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October 13th, 2009
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In more ways than one, cats are one-of-a-kind creatures for whom a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t quite work. Thus, it is very important to figure out what the overall space inside your cat’s litter box should be.
You’ll want to make sure there is enough room for the cat to defecate or urinate in a couple of areas and still have a clean place to put its paws. If the space is so small that a single “deposit” in the box uses up a lot of the litter surface, your cat will be discouraged from wanting to step back in there and use it again. What you want to avoid is having one out-of-litter-box event – that can all too easily become a hard-to-break habit. Radio show host and pet expert Tracie Hotchner is the author of The Dog Bible and The Cat Bible. Click here to follow her on Twitter. |
Until several years ago, I had not realized how important it was to have a litter box that is the correct size. If you look at most stores, there is basically one size…(sometimes a smaller size, too, for kittens). I finally found a litter box that is quite large and perfect for my overweight cat, Oscar. Thanks for making sure others know how important this is!!
I have a total of 13 rescued furbabies. Eleven off the streets as kittens and two from a no-kill animal clinic that were up for adoption.
Over time, I’ve realized how important it is to have multiple boxes when having multiple kitties. I currently have two of the Tidy Cat Breeze boxes which a few prefer over the regular kind. But I also have a large litter pan I got from PetSmart. I mean, it’s large and isn’t hooded. For litter I use strictly Pet Ecology; there are many pros using this. No cement or clay by-products, no dust, very little tracking, it’s economically sound and a much healthier alternative for the cats. It may sound like I don’t have enough boxes out, but I clean them out twice a day. It keeps the odor down and the cats motivated to use them.
My friend Marilyn and I were given an IGLOO round covered litterpan from a friend. We happily scrubbed it out, rinsed it, let it dry in the sun and filled it with her kitty’s favorite litter. None of her three cats would use it, with or without the lid!! It’s a huge and expensive box! It’s now at Marilyn’s sister’s house to see if any of her 8 cats will use it! What’s up with that?? Why won’t cats use ROUND litterboxes???
I’ve found the BEST litter box is an old baby bathtub, the kind that is hard white plastic with nothing on the bottom (no non-skid material). The sides are high enough to keep litter from being scratched out; they don’t absorb odor as much as regular litter-box plastic; they are much easier to clean and they are much larger than cat boxes. I also keep mine in a small molded plastic wading pool so any litter that is thrown out still doesn’t make it to the floor.
Now that it is harder to find the old baby bathtubs, I’ve also gotten large hard plastic storage trays/bins with sides about 6 inches high to use. Got them for just a few dollars at Big Lots.
Great advice about litter boxes. I had a large cat who was frequently missing the box, and it was a very large box! I solved the problem by taking off the lid, thereby giving her more room to move and stick her nose out the other end!
We had a real time with our youngest cat (who was abandon right before a hurricane) not using the litter box all of a sudden (at 1 & 1/2 years old), but she would go on my laundry and bedding. Our vet had a thought. Try putting tshirts in the litter box to re-train her. Well wouldn’t you know it, that worked. It turns out she doesn’t like the texture of most litters and she gets very uncomfortable with the sinking feeling in sand litters. We have been using old Tshirts for some time now and just wash them like they are basically diapers. Doing a load of kitty shirts is probably about the same cost as premium litters. I hope you can spread the word about this method as it may save a lot of kittens and adult cats from winding up at the shelter because people can’t “train” their cat to use the litter.
I use the old baby bathtubs too! Quite a deal bigger than most litter boxes and with fantastic high sides. They are perfect for my litter flinging cats.
My grandmother is always finding them in good/new condition at garage/rummage sales.
Only thing I don’t like about them is some of them have an indent around the bottom rim which tends to be a bit tricker to get a good cleaning done on in that area without using something to really get in there (like a stiff bottle brush set aside just for the litter box). The groove is not deep or anything I just like to get box as clean as possible between full cleanings.
At our house we use a baby bath upstairs and one downstairs and we have two extras when the other ones are getting cleaned and our cats are used to this. Our Maltese Mix dog, Lacey also has been trained to the litter and uses paper and does her things outside so it is quite helpful.
I had purchased 2 mega-littermaids for my 2 huge cats about 6 years ago. I would never go back to conventional litter boxes again. I used to have to scoop them every single day. Now I can go a couple days because the rack clears out the litter and puts it in the receptacle and closes the lid. I just have to refill the litter to 1/4 inch – thats all you need. So after initally spending the money for them – you save money on litter too. I also get my litter from WalMart (Fresh Start), which is made by the same manufacturers of (The Worlds Best Litter) at 1/2 the price – its the same litter people. It’s a win-win situation, especially for multiple cat homes.
I have several dogs that really love the “doggy candy” that Miss Kitty leaves behind in her litter box. I have found that the top entry enclosed litter box seems to eliminate the problem. (At least my problem…obviously it’s not a problem for the dogs.) I had no problem getting her to use the box.
Thank you so much for sharing your great ideas and experiences with all of us. It’s so wonderful when cat people can get together and swap information and personal solutions to problems. I am really hoping that some of you will be able to call into my brand new radio show on Saturdays night “Tracie Hotchner’s DOG TALK & CAT CHAT” at 10 PM EST 212-766-7100. The show is live every week and I would be so thrilled to have you come on the air and share your ideas and comments and become the first part of my audience!
Some further thoughts: Cat Attract litter was designed just for that reason, to attract cats BACK to the litter box which they have stopped using. And it’s definitely true that an inch and half of litter is more than enough at the bottom of the pan – more than hat becomes too deep for some kitties’ comfort and also can lead to lots of it the litter winding up outside the box (the baby bathtub INSIDE a plastic wading pool is a very cool idea..if you have enough room!) outside the box. As for covered boxes, many cats do not like them because they are more confining, can hold in the strong odor of urine, and if you have multiple cats there can be litter box issues because one cat can startle another who is using the box and minding her own business! I am sorry not to be supportive of the t-shirt idea, but there is such a big chance of contamination of your hands, the laundry basket, the washing machine door and opening edges – all of which you may touch before using very hot water and bleach in the cycle. I’d say try some of the Precious Cat litters (they are my website sponsors so I can send you a coupon for a free jug of it if you buy my book THE CAT BIBLE) There is sure to be a “foot feel” that your cat will come to like, you just need to experiment and do not overfill the box!