Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat Health & Behaviour => Health & Behaviour General => Topic started by: beanie260904 on November 10, 2008, 18:28:35 PM
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Basically Bambi has completely stopped covering her stools up she is 10 months old now and has been an angel at cover her stools up until about 1 month ago when she just randomly stopped and since then she will not cover them up...I do not know what is wrong? I read online that some cats do this to show they are the more dominate cat in the household, however, she is the only cat I have so I am really confused....she does not seem stressed in any way....any advice???
Jennifer
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What litter do you use? I would try an extra tray of very fine clumping clay and see if she likes that, as they grow and gain weight they can find wood pellets/large clay granules too hard to stand on
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Some cats just wont do this!
I dont think her being the only cat affects how they see dominance..................she thinks she dominates you ;D
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Not covering stools is definitely normally a dominance thing. Given her age, she is probably just being a stroppy teenager, in which case she may grow out of it. Are there any new cats in your neighbourhood whose presence might be prompting her to assert herself? Or may be it is just her way of saying - get rid of those noisy fireworks!!
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Sometimes my cats don't cover theirs and sometimes they do for example Byron usually does but didn't today, Schui rarely covers his.
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I use city cat litter its like very small crystals and is really good at absorbing the smell, she has been on this cat litter since I got her at 10 weeks, she is still very small around 5lb because of her medical condition (Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Feline Asthma) which she is currently being treated for. But you never know maybe she has just had enough of the crystals, I will try a different soft clumping one and see how she goes...
I understand that some cats just wont do this but I am just so confused why she would do it for 9 months then all the sudden stop...well, Bambi is an indoor cat she has a cat secure system in the garden so when she goes out she is only allowed in the garden so usually she wont see or be disturbed by any other cats, however, I did notice about a week ago a cat sitting on the opposite side of the fence peering in..so he might be after Bambi so to speak, as I do believe she is in heat at the moment, which I am desperate to neuter her but I have been told by the vet to wait until her condition is controlled as it presents quite a few problems arising during the operation and they do not want to take the risk, so that might be why a male is peering in...he cant get in though and Bambi is always supervised when she is in the garden, however she has been kept in doors the last couple of days, however, with any luck she will be neutered before the end of November.
Maybe she is just being a stroppy teenager I suppose lol
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Dont change her litter, add an extra tray of the new one, you dont want her going all over the place! As shes in heat its more likely to be that causing her to leave it there as a marker, i assume poo has the same effect as wee for giving off hormonal scents, wild animals use it that way
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Actually it's meant to be the other way round....a confident cat feels no need to leave a really "obvious" marker so covers it up. (So I'm told by the piles of books I have to read for my coursework. ;) ) Has there been any changes in the home environment?
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No there has been no changes to her home environment...
Thank you for all the advice x
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Clapton has stopped covering his in the attic as the other cats don't go up there - so maybe he feels relaxed there? - he covers elsewhere. He is definitely submissive to other cats. On the bright side, it's easier to find :) - with the cats best litter, it is like being at a fairground and trying to win a prize searching for it with the shovel :evillaugh:
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I think MM could be right, if she's in heat it could be she's trying to use her toileting habits as a clear sign there's an available
floozy female around for the males. :)
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my Tilly goes to the loo in the middle of the garden and then spends ages trying to cover it up with blades of grass!! at least it makes it easy to pick up!