Macaw obsessed with kitty litter

[mia11691]

So recently I've moved back home and my cats have been relegated to living on the patio with the Macaw. She is pretty bonded to me but so are my cats. Recently she has taken up the bizarre behavior of going into the kitty litter box. (the box is one of those hidden kitty litter boxes that looks like a planter). Nothin I do stops her. I have even given her her own but she's ignored that and prefers the one that the cats are using. I have now placed the kitty litter box outside since the cats are afraid of her and prefer to be outside anyways and I've latched the patio door. She climbs up, unlatches the door and heads out to... you guessed it... the litter box! What can I do? Anyone has any ideas as to why she's doing this and what I can do to stop it?

thanks so much...

 

[Flboy]

There are some real nasties in that litter! From the litter itself to what gets added!
By chance, is it clay?

 

[itzjbean]

If you could teach her to go potty in there, that would be so cool....

All joke's aside, in the wild macaws are known to find clay banks and eat the rock/clay, so maybe she had one taste and now can't get enough, mmm, gotta love that tasty litter!

It probably would be wise to keep your macaw away from the box. Here's what I found on this forum, someone has asked about this before, HERE!

The things I would be worried about are your macaw eating what's in the cat clumps, urine and feces, and compaction from eating too much litter. I would relocate your bird or the box, unless you can figure out a more secure way to lock the door, or put something over the opening when your macaw is out and therefore can't get to it.

 

[Birdman666]

She's probably doing it because it resembles a nest box.

How you discourage her from this? Good question.

 

[mia11691]

There are some real nasties in that litter! From the litter itself to what gets added!
By chance, is it clay?

It's my first time using this type litter so I'm thinking it is clay. (Multi-Cat Scented Litter with the power of Febreze®
Read more at https://www.freshstep.com/our-litter/multicat-febreze-litter/#tMpWpuX44EcX4BDl.99) I used to use the feline pine when they were indoors but being outdoors too humid.

 

[mia11691]

If you could teach her to go potty in there, that would be so cool....

All joke's aside, in the wild macaws are known to find clay banks and eat the rock/clay, so maybe she had one taste and now can't get enough, mmm, gotta love that tasty litter!

It probably would be wise to keep your macaw away from the box. Here's what I found on this forum, someone has asked about this before, HERE!

The things I would be worried about are your macaw eating what's in the cat clumps, urine and feces, and compaction from eating too much litter. I would relocate your bird or the box, unless you can figure out a more secure way to lock the door, or put something over the opening when your macaw is out and therefore can't get to it.

Thanks for the thought... I wondered if it was the type litter that she was going after because initially when using the feline pine she didn't..but I just thought it was because the situation was new..i.e. Cats just moved in. Thanks for the suggestion, I will see about getting another type litter.

 

[mia11691]

She's probably doing it because it resembles a nest box.

How you discourage her from this? Good question.

Thought the same and based on the information from the other posts, the fact that it's clay makes it all the more enticing.

 

[Flboy]

The stuff you have can kill your parrot!

 

[Kentuckienne]

Agree with above...if she is getting into the cat litter, even clean cat litter, it will eventually kill her. Either from pathogens from the cats, crop impaction...and any bite or scratch from a cat can be fatal. Safest is to keep them apart. Can you put a child proof thingie on the door handle?