Help! My kitten likes to play with her kitty litter

[adam2019]

Suvi my 11 week old kitten has developed a new, odd habit. She likes to play with her kitty litter. Yes she does use it, but she likes to play with it.. messing it all about when she is not supposed to use it (ie: scratching it off the litter tray and leaving it a fine ol mess)

Anything I can do to stop her from doing this? She messes up the flat and Im tired of sweeping the litter up. I do this nearly ten times a day.

Its driving me mad!

[dinahsmum]

Adam - she's playing, she's having fun, she's generally being a kitten. She is a living creature, not a robot, and she is a baby creature at that.
You are the human and it's down to you to come up with creative human solutions to the 'problem', like putting a piece of plastic beneath the litter tray, so you can simply pick it up and pour the spilled litter back in.
It's just a phase - it will pass ... and she will probably find something else that amuses her. I hope that doesn't annoy you so much

[Elaine]

Aww bless her, as Dinahsmum says, she's just a kitten at play. She'll grow out of that and find something else to drive you mad with
I'm sure you drove your mother mad when you were little too

[dinahsmum]

After my rather snappy initial response maybe I should also suggest a hooded litter try or a tray with a wide inhanging brim - if you see what I mean - which helps prevent litter being scratched out.
Don't do anything to scold her or turn her against going to the tray - you'll regret it if you get 'inappropriate toileting' at a later stage.
Enjoy the kitten-ness; it passes suprisingly quickly.

[pcspik]

Like others have said, it is a phase.

Each time you see her you could try distracting her with a fishing rod type toy, that way you will be able to encourage away from playing with the litter tray contents without her realising it! This is because her mind will be focussed on something else.

Also, what dinah said in the first post, try one of those litter catcher mats. It won't stop the litter being dragged across the floor entirely, but it will cut it down.

[Moli]

I had one who scattered little all over the floor eveytime he used the tray, so like DM suggested, I got hooded trays, problem solved.....

[adam2019]

Yeap Im gonna get a kitty litter with a flap and probably to a yoga class too. LOL.

She is sooo cute BUT I have a hunch shes doing it on purpose! LOL.

[dandysmom]

As everyone has said, she's a kitten and playing! As far as doing it on purpose, she may find your reaction funny .... she's getting attention!! Distracting her is a excellent idea.

[MadCatLady]

Of course shes doin it on purpose!!!

Hooded trays are great, I use them for my tribe, but don't expect miracles.... Sexy-Sullivan-Funny-Wrinkles, my Baldie, has the worlds longest 'finger like toes' and is forever bringing me peices of litter stuck in his feet, you fish that bit out for him only to see a trail all the way back to the litter tray

Toys.... ping pong balls are great for kittens & check out the thread about valerian scented toys that I posted a while back... so funny!

It's a phase and a play time & just kittens i'm afraid!

[calista24]

I'm glad i read this!

We have had Cali now for 3 months, and have just changed her litter from wood pellets to try 'worlds best cat litter'

The brilliant upside is that 'worlds best' drastically cuts down any residual pee odour (we always change it every 36-48 hrs) - and the clumping is great as you can just scoop out a 'solid pee pyramid' and dispose of it.
The extra price is worth this alone - there is virtually no odour at all - great!

The only thing is ,as it's almost like fine gravel - she has started playing with it (only when it's changed so far).
I guess at 4.5 months she is still just playing,and getting her scent in from her paws to make it her own.

I'll try the distraction technique, little terror!