Buttercup and Westley are the first cats I’ve bottle raised. Consequently, they were nurtured like puppies. Either mother cats do something to teach litterbox behavior or my cats are brain damaged from their time in a ziploc bag. After using the litterbox, both of our cats scratch all the surfaces around their output, but never scratch the litter over the output. In case that sentence is too long, I will be less vague. Our cats don’t bury their poop and pee.

Since the cats like to use their litterbox when I am in the bathroom, I have watched the pointless routine repeatedly. Westley scratches the wall beside the litterbox. Then, he scratches the floor on the other side of the box. After doing this for a ridiculous length of time, he prances out of the bathroom like a peacock. Buttercup wastes the same amount of time, but her routine is to scratch the inside walls of the litterbox. Scratch a little on this wall, then hop to another wall, hop to another wall area and so on until she exhausts herself. There is lots of scratching and absolutely no litter is moved.

Yesterday, I decided I should start teaching the cats proper litterbox behavior by burying their poop. I rationalized that they would eventually understand that litter should cover their stinky stuff. I watched Westley do his silly scratching. Westley stepped out of the litterbox and I immediately used the litter scoop to cover everything he had left in the box. Westley stared at the litterbox. He looked at me. He looked at the box. He looked at me. He stepped back in the box and sniffed the area carefully. He dug his poop out and stomped out of the room with his poop proudly displayed atop the litter.