Really disgusting problem. PLEASE help!

[xayden]

my boxer is an indoor dog (unless he keeps this crap up) and so is our cat, they ignore each other. but my problem is that it seems like every chance he gets he makes his way to the kitty litter and gobbles up all my cats crap! its really annoying since i have constantly yelled my head off at him about it. it seems like anything i do just is NOT getting through to him that cat poop = discipline, i know this because we both came home today and he ate a piece of cat crap on the lawn and i yelled at him and threw him inside, once inside he went almost directly to the kitty litter and ate yet another FRESH piece of poop!

this is really starting to bother be because everytime i see him i cant help but think that he was in the kitty litter and his breath smells like (insert word here).

if anyone ahs any cures for this (other than a lousy "move the kitty litter" response) it would be much appreciated. keep in mind that my cat is 12-13 yrs old and cant jump as well as she used too. my boxer however is only 4 mnths old

 

[johann]

Why is moving the litter box such a lousy idea? They sell baby gates that have a spot that small pets (cats) can fit through without having to jump...but a dog can't fit. Might be worth putting the litter box in another room to completely avoid the hassle. I also think its good for the cat to have a "dog-free" area in the house.

If thats not an option, there are also some covered litter boxes that are upright (cat jumps down through the top) that are supposedly dog-proof.

Yelling at him isn't doing anything productive. Work on teaching him a "leave it" command. That way you are teaching him what you want him to do. Not just randomly (in his mind) yelling at him. There are some good article links on here if you search for "leave it". Right now he doesn't understand that eating cat poop is not ok...you have to teach him that (best done with positive reinforcement, not punishment).

It is a gross habit, and I hope you can get it fixed quickly. You may find that you need to move the litter box anyways, since you can't be home all the time to reinforce that he needs to leave it alone and not snack on cat poop.

 

[xayden]

i tried the cover over the box, but since weve had my cat for 13 years she is not used to it and wont go in if its covered. i tried the baby gate yesterday, when i came home there was cat poop rite outside the gate, meaning she couldnt jump the gate. i never heard of the gates with a cat opening tho, ill look into that, however leo is still a pup and would probably fit through the hole. moving the box is not a good idea since theres really nowhere in my house that Leo (boxer) cant get too, unless its a riased platform. do you know if theres some sort of a scent i can spread that repells dogs but is harmless to cats?

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

i tried the cover over the box, but since weve had my cat for 13 years she is not used to it and wont go in if its covered. i tried the baby gate yesterday, when i came home there was cat poop rite outside the gate, meaning she couldnt jump the gate. i never heard of the gates with a cat opening tho, ill look into that, however leo is still a pup and would probably fit through the hole. moving the box is not a good idea since theres really nowhere in my house that Leo (boxer) cant get too, unless its a riased platform. do you know if theres some sort of a scent i can spread that repells dogs but is harmless to cats?

I have had 3 dogs in the course of having my cats as well as fosters and there has been NOTHING that I have done that has repelled the dog from eating cat feces. I have tried positive reinforcement negative reinforcement, yelling, screaming, ingoring, everything known to man, bitter apple spray you name it I've tried it and NOTHING ever kept my dogs out of the cat box. Putting a baby gate up isn't an option for us as the cat box is in our spare bathroom and that's my son's bathroom and he cannot jump over the gate or work it properly (he's only 7) so we can't do that and there's really nowhere else in my home to put the box that is appropriate.

Sooooo I got the booda dome deluxe. It is covered, but has "stairs" that go around it here's a picture:

Amazon.com: Dome, Cleanstep Cat Box, Titanium: Home & Garden (link is for picture/explanation purposes only)

My cats were 8 years old when I got this box and ranged in size from 8 pounds to 18 pounds (I had 3 cats, now have 2) and this box has worked PERFECTLY for me and all 3 cats for 3 1/2 years now, never had a problem with them taking to it given that it is so large. But because of the "stairs" (which are just ripples really) and that they "wind around" so to speak the dog's head cannot fit into the pan portion where kitty toosie rolls are kept, it also keeps the floor MUCH cleaner by catching the litter on the ripples/"stairs". The only issue I had was if my dog was very determined he knocked the lid off, so I took two pieces of electrical tape (smalle) and taped the lid to the base but I can take that off and open it to clean but it provides enough stick to stay in place if my dog tries to knock it off with their head.

I bought mine at PetSmart for around $30 and it's been the best investment I've ever made. I will also say that Ever Clean cat litter (which I have only found at PetSmart and PetCo) also helps as it dries out the feces and so it doesn't smell at all and therefore doesn't attract the dog nearly as much.

Hope that helps some and good luck!

 

[Jan]

i tried the baby gate yesterday, when i came home there was cat poop rite outside the gate, meaning she couldnt jump the gate.

You need to make the gate high enough that the cat can go under, but the dog can't.

You could also try putting a loop around the door handle so that the door will only open a small amount. You could also try putting a cat door in the door to the bathroom and then keep the door shut.

I am sure that you will find something that works.

Good luck!

 

[Boxeruahua]

I would suggest the self cleaning box too. It detects when the cat is done and sweeps it clean and puts it in a baggie. This would keep the poop out of the litter box so he couldn't eat it. Another good thing about it is that it looks like a normal box so the cat shouldnt have any problems getting in it.

 

[laurelheebsh]

You could also try putting a loop around the door handle so that the door will only open a small amount. You could also try putting a cat door in the door to the bathroom and then keep the door shut.

This is what finally worked for us--putting the cat box in the spare bathroom and then using a hook and eye about 4 feet off the ground so that the door is permanently about 6 inches open. Easy to release if someone needs to use the room.

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

I would suggest the self cleaning box too. It detects when the cat is done and sweeps it clean and puts it in a baggie. This would keep the poop out of the litter box so he couldn't eat it. Another good thing about it is that it looks like a normal box so the cat shouldnt have any problems getting in it.

We had one of these. Don't waste your money. For one they CONSTANTLY get clogged, second the waste is scooped into a recepticle which is VERY easy for doggie to bump with his head or open with his paw. It's just a lid that opens and closes, doesn't lock otherwise the box couldn't open it. It was a waste of money in the fact that it constantly got clogged and you had to scoop anyway, but in terms of keeping doggie out it absolutely does not.

SAve the $100 IMO.

 

[kayboxer]

I just went through this same thing a few months ago! I couldn't move my litter box either. My cat is 16. I finally decided to buy a new litter box. It's not the dome one, it's called CleverCat. It is a deep litter box with a lid that has an entry hole in the top. It is awesome. I didn't think my cat would take to it since she is old, but she loves it. The first couple of days you leave the lid off to get them used to it, then you put the lid on. Shehad no problems at all, and there is no way my dogs can get their head in the hole and down far enough to get to the "goodies".

 

[KWilson]

Why is moving the litter box such a lousy idea? They sell baby gates that have a spot that small pets (cats) can fit through without having to jump...but a dog can't fit. Might be worth putting the litter box in another room to completely avoid the hassle. I also think its good for the cat to have a "dog-free" area in the house.

If thats not an option, there are also some covered litter boxes that are upright (cat jumps down through the top) that are supposedly dog-proof.

Yelling at him isn't doing anything productive. Work on teaching him a "leave it" command. That way you are teaching him what you want him to do. Not just randomly (in his mind) yelling at him. There are some good article links on here if you search for "leave it". Right now he doesn't understand that eating cat poop is not ok...you have to teach him that (best done with positive reinforcement, not punishment).

It is a gross habit, and I hope you can get it fixed quickly. You may find that you need to move the litter box anyways, since you can't be home all the time to reinforce that he needs to leave it alone and not snack on cat poop.

I agree with Johann and the pet gate idea with the small opening for cats. Here is a link with a photo of one so you can see what she is talking about. Not sure if it is ok to post this or not, if it isn't then please remove it. But you can do a search on the internet and should find them without any problems. Also most pet stores should have them in stock as well.

http://www.lex18.com/images/thumbnails/ABA156470095050747E581BFFBDCCF4A_250_250.jpg