[marie73]

On litter boxes.

I have two for three girls. No problem. Some days they only use one or the other. In my new place, I HATE HATE HATE where one of the boxes is located. It's by the back door, off the kitchen, next to the washer and dryer and by the pantry. The litter gets scattered on the mats, and then gets tracked on the tile floor in the kitchen. Plus, when I want to go to the pantry or use the washer/dryer, I'm stepping on scattered litter. And to go out the back door, I have to step over the (covered) litter box.

So........I emptied it, washed it and put it away. We now have ONE litter box which I scoop three times a day. It's been almost a week and it's WONDERFUL!!!! My washer/dryer/pantry area is clean and my kitchen floor is litter-free. I've always thought the "1 litter box per cat +1" was unnecessary for everyone, and I've never even had one per cat. I do realize I've been fortunate. My vet says for each cat, there's a 20% chance of them having a UTI or other problem at least once in their lifetime. So with 4 cats, I had an 80% chance of them having problems.

If someone pees or poops out of the box, they won't be in trouble, I'll put the extra box back. But so far, it's great.

This is the one we have:

 

[dlowan]

Enjoy! Hope it continues to go well.

 

[3furbabies]

I have two boxes for three cats as well. They too all use one more then the other but it varies daily. I have one upstairs in their room(I made the cats their own room until we figure out what to do with it) and one in the basement(it's finished). They play a lot in the basement but I really don't want it there because it's in the way and stinks. Usually they spend the whole night upstairs so they use that one and in the day they play in the basement so that ones full.

 

[Susan]

Hi Marie! A few points. First, that's wonderful! I suspect the one-per-cat-plus-one rule applies if you only plan to scoop once a day and/or there's a possibility you might have a cat that wants to poop in one box and pee in another. If your cats are happy to pee/poop in the same box AND you scoop several times a day, then I don't see why this won't work.

Second, I have the same litter box as in your picture. I keep it in my ensuite bathroom and I love it!

Finally, statistics are my specialty, so I couldn't let the following quote go by without commenting:

My vet says for each cat, there's a 20% chance of them having a UTI or other problem at least once in their lifetime. So with 4 cats, I had an 80% chance of them having problems.

If we accept your vet's comment about the 20% chance, then you actually don't have an 80% chance of them having problems, because probabilities are not additive. You'll be pleased to hear you only have a 59% chance of at least one of them having a problem and a 41% chance of no problems whatsoever...for whatever that is worth. So, you're better off than you think!

 

[Dave_ph]

I have 3 for three but the one in the hall leading to my bedroom is strongly preffered. It's definitely a marking thing. I hear some pretty aggressive litter digging and tossing at night when Fay won't let Mr B in the bedroom. . Any time I change any litter Mr B must be the first one to christen it. He'll even jump in and water an empty box after I put it down but before I can put the litter in.

Another thing my Vet taught me is less litter. If it's well below the sides it doesn't get kicked out.

Wait, I thought creative people pooped outside the box.

 

[hoofmaiden]

If all 3 cats get along really well this can certainly work! As long as the box is kept clean, as we know yours is, no reason why it won't work.

I have 3 LBs for 4 cats b/c I've never had a situation where ALL my cats got along so well that I wasn't concerned about kitties getting ambushed on the box, etc. As long as there are plenty of boxes, I figure no one can say, "There was no place else to GO, mom!!" when Jonah bugs them on box #1.

That said, since adding #3 when the barn cats moved into the house, I've noticed that #1 (closet box) gets used a little less than before, #2 (DIY dogproof box that lives in a Rubbermaid trunk) hardly gets used at all, and #3 (in the new cat room) gets used the most. If this continues I MIGHT think about discontinuing #2. We'll see.

 

[hoofmaiden]

If we accept your vet's comment about the 20% chance, then you actually don't have an 80% chance of them having problems, because probabilities are not additive. You'll be pleased to hear you only have a 59% chance of at least one of them having a problem and a 41% chance of no problems whatsoever...for whatever that is worth. So, you're better off than you think!

Also, bear in mind that since most cats these days are kibble-fed, that's the main reason for that 20%. Canned/rawfed cats just aren't anywhere near as likely to have UTIs so the % chance should drop significantly for Marie!

 

[spotty cats]

You could always switch to a non tracking litter, but if your happy and the cats are happy that's all that matters.

 

[Mitts & Tess]

Ive never believed that rule. I dont buy into that theory.

I scoop my boxes min. of twice a day. But Ive had 16 cats / kittens and 3 boxes. Worked just fine. But.... I was always cleaning them. They were on the screened porch.

That is interesting about the odds Susan! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Susan]

Well, dealing once again with the odds, I have now finally woken up and realized that Marie no longer has four cats. She only has three...unless there's something you're not telling us, Marie...

So, your odds have now fallen to a 48.8% chance of something going wrong and a 51.2% chance of no problem! And, since they're fed wet food, they aren't free fed, they live in a clean environment with limited stress, and they're all girls, your odds are better still. Of course, I can't say how the Bailey's might impact all of that. :smile:

 

[Mitts & Tess]

Yes Baileys...hmmm... that does change the odds! Thank you for pointing that out, Susan.

 

[marie73]

You guys crack me up!!!

Thanks for the math lesson, Susan. There's a 127% chance I don't understand probabilities, but good to know there's no longer a 60% chance of UTI's with 3 girls. :grin:

 

[Sinatra-Butters]

We only have a one bedroom apartment so we just have one box. We have never had a problem.

 

[Carmel]

I have two for one and Blaze still pees on the wall... and wherever else strikes his fancy. Blacky only sort of makes up for it by doing everything outside.

I'm glad it's working for you!

 

[OctoberinMaine]

Good deal, Marie. In addition to not having the litter tracking in the laundry area, I bet it saves you a lot of money. I'm continually amazed at how much litter costs, but what are you gonna do? I'm pretty set on the flushable stuff, so that leaves me with S*Wheat Scoop.

 

[marie73]

Well, I'm still scooping the same amount, it's just all in one litter box, so I don't think I'm saving any money.

 

[Haloy1]

I read somewhere that most cats prefer uncovered boxes. A covered box will not give the cat much room for escape if another fellow cat chooses to ambush or pounce the now vulnerable peeing kitty. Also, most cats would like a full view of their surroundings when doing their business. I've never used a covered box, though I might try it out sometime. It looks much nicer and maybe helps with the odor.


Sent from my iPad using PG Free

 

[Dave_ph]

and a cover box catches smells and they don't like that. Idea stold from the My Cat From Heck guy

 

[Susan]

I don't see a problem with covered boxes, provided you keep them clean. I have the same covered box as Marie in my bathroom, plus another 2 uncovered boxes in my den. The den and the bathroom are equally convenient in terms of location and the girls are free to use whichever box they want. If cats preferred uncovered boxes to covered boxes, I would expect to find my uncovered boxes used more often than the covered one...but I don't. All three boxes typically have about the same level of "waste".

 

[marie73]

I find my girls like the covered, more privacy. Maybe it's a multiple cat thing. Although they've always gone along with everything I've thrown at them, new boxes, trying out new litter, etc.