Question of the Day: Why Do Cats Go Completely Bonkers After Pooping?

[Surya Gayatri]

Here're some theories:

https://www.thedodo.com/why-cats-go-bonkers-after-pooping-1127100220.html

Cat lovers know that their feline family members can have very peculiar bathroom habits.

Arguably, the greatest mystery of these behaviors is when cats LOSE THEIR SH*T, figuratively, after losing their sh*t, literally.



Bolting out of the litter box is a bizarre phenomenon, and the theories aiming to explain it are quite varied.

Some say post-poop freak-outs, or " zoomies," are a carryover survival instinct, so that predators can't trace the smell back to the kitty responsible for it.

It could also be that cats run to cast off any remnants of waste. Or perhaps kitties sprint, some cat lovers speculate, because they can't stand the smell of their own droppings.

http://www.pethealthnetwork.com/cat-health/cat-behavior/why-do-cats-run-litter-box-after-pooping

Dr. Ilona Rodan, a veterinarian and feline specialty behavior consultant, is quoted in an animalplanet.com article as saying that, “she hadn't found evidence that cats run from their waste in the wild.” The same article touches on several additional theories for this behavior, put forward by both Rodon and Carole Wilbourn (cat therapist), including:

Cats just feel better after relieving themselves
Cats are “flaunting” their grown-up independence, because they don’t need mommy to clean them up anymore
Cats want to call attention to their accomplishment
Cats with digestive problems want to get away from the problem as soon as the can

Until cats can explain this phenomenon themselves, I guess we'll just have to keep speculating. LOL!

[Ex Lurker]

1. My dog kicks dirt over it when he's finished NT

[Surya Gayatri]

2. I wish Parisian dogs would do the same. Too much dog doo-doo

on the sidewalks and under the trees in Paris. Dangerous, too. Really slippery stuff, if you have the misfortune of stepping in it.

[LiberalElite]

7. I'm surprised that's allowed -

in NYC you have to clean up after your dog or have to pay a fine. Of course there's still poop here and there but this law really helps keep the poop off the pavement.

[Surya Gayatri]

10. A "Clean-Up-After-Your-Dog" law IS on the books now, and the

situation "on the ground", as it were, is MUCH better than it was 10 or 20 years ago. That said, like everywhere, there are irresponible owners who don't give a damn.

From time to time, there are graphic public service billboards announcing « tel maître, tel chien » (like master, like dog), which are meant to shame people into curbing their pets.

[LiberalElite]

11. Oh, that's good - "like master like dog".

Now that there's a lot of snow on the ground here, the ususal lazy slobs don't clean up if the dog poops on the snowbank. It's as if they belileve it'll melt away along with the snow. Happens every time. The snow gets to look pretty damn disgusting here.

[Ellen Forradalom]

16. I designed this poster

to tack up in the dog park in the 11th arrondissement:

[Surya Gayatri]

18. Well done! Gets the message across, for sure. I remember

the big « tel maître, tel chien » billboard campaign. And, there's another one that shows the photo of a cute little dog with the caption: « Si mignon, mais il laisse 80 kilos de déjections canines par an ».

For non-French speakers, the billboard says:

WE WALKED IN POOP

ON EARTH, JUST AS ON THE MOON, YOU ALWAYS NEED TO PICK IT UP!

By the by, I live just in the « corner » where the 20th, the 12th, and the 11th meet.

[Ellen Forradalom]

19. Howdy neighbor!

I'm up the street a bit, in the 11th.

[Donkees]

3. Might be related to anal sac functioning (inflammation, thickening, etc) (?)

"At the end of each bowel movement, the animal gives things one last squeeze and this empties a few drops from the sac."


I know that dogs 'run away' from defecating when pooping can be painful (constipation, anal sac problems) or when expelling gas.

[Vinca]

4. LOL - and here I thought it was only my cats going nuts after a poop.

They race around like crazy animals. I've got one who comes and gets me (usually in the middle of the night) to show off her perfect poop in the box. Most of the time you love them, sometimes you want to strangle them. LOL.

[CTyankee]

6. Maybe they just feel better and lighter...I imagine lots of humans do too...

[MineralMan]

5. The other day, I was cleaning out the litter box

in the basement. One of our kitties showed up and sat nearby, watching. She was very intent on watching me scoop the poop and never moved a muscle. I finished up and stood up. Kitty was puzzled and looked at me quizzically. I think she was wondering why I dug in the litter box, but didn't poop.

[WiffenPoof]

8. Pooping is an Orgasmic Event

N/T

[tammywammy]

9. One of my cats meows to announce he's pooping

He's done it since he was a little kitten.

[Arugula Latte]

12. We always say: "He's lightened his load! Watch out!"

[meow2u3]

13. Charge kitty with shit and run

[Eleanors38]

14. I don't think that is fecesable.

[grossproffit]

21. Very good!

[hifiguy]

15. The two cats I have served

didn't do this. They'd hit the water dish and then go back to sleep. Did I have defective kittehs?

[grossproffit]

17. Our 1 cat thinks his poop is an air freshener, since he doesn't bother covering it up.

It ain't!

[joeybee12]

20. not all my cats do that

Although the majority do. I thought it might have to do with being born feral

[Archae]

22. My cats have to "iniate" the litter box after I change it.