Conference misery::feline_v1

    That is the exact reason that we stopped using plastic liners and
    newspaper in the boxes.  I don't have any idea what makes them so
    fanatic about ripping it to shreds.
    
    Jo

    Both of mine do the same thing -- I think they KNOW they're not
    supposed to, and since you're not around, they decide to do it just
    to irritate you!
    

    I can't figure it out either? Except maybe for attention?
    Mersault the younger male likes to do this also but less frequent.
    Than Minnow who loves to spend at least an hour shredding especially
    at night as soon as the lights go out for bed!??? The more we yell
    the more she shreds! I can even chase her ot of the box 3 to 4 times
    to have her sneak back and shred! I can even remove her duty! to
    have
    her continue too shred!
    Terry

    I no longer use the liners and paper (for the same reason), but
    I've found that some of my cats (a.k.a. Panther) will spend forever
    pawing in the box. I've found that by telling him what a good boy
    he is gets him to stop and happily walk off with his tail high in
    the air.
    
    Deb

    Only one of our three do this. The FELINERS seem to stand up rather
    well to him. I notice he has taken to the "bread makeing" on our
    bed as well. I was beginning to think the two actions were somehow
    related... He didn't start this until after he was altered.
    
    Bryan

    I have the same shredding problem.  I still use the plastic liners
    in the litter box though because even with a few holes the cleanup
    job seems easier.  Amelia has been known to try and cover her food
    and I sometimes find her food dish and water dish moved some distance
    from where they started. 
    
    --on a different subject--
    
    You should be able to tell Jo Ann and I apart now.  I've got an account
    on SCRUZ (that stands for SANTA CRUZ...really), SCRUZ::CORDES_JA.
    I can still receive mail at PUZZLE::CORDESJA.
    
    Jan
     

    Oh dear!  It used to be much simpler to think of the
    "generic cordesja."  Now we have to remember which is on
    which node.
    
    Scruz t' ya, too!
    
    	:-)

    Its so nice to have an identity....
    
    Guess who!

    We've been interchangeable parts for so long...
    
    Jan
    

    I would describe KIWI as a 'compulsive coverer'.  He
    'covers it up' incessently, whether there's a liner
    or newspaper in the box or not.  Sometimes he goes
    on for so long it gets to be like a form of Chinese
    water torture.   I have to go physically remove him
    from the box, pat him on the head, and say 'good job!'
    
    Donna

    Perhaps part of the reason is related to their natural instinct
    to cover up.  Because the paper and liner are part of the litter
    box, it might just be an extension of finishing what they started.
    
    Both of my cats try to cover up their food dishes when I had the
    nerve to give them something they didn't want to eat.  When Mutu
    was a mother (and the worst mother in cat history--i.e. nursed the
    litter sitting up!), she used to shred her nursery (a big, cardboard
    box).  She still shreds paper--usually to get attention, especially
    on Sundays (her day for constant attention!).
    
    J.
    

    >Perhaps part of the reason is related to their natural instinct
    >to cover up.
    
    I sure wish someone would tell Argus that his natural instinct is
    to cover what he does in the litter box!!!!
    
    Deb
    

	I use grocery bags (the brown ones) under the kitty litter -
	
	They seem to work really good, and aren't that easy to shred.

	/robin

    re: shredding things - not neccessary the litter:
    Mine don't shred things in the litter box, but consider that all
    cardboard boxes left on the kitchen floor are theirs to shred.
    (normally that is true) but sometimes it is not.  have learned to
    leave cardboard boxes in other rooms now.  becoming well trained
    cat owner.

    Honey will shred anything within reach of the litter box.  Once
    he's done with his "duty", he gets up on the rim of the box and
    scratches everything EXCEPT the litter!  He scratches the wall,
    the sides of the box, anything near the box, and as a last resort,
    he'll fluff a little litter on top of what he should be burying.
    The sound of his extended claws scratching the wall is enough to
    send me through the roof!  I tried putting the box far enough from
    the wall that he couldn't reach it; he merely left the box, went
    over to the wall, scratched like crazy and kept looking back at 
    the box to see if his efforts were working to cover up!!  Incredible...
    he drives me NUTS!!
    
    Mary

    
    Mine used to scratch the liners and end up covering up the litter
    with the liner and either using the newspaper or standing on top
    of the liners after that - neither was too pleasant.  I bought a
    litter box that has a ledge that goes over and snaps, but they could
    still rip the liner out from under the ledge so now I use about
    8 clothes pins and make sure I smooth the liner down flat into the
    box first.  They still rip the liner on occasion, though.
    
    The other thing we do is trim their claws fairly regularly (about
    once every 2 weeks) to help eliminate the sharp ends.  Helps reduce
    some (but not all of the wear and tear on the couches..)

    
    I used plastic liners for about 3 weeks and got tired of having
    to pick up not only the dropping and litter but the shredded
    plastic....
    
    I tried lining the boxes with cardboard boxes for a while, infact was
    using only cardboard boxes for a while, but when they get wet, not only
    do they smell, but the floor underneath gets soggy! YUCK! 
        
    I now use plastic boxes - and yes that is plural, for 2 cats. We
    bought the second one in preparation for going on a trip, while
    leaving the cats home and never took it up. For a while they were
    segregating the boxes - one for #1 and the other for #2..... now
    I guess they have gotten over that!
    
    But, any cardboard box in the house is still fair game though! Within
    about 1 hour, the box is usually shredded - makes wrapping presents fun
    - a real race to see who gets to the box first! 
    
    With the plastic boxes, they will scratch enough litter to cover not
    only the pile but also leave piles of litter on the floor outside the
    box, it looks as if a kid was playing in a sandbox and dumping pails of
    sand outside the box! We haven't been able to figure out yet if it is
    Merlin or Rascal - but boy it sure gets messy! We are starting to call
    them the "beach kitties!" 

    
    oh well.... it's still better than diapers!

    janet b.

    I wonder if using a 'booda box' - which is a covered box would keep
    the litter more in the box than out...
    Also I keep a small throw rug (washable) under the litter box.
    That way when things follow the cat out - it is easier to clean
    up.        
    
    Sally

    We have a 'booda box'. I think ours purposely shoot it out through
    the hole, and then scatter it throughout the rest of the house!
    It's a little better than the plastic pan, but not much -- I still
    have just as much litter on the floor as before...
    

    My cats never would use the covered box with the cover on it.  They
    used the floor next to it (it's a tile floor in the basement, so
    not too bad), or they would kick the cover off and then use the
    box, so I gave up on the cover.  It would be nice to limit the amount
    of kicked-out clay, though.  Does anyone have one of those boxes
    with a curved-in rim?  Does it work?  My cats sometimes sit on the
    rim of the box to piss, and so make a mess outside the box about
    half the time, depending on which way the kitty is facing - they
    don't like it when someone is watching them in the box anyways,
    so they may do this more often when I am right there!  There usually
    isn't a problem with liquid on the nearby floor, only clay particles,
    but they do track this stuff around.

    I have my litter box inside of a larger cardboard box that is
    lined with newspaper.  I make sure there is at least 2" of room
    between the litter box and the cardboard box on all sides.  This
    way if they miss, the mess goes into the cardboard box and not
    the floor.  Also, kicked out clay generally goes into the 
    cardboard box.  So far they haven't mistaken the cardboard box
    and the litterbox by trying to stand on the rim of the cardboard.
    But with cats, anything is possible!

					Maryann

    I hope there isn't a notes file for the kitties to use.
    I don't want mine to find out about standing on the edge of the
    litter box - or to rebel about the lid on the booda box and knock
    it off ...
    
    Sally

    Yeah, really!  Otherwise, think what our curtains, carpets, etc.,
    would look like!
    
    Nebula learned to CLIMB CURTAINS last night - neither of my cats
    ever was interested in that one before.  Their "pet", which I had
    been unable to catch all this time, reappeared last night with Nebula
    in hot pursuit, and ended up on top of the curtain rod.  I am pleased
    to report that with three humans and two cats chasing it, the no-doubt
    starving mouse was chased OUT THE DOOR!
    
    See, I didn't think the kitties had actually damaged it...