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Comment by Sarah Lewis on August 3, 2011 at 5:52pm

I alternate his toys weekly. He is now (when we are at work) finally exploring the rest of the house while we are away. I don't he has been before. I could guarantee seeing him right in the doorway of our bedroom when getting home. Today he wasn't there so I called for him a few times and he came running from the other end of the house. So I am very happy he is becoming brave enough to start exploring the rest of the house by himself! :)

Comment by Sandra on August 3, 2011 at 4:00pm

I'm guessing boredom, too.  Try introducing new items into his environment, or new places to climb and explore. 

Comment by Sarah Lewis on August 1, 2011 at 7:01am

I have been ignoring Milo every time he gets into his litter box and lays down. I'll actually watch him get in and lay down. After he does, I walk out of the room ... he's too curious to know what I am doing he immediately follows me. I don't have to call his name. When we go back into the bathroom sometimes he will try and get back in it but 9 times out of 10 he will start playing with one of his toys. ...  I think I will need to get me some ceramic bowls. I right now am using stainless steal.

Comment by Donna Horwood on July 30, 2011 at 9:37pm

we have had many kittens pass through this house on their way to their forever homes and I think they think everything is something to play with and I like your idea Mediagrump that you used with Gilbert, ( love his name too )...as I have said before most kittens would lick your lips for you if they could, they always seem to have room to eat and will usually try almost anything...by the time they reach a year or so old they settle into regular likes and dislikes....my Tootsie is 8 and still eats a wide variety of foods where our Teddy has never liked anything but dry cat food and will vomit up most  brands but Purina cat chow..he even vomits the treats back up...the vet doesn't seem worried about it though.....so go figure....I use heavy ceramic bowls to keep the water where it belongs...

Comment by Sarah Lewis on July 30, 2011 at 4:29am

I kinda think he plays in his litter box and tips his food over out of boredom. It may be a way of getting attention. I may try your idea you did with Gilbert an ignore him and call him to another room. He only seems to play in his box during the morning as I get ready for work. Maybe he doesn't want me to leave? ... Other than this he is a normal bouncy little kitten. I guess I'll never understand why he does it but, will try that idea and see how it goes. Thanks guys! ;)

Comment by Gina Young on July 29, 2011 at 11:08pm

Hmm.. Tuesday does the food and water thingy but she will also pick up pieces of food with her paw and dip it in her water b4 eating it. This is very cute to watch but drives me nuts cuz she loses half of it and then i have to change the water like 5-6 times a day. I have no clue why they do this. She obsessively dumps the food bowls. I had kinda started to think that she was trying to cover her food up to save it for later, trying to keep other cats out of it cuz she is very particular about eating around other cats and doesnt like to be bothered or she just stops eating. So i try to make it so that she always has a lil privacy when eating. She seems to like this and eats better when i block her from other feline intrusions... lol. Mikey bullies the other cats out of their canned food and i think it gave her a complex around food.. im rambling now, cuz i really dont know why she does it. But, Mikey plays in the litter box too. I dont know if ur cats are inside only but maybe that has something to do with it. Sometimes i wonder if he does it just cuz he likes the feel of the litter. But i worry that when he does it he feels insecure too. have u ever heard of the tree-dwelling, or bush-dwelling theory on cats behavior? its hard to explain but when cats feel insecure or threatened or sick alot of times they hide in litter boxes, under beds, behind couches etc... and when they feel good, dominant, secure they climb on dressers to lay or in windows... i dont know.

i really dont know why my cats do half the stuff they do... probably because they are felines and we expect them to act a little bit erratic lol.

Comment by MediaGrump on July 29, 2011 at 5:32pm

Gilbert was laying in the litter box for a while, but he quickly stopped.  I am all about the positive reinforcement.  When he was in there I would completely ignore him, not even look at him.  I would go out of the room and call him, he would hustle into the kitchen all excited and then I would give him attention, tell him he is such a good boy for coming here.  It helped him learn his name, too.

I would try to get him to try as many foods as possible while so young.  Gilbert for some odd reason, when he hit one year, he all of a sudden became VERY picky.  I was wondering if it was because I didn't expose him to new foods and different shapes.  Now he will only eat the food shaped like X's and Hearts.  Any flavor is ok for him, but has to be those shapes.  Not sure if this will help. 

Comment by Cindy on July 29, 2011 at 2:24pm

Sorry, Rain's never been the type to play in her litter box.  If you come into the bathroom while she's in the litter box, she's more likely to give you that glare that sas "Hello, this room is in use!"

 

As for the food, can you get him a sturdier dish maybe?  Rain likes to mark her dishes by pulling her paw along the ground around it (almost looks likes she's trying to cover it up), so we just got low to the ground dishes that are too heavy to knock around.  We got her bedroom water dish at Rural King for about $2, but it's very heavy ceramic.  The ceramic helps the water stay cool longer too.