In the Ask Metafilter forum, hapaxes.legomenon told a story that cat owners can relate to in one way or another. The entire family got sick, and the litter box wasn't cleaned for a few days. When hapaxes.legomenon recovered somewhat and tended to the litter box, which is in the laundry room, a child's sock fell into the box at the beginning of the process.
Somehow, at this moment, the echoing cavern off her brain made an incredible leap of logic. I myself did not uncover this understanding for several days.
The problem is thus: she has associated sock-in-box with litter-box-gets-cleaned and, it being the third fact her brain possesses, will not let go of the notion no matter how untrue it is.
I clean it every day, but she keeps dragging socks and other small clothing items in there. She doesn't go on the material, just puts it on top of the litter, but it still gross. I've been washing everything but that doesn't seem super hygienic (the alternative seems both expensive and environmentally wasteful). With the litter box in the laundry room she has easy access to victims, but even when I've been diligent about not leaving out a single scrap of fabric in there, she'll drag something through the entire house to pursue her objectives. I have witnessed it, and was scared it was a mouse. It was another white toddler sock.
The question is, how to get a cat to un-learn this idea? Cat lovers know that some kitties collect things, often small items of clothing. They also develop weird habits. My white cat puts two hair elastics in the shared kibble pan, which annoys the other cats. It might be a territory thing, but I remove them and then all is well. Read the full story, the experiences of other Mefites, and suggestions on how to change the cat's mind.
(Unrelated image credit: Flickr user schmilblick)
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