Litter Boxes....

2220 Views 13 Replies 10 Participants Last post by librarychick, Jun 5, 2012

peanutsmommy

Discussion Starter · Jun 4, 2012

Since Peanut was so small when we first got her, I am using several litter boxes around the house so it'd be easier for her to find one and less likely she'd go elsewhere. It seems to have worked well. But eventually I'd like to get both cats using the one covered litter box. I am pretty sure Peanut is big enough to get into it now, but she normally uses her smaller pan only one (no cover). The problem is Mack likes to "play" in that one and spin sand all over my living room, not to mentioned I'd prefer not to have an open one in the living room. When can I move the uncovered one? Will it cause problems for Peanut, since its the one she normally uses? Can I just start putting her in the bigger one often and see what happens or how should I go about making this transition? Should I move the bigger, covered one to where the smaller one used to sit, even though this isn't where I want to keep it permanently?

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shan841

· #2 · Jun 4, 2012

You may want to wait just a little while until you are sure that she is big enough to get into the bigger one.

But.... one litterbox may not be enough for 2 cats. All cats are different, and some are more picky than others, but the recommendation is one per cat plus one (so 3 litterboxes for 2 cats)

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MowMow

· #3 · Jun 4, 2012

I agree, ideally there should be two litterboxes. I would just move her uncovered one to a spare room out out of the way.

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cinderflower

· #4 · Jun 4, 2012

i third this. sadly, it isn't really what we like aesthetically when it comes to litterboxes. i prefer covered and fortunately, so do my cats. i do not prefer one by my bed, but since i switched litter and changed their diets some, it isn't the big stinky tracky problem it used to be.

cats are weird about sharing. i think all three of mine would use one, but i don't want to risk it so i have two. the popular theory is one for each cat plus one, and that turned out to be totally unnecessary. three is even too many for me because one just sat there, unused. the kitten would use it very rarely, and he even stopped, so i just have two. but you really have to see if they'll share one or if they insist on two.

she's still tiny, so i'd let her have whatever she needs until she's much older. maybe you can rig some sort of cover over hers, or an enclosure so the other cat can't really go wild and sling litter everywhere.

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BroganMc

· #5 · Jun 4, 2012

We use two litterboxes for our pair of littermates. They happily share them. Everyone told us to use three and put them in different places in the house, but we found that unnecessary. Once a cat gets the hang of what a litterbox is, they'll seek it out. It's instinct for them to prefer a diggable surface to bury their waste. Carpet and human flooring are much less desirable.

Don't be in a rush to wean Peanut off her litterboxes just yet. At 5 weeks, she's still a baby. She needs the reinforcement that a litterbox is the place to go. Don't make her hunt for it. When she's older, she'll have formed the unbreakable habit of looking for a litterbox.

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peanutsmommy

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jun 5, 2012

Okay thanx. I will see if I can find something to "hide" her litter box in, so Mack can't send the litter flying. For now I've just added a rug under it, so it contains the flying litter pretty well and I just shake it once a day. I'm okay with 2 or even 3 litter boxes if need, but hopefully the kitties won't mind covered ones, since they are located in the living room. Technically I have 3 right now because there is a small one in the bathroom too, because that is where Peanut stays when I'm not home. At what age would be a good age to introduce Peanut to a covered box. Is it easier to introduce it to her when she's younger so she'll decide to "like" it? I will start by putting it right where her small one is, but will give it another week or so, until she gets a bit bigger and I know for sure she can easily get in and out of it.

Now off topic a little, but does anyone use them automatic litter boxes? Do you have success with them?? I'm not really opposed to the "manual"

ones, but am hoping to get pregnant and know changing litter isn't a good idea for a pregnant person, so thought one of these might be an option, but had heard a lot of cats are scared of them?

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MowMow

· #7 · Jun 5, 2012

It's not pretty but get a cardboard box large enough to hold it. Put the box on it's side with the flaps tucked in. Then you can put the litterbox inside it so it's closed on 3 sides. Then when he tosses litter you can just dump it right back into the litterbox.

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marie73

· #8 · Jun 5, 2012

I have 2 litterboxes for 3 cats. Two was fine when I had four, too. Depends on the cats. I have this one:

And a regular covered litterbox.

My twins were pretty tiny when I adopted them, and to my surprise, they used the big covered litter box with no problems.

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rightsaidfed

· #9 · Jun 5, 2012

I bought the omegapaw rolling litterbox and fell in lOve. I "scoop" 3 times a day because it's do easy and hassle-free. I was a little concerned about waste rolling around on the sides and roof of the box, but after a month of use, it's still quite clean. Just make sure you use a litter that clumps well. If your cats dig all the way to the bottom to pee on the plastic and you do a lot of scraping when you scoop, this may not work well, but it's been great so far for me!

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hoofmaiden

· #10 · Jun 5, 2012

I agree that 2 boxes are better. The fact is that most cats do not like covered boxes, even if you keep them very clean (as you should--scoop at LEAST once a day, preferably twice), so you may just need to deal w/ the uncovered one.

Here is an old thread of mine. I have dogs and needed to add a second litterbox when I rescued a third cat--box #1 was in a closet w/ door rigged so cats but not dogs could enter. I had no other available closets so solicited opinions on making something that would work. See the SECOND page of the thread for my final solution. It IS a covered box, but it's huge, so the cats don't feel trapped or constrained. I clean it twice a day.

http://www.catforum.com/forum/36-cat-chat/127181-update-diy-litterbox-ideas.html

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peanutsmommy

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jun 5, 2012 (Edited)

Thanks for the input. I will keep it all in mind. Thanks for the link too, going to check it out right now. Great ideas in the thread!! I'm going to do some looking when I got to Petsmart tomorrow to pick up food!!

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Penny135

· #12 · Jun 5, 2012

Mia was 7 weeks old when I adopted her. I bought a tiny litter box for her. She used it right away. Had no problems. However I had the bigger, covered one set up too in an out of the way corner and she found it and decided to use it only. That was her second day at home. Never had any problem jumping in and she was a tiny thing.

When I had 3 cats I had 2 litter boxes. One upstairs and one downstairs. All 3 prefered the downstairs one. Never had any accidents. :smiles

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MowMow

· #13 · Jun 5, 2012

rightsaidfed said:
I bought the omegapaw rolling litterbox and fell in lOve. I "scoop" 3 times a day because it's do easy and hassle-free. I was a little concerned about waste rolling around on the sides and roof of the box, but after a month of use, it's still quite clean. Just make sure you use a litter that clumps well. If your cats dig all the way to the bottom to pee on the plastic and you do a lot of scraping when you scoop, this may not work well, but it's been great so far for me!

I have two of them and LOVE them. I empty them once a month and wash/disinfect them out to keep them fresh, I had the same worries about the litter rolling around.

I don't have to scrape them, when they are tipped over I give the bottoms a good solid THWUMP to knock loose any stuck clumps. I glance in and see where stuff is sticking and that's where I whack.

I dump the stuff from the tray into biodegradable dog waste bags and tie them off. No smell in the household trash can (unless they sit for days).

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librarychick

· #14 · Jun 5, 2012

At five weeks old she'll need those extras for a while yet! When Doran was that age I had a small box that I took with him into any room he was in. Kittens that small can't hold it very well, so if they're too far from a box they'll just find a corner. If that happens too often it will cause a habit, and maybe poor litter box use as an adult! Not worth the risk!

Keep the number of boxes you have until Peanut is at least 4-5 months old. When they get to that age they can hold it a bit longer, and they travel faster. I kept a box per level of our house, basically. It helps prevent issues, even with our boys turning 4 this year.

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