feline behavior experts like Marilyn Krieger recommend initially addressing a change in behavior with a trip to the veterinarian.
“With a 12-year-old cat, the first thing she should really do is have the vet do a geriatric exam to make sure the cat is OK,” says Krieger, a certified cat behavior consultant in San Francisco. “That is the number one thing because it could be that there’s something specifically wrong with the cat.”
Krieger, the behaviorist for CatChannel. com, says the fact that your cat has had her annual checkup doesn’t rule out the need for another examination with the focus on a specific problem.
Without more information, Krieger says, it’s not possible for her to determine the exact cause for the cat’s desire to nap in the litter box. But, in addition to a possible health link, you should think about what’s been going on in your household. For example, have there been any changes ? Any new people or new cats ? A visiting child ? Cats are sensitive to what goes on around them, and something like a new person in the household could make one feel anxious or insecure. In such a situation, a cat may view the litter box as a safe retreat.
Also look at the environment. Have you moved your cat’s bed ? If so, that could be the problem. She may not feel safe in the new location. It’s also possible that she’s looking for a cool place to sleep and the litter box is in a cooler location than her basket, Krieger says.
If a cat in a multiple-cat household began sleeping in a litter box, she adds, it could be “resource guarding” in which a cat occupies or watches the box so that other cats cannot use it.
The litter-box-as-bed question isn’t one she’s accustomed to hearing, says Krieger, who has been counseling clients about cat behavior since 1990. (Her Web site is www. thecatcoach. com. ) Instead, she mostly hears about cats rolling in their litter boxes after they’re cleaned or ignoring them entirely.
No matter what a cat’s age, sleeping in the litter box isn’t regular behavior, she notes.
“Cats usually don’t want to hang out in the litter box.” Do you have a question about pets ? We’ll get you an answer from an authority. Send your question to Rhonda Owen, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P. O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark. 72203
or e-mail rowen@arkansasonline. com
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