My kitten (nearly 11 months old now) has started a habit of running into her litter tray, squatting as if she is going to the loo, not doing anything and then running out of the litter tray, taking with her some litter on her paws and spreading it all over my flat. On my carpet and on my furniture. She didn't used to do this before I went on holiday for 2 weeks and my friend came in every day to check in on her and feed and change her litter and fuss over her etc.

It is a very annoying habit she has got into, does anyone know why she would be doing this? And how to stop her?

She was spade before I got her as she was a rescue kitten. She was really nervous when I first got her and is still nervous around unfamiliar noises and people and for this reason she is currently a house cat until she gets braver and I feel she will be okay going out without darting out into the road in front of a car.

Pleeeease help! Thanks

Has she been producing anything at all? Because it sounds like it could be physical. I had a houseguest cat for 6 months who did that and he turned out to be constipated..

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Yes, sorry I forgot to mention that she has been going as regular as she always has. I just don't understand the extra trips to the tray and the running out of it, rather than stepping out of it like she used to do.

Is she trying to wee, because it could be that she has cystitis and should see a vet.

Is she trying to do anything in the tray, like a wee? One of our cats had cystitus once and kept going to the tray.
Not sure about litter being spread around the place.
You could get a different litter tray with a roof on it and see what happens, we have one of those and they are quite deep.

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I agree with the above posts, it could be cystitis so I'd go & see the vet asap.
It could be that she is running out as when she starts to wee it really hurts.

She has been going to the toilet fine, both urinating and pooing, its just these extra trips I can't figure out.

I phoned my vets when they opened this morning and she suggested getting a hooded litter tray, so I will get one when I finish work. She also suggested that I keep an eye on her when she uses the tray to see if she looks uncomfortable when she does go to the loo. If I notice her looking uncomfortable, then I can get some plastic litter that absorbs the urine and take it in a test tube to the vets so they can do tests to find out if it is cystitus.

Thanks for your responses guys