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How to get your dog to stop eating cat poop from the litter box
Does your dog eat cat poop no matter what you do? It can be so frustrating, not to mention unhygienic and possibly dangerous for your pup! Eating cat poop can make your dog sick for multiple reasons. It’s a surefire way for parasite and bacterial transmission, including hookworm and salmonella, especially if your cat is a part-time outdoor kitty or eats raw food. It can cause tummy issues and dangerous intestinal blockages if your dog takes a mouthful of litter, too. And clumping litters that contain bentonite clay could also lead to bentonite toxicosis. So you definitely want to get your dog to stop eating cat poop from the litter box yesterday! We’ll share some ways to help them kick the habit.
Why does your dog eat cat poop?
This question could be a whole separate blog post going into the hypotheses as to why dogs eat cat poop. Experts say it may come down to their scavenging habits and curiousity more often than a nutrient deficiency. Cat food is high in protein, so their poop could be enticing thanks to this.
What doesn’t work:
Most people say that training their dog to not eat cat poop was a losing battle. You may also find people selling supplements and vitamins to help with the poop eating. Everything we’ve seen on Reddit and heard from fellow pet parents leans toward this not working. Has either worked for you? Let us know in the comments!
How to stop your dog from exploring the litter box
Scoop litter right away
Yes, this is the most obvious answer. Please scoop your litter box at least once a day. It’ll keep your cats happy (they need clean litter pans!) and will remove the temptation for your dog. Does your cat usually poop while you’re away at work? You can hire a dog walker to come in for your pup and add on a litter scooping service to help!
Place your cat’s litter box in rooms out of reach.
Our dog walking clients with kitties in the home have put their cat’s litterboxes behind closed doors in their laundry room. They installed a small cat flap at the bottom of the door that only their cats fit through. You can also use a gate hook and eye or a door latch to prop the door to the litter box open far enough for just your cat to fit through (might now work with small dogs).
Use baby gates as a barrier between dogs and litter boxes.
Some clients set up a baby gate to a small room that their cats can access by jumping over, while their dogs look on forlornly. There are baby gates with small doors for cats that should be helpful for your aging, arthritic kitties, too. These won’t work for small dogs, but they help with larger ones. You can also hide your cat’s litterbox behind furniture and install baby gates around it. It’s not the prettiest setup, but it works if you don’t have an extra room to spare.
Elevate your cat’s litter box.
Some people put their cat’s litterboxes on a laundry countertop, far away from curious puppies and dogs. We’re not fans of this due to the potential mess, but to each their own!
Hide your litter box:
You can put your cat’s litterbox in a cabinet or enclosure to keep them out of your dog’s reach. You can find cute ones online with small openings for your cat. You can then keep your open litter box, which most cats prefer.
Last resort: covered litter box.
This is not an ideal fix, but many pet stores sell litter boxes with lids with a hole for the cat to get into. This is an easy fix as long as your cat tolerates it and can access the hole (not too old or sick to jump up and in). Some cat experts recommend against covered litterboxes as it limits what they see, causing stress. If your cats are okay with covered boxes, they might also enjoy a dome litter box with stairs leading up to the access point, which is especially important when considering older, arthritic kitties.
What not to do:
We don’t recommend making your indoor cat an outdoor cat to fix the problem. Outdoor cats live much shorter, sicker lives than our indoor kitties. Please try our suggestions first or contact a dog trainer before sending your kitties outside.
We hope these suggestions help you stop your dog from eating cat poop out of the litter box! It’s a tough job, but it will be much better for their health and yours. Best of luck on your journey to stopping that coprophagia!
