In a recent thread, I told a story about my cat Rex’s confusion over a new, second litterbox I recently put in the bathroom next to my bedroom. He doesn’t seem to realize that only “kitty business” should be buried in it. Instead, he brings small items from my bedroom to bury in the box as well.
First, it was a pair of my underwear, fetched from the dirty clothes basket. Then it was a dirty sock, from the same place. Then it was some packets of double-sided tape that I use to put up picture hangers (which I keep in a box on my bedroom floor). He frequently likes to play with stuff he finds in boxes that sit on the floor. I think the proximity of the new litter box has given him the idea that burying the items would be a good idea.
Last night, one of the cats threw an ossified piece of poop out of the box onto the bathroom floor. Before I had a chance to clean it up, Rex ran in with one of my bras in his mouth, retrieved from my laundry basket. He threw it over top of the poop nugget, then looked up at me as if he were seeking praise.
Today, when he got out of the new litter box, he must have had that “not so fresh feeling,” because he went into the small hallway between my bedroom and the bathroom and rubbed his butt on the carpet, leaving behind a long poopy stain. He does this maybe once a year, but the old litter box is in the utility room, where there is an easy-to-clean tile floor.
When I saw it, I yelled, “Bad Rex!” He looked ashamed and made digging motions like he was trying to cover up the stain with litter. Of course, that doesn’t work on wall-to-wall carpet.
I said, “Very bad Rex! Mommy’s very angry!” and I went to go check if I had any carpet cleaner in the house. (I didn’t.) When I came back, I found that Rex had dragged a dirty nightgown out of my clothes basket and was attempting to cover up the mess with it.
I’m getting rid of the new litter box tonight. I hope it ends this odd connection he seems to have developed between my laundry and his litter box. 
