Ever since we moved the covered kitty litter box from our shower to the bathtub, our lab has, uh, been snacking. I know this is gross, but I'm sure a lot of you have seen this. We moved the box to the other room because my husband and I were tired of hearing (or smelling) our cat use it in the middle of the night. Today he even tried putting a chair in front of the bathroom door but the dog still pushed it away. We need to start baby-proofing anyways, but I'm worried that a baby gate wouldn't leave enough room for the cat to get to the box (he's a fat cat). Any ideas to get rid of this disgusting habit before my husband totally loses it?
I would like to talk to a vet about a supplement for the cat. In the meantime, I've obviously lost my logic since having a baby - we put a baby gate up between the bedrooms and the bathroom - allowing the cat to roam a little and hopefully get his fat butt over when he's hungry (motivation). I just hope I remember it's there in the middle of the night when I hear my daughter cry and not ram into it like I just did!
We have two dogs and a cat and you can't break them of the habit, so you have to change. Put a cover on the litter, or put it somewhere they cannot reach.
We have the Kitty Litter that scoops itself (I forgot the name, it has an electronic scooper and dumps it into a recepticle). It helps. Good luck!
Awww, the famous 'cat-butt candy'. Yes, dogs like it and mine actually prefers his own. It totally grosses us out, but we've bought him some chewables to put in his food and we're diligent about scooping it, so it's helping. A little. :p Now, about your cat box. My hubby installed a kitty door from the house to the garage. If that is an option for you, you might consider it. It's been great as we don't have to worry about the litter in the house and/or the smell. Plus the cat has a little hideaway she can go to escape the dog!
I worked at a vet clinic and there is some type of supplement you can give your cat that will make the taste of the poo revolting to the dog, and he won't want it anymore. I'm pretty sure this works, ask a vet about it. Usually a holistic vet would know about this.
(Dr. Peterein at Harwood Oaks Animal Clinic)
other than asking about the product I wouldn't recommend taking your animals there!!)
At least one other person suggested this, but DO talk to your vet about the substance available to put in your cat's food. It won't bother the cat and should turn your dog off!
We've had the same problem, only with a Pomeranian who was smaller than the cat! One thing we found that has worked is not possible in every situation. We had the litter box in the laundry room and kept the door closed after putting in a cat door. We put the cat door up high enough that the cat could jump through, but it was too hard for the dog. Unfortunately, we can't do that with the house we've moved into now! Good luck!
Im glad i read this posting,as we got our lil one a kitten for xmas,and our lil dog was doing the same nasty thing,and to this day,i wondered WHY?! EWWWW! So,i went and got a covered sorta taller box,and it fits perfectly in my laundry room,between the dryer and the wall near the laundry door to the garage,its out of sight out of mind for my dog,and he hasnt touched it since,thank god!! This really worked for us!
A dog trainer at Petsmart offered a pretty easy fix. Add a little bit of pineapple juice to your cat's food. It's yummy to the cat going in, but absolutely revolting and nasty tasting once it comes out. Your dog probably won't want anything to do with it after it takes a taste of that! I had a dog that would eat her own poop, I tried this and it did the trick!
You didn't say what kind of litter box you have - make sure it's a covered one, if you're not already using a covered one, that right there may help a lot. We have one tiny little cat and we bought a huge litter box for her with a big cover - then we put the litter box in a corner facing the wall - it's kinda caddy-cornered in between a wall and a chair so it creates just a triangle of space - the dogs can't get to it at all & the cat just hops on the chair and then hops down into the little corner & into her litter box.
I tried all other methods I could think of and inevitably we would always forget to put a gate back up, or do something else without thinking, and man those dogs are on top of that quicker than anything. So whatever you do, design it so you no longer are required to "do" something when you leave the room or the house, etc. to prevent the dog from getting in there. Because your dog will continue to try to get at it daily, no matter how much time goes by....
Like you said about putting up a baby gate... my litter box is in the back of the laundry room. The laundry room is blocked off by a baby gate. So the cats have to jump it to get to their food, water & litter box. I too have FAT cats (2) & I figure maybe they should get a little excerise by jumping to get to their stuff. If I can catch my fattest cat sneaking up on the kitchen counter in the weeee hours of the night, I know she can jump a baby gate!
I also keep the litter box in the laundry room because this room is used most (it's a pretty good size) we have to walk in & out through it to get to our cars & of course I do laundry there. (stepping over the baby gate - yes we could use a little extra excersie too) So when you walk in & you start to smell it... then it's time to change it. One final thing about litter boxes is that I use the crystals (I know they are super expensive) but they really last longer. Plus they truely do keep down the smell. I have fiends comment all the time that they are suprised that we have (2) mostly indoor cats & you don't smell cats when you walk in the door.
My parents did a similar thing with the door. They put it in a hallway closet. You can buy those pet doors that have sensors in them and attach the corresponding sensor to the cats collar so the door will only open for the cat.
I don't know if this is true or not, but I have been told the reason dogs do this is because cat food is higher in fat and things that taste good... so it makes their waste taste good also. UGH!
