My cat "hangs ten"

[Andisan]

She hangs her butt over the edge of the litter box. Her poop ends up outside the box and then she tries her darnedest to cover it with tile floor. What to do, what to do?

[Valerie]

I'm sorry, but that's really funny! Have you tried a bigger litter box?

[Barbara]

Buy a large plastic storage bin with high sides (obviously, remove the lid). Cut an "notch" or lowered area in one side with a jigsaw so that she can step in easily. Presto--she can no longer hang over the edge of the box!

[Andisan]

I know, it's hilarious! She perches on the corner looking every bit like one of those gargoyles! If only I could get her to perch on the toilet like that! I absolutely agree it's really funny!

Her litter box is one of those larger ones, pretty sure it's not that. My idea is for my husband to build a raised floor, maybe 6 inches bigger than each side of the litter box, and insert the litter box. Then any hanging would have to be in the inside, or she's just sitting. Or way out there on the outside, but I think that's too far away from the litter so she probably wouldn't do that.

[Cynthia]

Our cats used to do that. What we did was to get rid of our regular sized cat litter boxes and go to a "boot box" from the Container Store. The plastic box measures 22-1/2" L x 14-3/4" W x 5-3/8" H. You can get a similar sized plastic box from any store like WalMart, etc.

Your cat also may be reacting to the type of litter you use. Some cats don't like to stand in clumping clay litter, or find that regular clay litter or a chunky litter like Feline Pine hurts their paws. You could try a "soft" litter like World's Best (ground corn) to see if she likes the feel of that on her paws.

If this is a recent change in pooping behavior, take your kitty to the vet to see if she has any new medical issues.

Lastly - do you keep the litter box clean, clean, clean? I dump mine once a week and clean them with a trifectant solution and rinse thoroughly in water, then put fresh litter down. If I don't, my kitties go over the side, too.

[Dawn Schneider]

I have a Siamese cat with a stub for a tail and she pees outside the litterbox all the time. I think she can't tell where she ends and the floor begins. I actually did get a larger litterbox, with a snap on rim instead of a full enclosure. It seemed to help. I also put puppy pads under the litterbox just in case. At least she can use the puppy pads to try and cover up her 'faux paws'.

[Cynthia]

The puppy pads are such a good idea! Love the 'faux paws' phrase. LOL

[Andisan]

They are indeed. I started using newspaper under the litter box, so now she folds the paper over instead of trying to shred tiles.

[Andisan]

Bunch of good suggestions, thanks! When we got her, she took right to the litter we were using for Loki (her new big "brother"), never turned her nose up or balked at using it or anything. She doesn't ALWAYS hang to poop, and she never hangs to pee...that's always in the box so I can't really figure it out -- why sometimes, but not all the time.