Problem with cat poop!!!!!!!!

[jennapea]

Help, please!!!!!!!!
My 7 month old Isabelle is getting worse and worse at sneaking into the furnace room and taking cat poop out of the litter box (with the litter still all over it) and eating it. We find it all over the house. I try to discipline her the same way as before she was potty trained. If I caught her eating or playing with it, she got a loud, firm "NO!" and I pick it up with paper towel and throw it away.
It's not working! And my cat is old and fat, so we have tried to put up a gate and he was too heavy to jump over it. We have tried a pile of books, but come on, Isabelle is more agile than he is. That's no feat for her.
I honestly don't know what to do as I can't close the door or the cat will start going somewhere else.
Any good suggestions?
:cry:

[finn]

When Star was about the same age she did the same thing except it was poop from the neighbourhood cats who'd been in our back garden. She even developed a bad stomach infection from it. We brought her to the vet and she said it was more than likely just a phase and to try and divert her with nicer goodies to chew on - kong etc... Thankfully after a few weeks she grew out of it and hasn't touched the stuff since. So perhaps it's just a phase for your doggie too.

[Spencer'sMom]

Jennapea- I feel your pain.

Finn- I certainly hope it's a phase. Spencer is 15 months and loves cat poop more than ever. We have two cats and thus two boxes. My husband thinks it's funny (he's not the one that digs it out of Spencer's mouth) and says Spencer is going to the "candy store".

[Jen]

We have two cats and two boxes that have lids on them, they're also turned just right into a corner so the cats can fit in and out, but Abbey can't. So far it's worked...

[Karlin]

There are also a couple of options out on the net of fully enclosed litter boxes that are pretty nice; the cat can get in but a dog can't.

For example:

http://www.outofsightlitterbox.com/

[Ste]

Could you get a strong gate and drape a sisal rug over it, stitching the rug through the gate so that doesn't come loose or move? This should be enough to enable your cat to clamber over the gate whilst keeping doggie out.

[Roxanne]

I have 6 cats ...and 3 dogs who also loved cat poop . I have a 18 inch high pet gate .....low enough to not bother the cats and high enough to keep the dogs out Works like a Charm !!!! The pet gate is not as high as a baby gate !

[Claire]

I try to do poo patrol everyone morning as the local cats seem to pick on my garden.... they are getting much better but when Busta was a pup, I did have to laugh as he looked like he had a large cigar hanging out his mouth.... my vet also suggested putting something awful tasting on the poo which could put them off eating it... but know my luck they would love the taste of it.... tried to put vinegar on the stairs as they decide to start bitting them and Woody was loving it - little sods...

[Bruce H]

Is there a way to put in one of those pet doors with the swinging door that's hinged at the top? That's what we have because we used to have the same problem. We found that we had to teach Buck (the cat) that he had to push on the flap to get through; we didn't teach the dogs and they never figured it out. If you think she might figure it out, I have also heard from someone that there is a pet door with an electronic lock that is deactivated by a collar the cat wears. Sounds like it may be expensive.

Just goes to show, no matter how cute and adorable these guys are, they're still a dog!!

[Jen]

another option is to put a gate up off the ground a bit so the cats can get under it, but the dog can't.