No matter what we try he won't stop scratching the wall next to his litterbox while trying to bury his shit. The only thing that works is physically blocking him from scratching the wall, but the only thing I can think to put between his box and the wall is a shoerack, which I would really like to be able to use without the risk of shoes falling into his litter. We're in a small apartment so working with very limited space and can't just have it pulled away from the wall. Just wondering if anyone has any ideas on what to replace the shoe rack with
I second the litterbox with a cover suggestion. It should help a bit, or at a minimum, keep the scratching confined to the litterbox itself.
Still, scratching like this isn't uncommon for cats. What I have noticed with my cats over the years is that they start young learning to cover the smell but they forget "why" they do it and "scratch whatever" out of habit as they get older. (I am talking many years or transition, btw.)
Once cats get really old, having them used to a litterbox cover helps if they start to miss the litter completely. (We had an "old man" once that just forgot how to aim and his butt always ended up over the edge of the box.) Still, not something you hopefully need to worry about any time soon.
TBH, each cat behavior is unique. Watch and adapt as you can.