November 11th, 2010
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I often see ads for litter boxes designed to look like furniture. The problem with these is that they’re often too small to fit the average cat. Additionally, the enclosed box makes it less comfortable during elimination. The enclosed box can also get smelly since there’s limited air circulation. And, worst of all, if you have to open the back of the cabinet and slide the box out in order to scoop it, there’s a good chance you won’t do it often. The box should be open, convenient for kitty to get to and convenient for you to clean, and it needs to be the right size. If you have a cat, you can’t pretend you don’t have a litter box. It’s an important part of a cat’s life so make it easy to get to.
Pam Johnson-Bennett, CABC, is a certified cat behavior consultant and author of seven best-selling books on cat behavior. Her website is www.catbehaviorassociates.com. |
Absolutely cannot agree with this. We’ve had litter cabinets for over two years, and they’ve VASTLY improved all our lives, cats and humans both. We’ve always had covered boxes, so putting the box inside a cabinet wasn’t too much of a change for our 4 cats.
The cabinets give a nice, clean surface on the top, which is nice for the humans to put things and for the cats to sit on. We have to have our boxes in our bathrooms, so this is a huge improvement from the covered plastic boxes we had before. Cabinets do have built-in ventilation. They’re also slightly raised off the ground, which our cats seem to preder. And, the inside space is actually GREATER than the covered litter boxes we had before. Because the cabinets are square rather than rounded, they can fit a larger box inside, and the vertical clearance is higher, so the cats can stand up with more room when they’re inside.
Nope. Litter cabinets are incredible. I wish I’d discovered them when I had to keep my boxes in my kitchen!
Thank you .
I am a pet care provider by trade. Cat sitting is a huge part of my daily activity. I have customers with the worst set ups from electric rakes to domes to those damn boxes w/lids snapped in 8 places that should be removed for proper cleaning. And furniture that you pull out, which eventually breaks from pulling if the litter box is large. Nothing I say will convince some of these people that the ONLY reason Sam or Pheobe etc. are eliminating out of the box but near it is because they’re trapped in that stink thing where they can’t dig or cover properly and not get litter all over their buts. The customer’s solution is to put less litter in the box. So I end up needing a saw to get the cemented urine and poop off the sides and bottom of box. Litter scooping should be part of my visit, not 85% of it. Thanks
AMEN ! I HAD COVERED LITTER BOXES, AND MY ONE CAT LOVED TO TRAP HER LITTER MATES INSIDE, AND POUND THE HECK OUT OF THEM. I CUT THE TOPS OFF, SO NOW THEY CAN SEE HER COMING. THE LITTER PANS ARE SO MUCH EASIER TO CLEAN WITHOUT THE COVERED TOP.
Thanks for the great post! Another terrible cat furniture design are those that combine everything in one place for kitty – potty, food, and water. They hate it. You would too!
I have several cats and therefore several litter boxes. 1 extra large covered, 4 open trays and one Breeze System. My Blue Boy is in renal failure and uses the Breeze system. It seems to be easiest for him. I also use scoop litter in 3, pine pellets in 1 and yesterdays news in one. Will not get anymore yesterdays news. It’s a mess. Each cat uses what he/she prefers.
I never thought the covered boxes were a good idea for my brood. No way would they like them at all. I got some of those high sided boxes to keep the litter in when my little sand castle builder gets to throwing litter around. They hold a lot of litter and the cats love them…so do I.
I do plan on getting one of those furniture looking cabinets to use as a bedside table. I’m going to put a little cat bed in there instead of a litter box. They’ll love it.