Dog Community

won't leave litter box alone

Posted : 3/8/2006 9:16:34 AM

I am sure it has been discussed before, but...
I cannot get my dear pooch to stop eating the cats gifts Crying

. By this I mean the poo, not the wet stuff. My cat has to have her litter box on the floor and she won't use the type with a cover/lid.
We have tried blocking the area off (he jumps over or pushes through), correction, etc. We clean out the box ASAP, but we aren't always around when a 'deposit' is made.
I swear Tyler (my wonder pup) thinks this is the world's best treat and feels it is his divine right and duty to clean up the tasty little morsels. Any creative solutions you may have is appreciated. We are at our wits end with Mr. Poopy breath.

mudpuppy

Posted : 3/8/2006 9:24:49 AM

no one in the history of the universe has managed to train a dog to not eat "kitty candy". Put the box where the dog can't get to it.

sharismom

Posted : 3/8/2006 9:55:10 AM

When my son was small, we had one of those "accordian" style baby gates in the kitchen doorway. We put the litterbox in the kitchen corner, cut one piece off the lower part of the gate that was only big enough for the cats to get through, thus solving the snacking problem. My dogs were big, and the gate was high enough that they couldn't jump it either.

lucybass

Posted : 3/8/2006 9:59:18 AM

I have an aging cat who's been through four Basset Hounds during his life, all of whom eat (or ate) kitty poop. Years ago, we started putting the litter box up on a table with a chair nearby so the cat could get to it easily and the dogs couldn't get to it. Now, my cat is 16 and occasionally doesn't want to get into the litter box. Instead, he poops right on the bathroom floor. I have come to accept that our current Basset will not be trained to not appreciate kitty poop. It's okay in my mind as long as he doesn't try to lick me right after indulging himself.

melindar

Posted : 3/8/2006 10:12:17 AM

I had the same problem with our puppy. A suggestion that someone gave me was to put the litterbox in the bathtub. Is this an option?

cyclefiend2000

Posted : 3/8/2006 10:44:01 AM

ORIGINAL: sharismom

When my son was small, we had one of those "accordian" style baby gates in the kitchen doorway. We put the litterbox in the kitchen corner, cut one piece off the lower part of the gate that was only big enough for the cats to get through, thus solving the snacking problem. My dogs were big, and the gate was high enough that they couldn't jump it either.

we do something similar to this, except we have the plastic, pressure fit gates. we didnt even cut a hole in, because the cats will jump over the thing. we have all our cat stuff in one room. plus if the puppy is wanting to be playful with the cats and they dont want to play, it gives them a refuge where he cant get in.

sooner

Posted : 3/8/2006 10:49:11 AM

If you have a large dog and a room that you can leave the door closed put the litter box in there and put a kitty door in the regular door. Something big enough for the cat but too small for the dog. That's what my dad did with his laundry room and it works great.

dasher

Posted : 3/8/2006 6:56:02 PM

We installed one of these [linkhttp://www.petdoors.com/inside_use_pet_doors.htm]Kitty Doors[/link] on our basement door. It works great!! The cats have their food and litter in the basement so they can eat and "do their business" in peace. [

] We had 2 big dogs so there was not way they were getting through. Unfortunatly that all ended when we got Dasher, our JRT [

] He it able to fit through...we got creative and put the kitty bowls and the litter box up off the ground. We also discourage Dasher from going through the kitty door. He is pretty good about now and rarely gets down there. I think it helps that he has realized he can't reach any of the "goodies" [

]

sooner

Posted : 3/8/2006 7:53:00 PM

You can also use electronic or magnetic pet doors. The pet that is allowed through the door wears a collar that 'unlocks' the door. They work great if your dog doesn't learn to follow them through.

marynh

Posted : 3/8/2006 9:00:33 PM

I tried to move the litterboxes into the basement but one of my cats refuses to go into the basement....so idea why but apparently she has a phobia about it and she started to pee on the boot tray (at last she picked something cheap to replace).
So back up came the litterboxes and I put up baby gates.

He is The Boss

Posted : 3/8/2006 10:17:50 PM

I bought a gate on eBay that I just love. It fits in the doorway and is 41 inches tall. It has a door for me to open the gate and go through without having to climb over or take it down, and it has a cat door in it!!! It has been the perfect solution for our house.

I am so relieved to see my kitties in their room lounging on the chair and ottoman I put in there for them, and playing with their toys without worrying about Boss getting after them. I always felt so bad that all my cats were doing was laying around the kitchen counters all day, or on top the cabinets when Boss is awake. Now they can go in their room and relax and tease him of course[

] Right now Gracie can fit through the door though, which is a problem, since she likes to eat their food.. the poop treats are carried out into the hallway to share with Boss. At the rate she's growing that won't be an option for long.

Christi

Posted : 3/26/2006 10:25:55 AM

We live in a small apartment with 2 cats and a dog. In our old apartment, we had two bathrooms and one was a cat bathroom with the litterbox in the bathtub with a curtain; their food and water was on the sink. Our dog was crated when we were gone and we could hear him in the curtain when he went on a kitty treat search. Now, our dog has graduated to free reign and we keep the cat food and water on top of the dryer. I had a fit trying to think of where to put the litter box in our new apartment...we decided on the coat closet! We use door stops so that only the cats can fit in and out. They have their privacy and Wrigley can't get in! It took awhile for me to get used to the idea, but the cats have never made a complaint! Luckily there is a walk-in in our bedroom large enough for shoes and coats! I can't wait to build a house and have a better set-up for my furbabies!

bamaeskie

Posted : 3/26/2006 10:45:16 AM

Eskiemom, I LOVE your Eskie!!!! Well, before we even got Dakota, we went to bigfatkittycat.com and had them make us a custom-made litter chest. We had the whole box's length increased, the height increased, the entrance door moved and its size decreased. After we received the chest, we totally changed the inside. As you can see, we took out one of the partitions and slanted the other one. That way we could put both the cats' food and litterbox in the chest (not a problem since cats lick their own butts[

]). People who come to our house are at first fooled and then amazed by the chest. You can set the chest up any way you want. This has worked for us from the beginning!!!!!!