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My cat likes to lay in his litter box. He has been doing this since he was a kitten. Why does he do this?
What type of cat litter do you use?
Reply to Cheryl K.'s Post: The cat litter I use is the clumping type. My vet told me that normally cats will not lay in their litter box unless they have a urinary problem. He did have a urinary problem but it was fixed. I have been watching him for 2 weeks until his owners returned. They returned last night and tonight they told me he was laying in his litter box.
This is very true and they can re-occur if the antibiotics did not fully clear up the infection and the litter can actually cause more problems within the urinary tract. He may still have crystals in his kidneys and urinary tract and in some cases not only can a high bacteria or protein in the system cause more of a chance of re-occuring infections like this but so can the litter type that is being used. It would be best for them not only to have him seen again for another round of antibiotics but they should consider changing his litter to the crystals as there is alot less chance of him having re-occuring infections with this type of litter so I recommend the Tidy Cats Crystals for best health recaution.
Experience: 14+ years of shelter work/ vaccinations/ disease/ illness/ injury/ medical care
One thing I did want to meantion is in some cases even without infection they do like the texture and coolness of the litter so this could also be why he does this but it will cause an increased chance of further infections so I still recommend trying to change his litter to keep the particals from getting caught up and into the urinary tract and causing infection to form.
The urinary infection was fixed by the vet removing 4 stones and performing an operation whereas his penis was amputated and his urethea is now larger for any stones to pass through if by chance he forms more. His diet has also been changed to a prescription food for cats with urinary problems. He was on antibotics for ten days. He still has his stitches in which are to be removed on Thursday. I had him to the vet on Friday and he is healing well. No sign of infection. I asked the vet about the litter causing stones and was told that the food would cause them, not the litter. I agree with you that the clumping litter has to cause some problems.
One thing I did want to meantion is in some cases even without infection they do like the texture and coolness of the litter so this could also be why he does this but it will cause an increased chance of further infections so I still recommend trying to change his litter to keep the particals from getting caught up and into the urinary tract and causing infection to form. Food is more apt to causing these problems and one way of also avoiding them is to feed him a spoonful of yogurt once a week that can help to lessen the chances of infection and always push fluids as this is key to keeping the urinary tract and kidneys flushed. Yes food can cause them, so can the litter texture, as well as not getting the proper amount of water. It would also be best to try him on a cat food for urinary tract health as well to help prevent further infections from occuring. But yes the particals can get into the urinary tract just it is not as common as food but then again mos do not lay in their litter pan and the fact that he does can cause this to be a factor.