Why does my cat DO this?

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Every time (Or nearly every time) I am about to sit down to a meal, my cat takes a dump. Sometimes she waits until I am already eating. It really puts me off my food because if I don't go and scoop and flush, the odor will permeate the whole house in a matter of minutes. I wonder if she sees some sort of connection between eating and her litter box?

Any theories out there?

Are you more likely to scoop it faster if you're eating?

That's an interesting one, i don't know. Thanks for cheering me up though

i was going to get myself a cat but after reading this horrible behaviour i wont get one for sure

If she was my dog's cat she'd always take a dump just before he ate...

Oh, but they are lovely! I have two myself and i love them to bits! Just train them to go outside

i have a ADHD kid and loads of depression and mood swings issues myself
i cant train anything now

Cats like a clean litter box, so maybe by chance the cat used the litter box after he smelled you eating, you clean the litter box immediately, so he doesn't have to smell it either. He may associate the smell of your food and using the litterbox to not having to experience the unpleasant smells of the litterbox for long, himself.

Apparently he has done a good job of training you to clean the litter box immediately after he uses it.

Never heard of this one before, but some cats are very consistent in their rules for what they expect out of their "masters", and use any available means to get what they expect. It sounds like you might have a very smart cat.

We have indoor/outdoor cats and have a litter box inside. When they use it inside they want to go outside to escape the smell. But, they don't use it often, they normally let us know when they want to go outside.

I think you have a good point! One of the things my cat does after taking a dump, is to go tearing like mad through the house. I jokingly call it "fleeing the scene of the crime." I do notice that on the days that she uses the box and I am not preparing food or eating that she will meow persistently and obnoxiously until I come and scoop.


Definitely!

That is almost like saying that you won't have a child because of having to change diapers!
But seriously, cats train themselves (and you.) They are very clean creatures and very independent. They also have distinct personalities; no two cats that I have ever lived with were exactly alike.

Yeah, cats are very clean, and smart. Can't you put the litterbox somewhere where you can't smell it while you eat? I guess that could be difficult if you live in a small place.

We put our litterbox away from where we eat...that way we can't smell it (we have a total of 3 cats).

~Kate

Yes, I live in a small place. No matter where I put that box, the smell hits me within seconds after she uses it. Plus, I am very sensitive to odor so I have to stay on top of it.

Because cat's are funny, lol

In the place where I used to live, I kept the litter box in the bathroom. But my current bathroom is very tiny and there is no room. I don't want it in the bedroom or the living room, so it is kept near the back door under the shelves. That way it is nice and private for her. But even if it were kept in a separate room, I like to keep it as clean as possible so that she won't start getting ideas about using other places, LOL.