Cat Owners: Where Do You Keep The Litter Box?

[yssie]

Bathroom also. We''re in a small 700sqft place, and with three cats the litter gets scooped a LOT so we vacuum right then, and stray litter isn''t an issue... the kitties all bury vociferously and completely, so we''re spared smell issues for the most part.

We started out with a covered litterbox, but our boy really didn''t like it and started boycotting it completely, so now it''s open. I don''t love it, but it''s fine as long as we stay on top of things. Food and water in the hallway right outside so we can quickly shut them in when we need to get the doors.

 

[Lynn B]

One cat, one kitty litter, in the basement.

If we''re in bed (on our second floor) and Boo has to go potty, he has to go through the whole house and down two flights of stairs!

But he never complains or makes a mess. When he was a baby we had a small litter box upstairs, but he never used it (apparently he wanted to use the BIG BOY POTTY!

) so we finally figured, OK, why bother?!

 

[that_someone_special]

We (he) owns a condo that''s like.. 1680 sq ft, 3 bed 1 bath. We keep 3 litter boxes in one of the extra bedrooms that is now called "The Cat Room" I couldn''t stand it in the bathroom personally- since they track litter everywhere. (4 cats)

 

[sunnyd]

Ours is in the guest bathroom. We never have overnight guests, so it''s the perfect spot!

 

[poshpepper]

Date: 10/22/2009 2:20:16 PM
Author: Haven
you''re supposed to have one litter box more than you have cats

Haven, where did you hear this? I am wondering since I have not heard of it before (and I am a two cat house with one box!)

TIA

 

[Gleam]

Date: 10/22/2009 5:45:05 PM
Author: poshpepper

Date: 10/22/2009 2:20:16 PM

Author: Haven

you're supposed to have one litter box more than you have cats

Haven, where did you hear this? I am wondering since I have not heard of it before (and I am a two cat house with one box!)

TIA

I can't cite my source, but I've heard that you should have one box per cat. I'm sure someone could run a goggle search on this topic, but I don't think it's a big deal. If two cats are happy to use the same box, then that's fine. As long as the cat isn't peeing outside of the box, I figure whatever setup a person has going is just fine.

When I had two cats, I had two litterboxes because one just got dirty way to fast and I wasn't into cleaning the box more than once a day!

Now I have one cat and one automated litterbox (Scoop Free, it's great).

 

[vespergirl]

We have ours in our tiny laundry room. At first, I was keeping it in my bathtub, which I almost never use (my master bath has a separate shower that I use instead) but the smell in there was really bothering me, even when it was clean. It just fits in the laundry room, and because we spend limited time in there, the smell doesn''t bother me. It''s also where I keep her food & water.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

I have always had one litter box for both of my cats and it has been fine for the last 3.5 years. But adding a little box would be the first thing I would try if they were to have problems (assuming the vet cleared them of a medical issue).

ETA: Do a search on how to set up a littler box and you will find tons of articles referencing the one litter box per cat idea.

 

[poshpepper]

Date: 10/22/2009 6:27:21 PM
Author: LtlFirecracker

ETA: Do a search on how to set up a littler box and you will find tons of articles referencing the one litter box per cat idea.

This I can understand... but one more box than cat had me wondering...

Just curious, my girls don''t seem to mind sharing.

 

[zoebartlett]

We have two cats and one litter box. We keep it in one of our bathrooms. It was in the guest bath until last week when my mom was visiting, and then we moved into our bathroom. There never seems to be an ideal place for it, but this is what we went with. If our garage was attached, we''d see about putting in a cat door and keeping it in there, but it''s not.

 

[Haven]

No need to get frantic over the number of litter boxes you have, everyone!

DH and I were first told about the one-box-each-plus by a vet at Blum Animal Hospital in Chicago. We inquired after DH adopted his third cat because DH lived in a tiny condo and we were concerned about their comfort. HOWEVER, Blum is a very fancy shmancy hospital (Oprah goes there) so we thought maybe they were being a bit over the top. SO, we then asked my family's vet, who told us that one-box-plus is ideal. These are both vets that we trust very much, so we believe them. DH read a lot of books about owning cats and says that he read the one-box-plus recommendation in some of those, as well.

I imagine that whatever works best for your home and your pets is what is truly ideal. We currently have three cats and three boxes. Growing up I had four cats and two boxes at times, and they were fine, as well. DH cleans the litter boxes every single day, so I bet that we'd be fine with fewer than three, but our biggest concern is their comfort, so we keep all three boxes.

I didn't mean for *my* guilt over having only three litter boxes for three kitties to start a panic. Seriously, no need for that! Carry on.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 10/22/2009 1:12:14 PM
Author: LtlFirecracker

Date: 10/22/2009 10:28:09 AM

Author: Cehrabehra

ours is in the bathtub in the downstairs bath... no one uses that shower - ever - and it is behind a shower curtain. I also use this system and it is THE BEST system I''ve ever used for urine smell. cat poop still smells like cat poop



Breeze

I think we put some of the pellets in the regular litterbox for a while, and then had them side by side for a while, but it''s been over a year now and I don''t remember it being very difficult.

How did you get your cats to transition to the pellets, my cats hate pellets...they are so picky

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 10/22/2009 6:56:08 PM
Author: Haven
No need to get frantic over the number of litter boxes you have, everyone!

DH and I were first told about the one-box-each-plus by a vet at Blum Animal Hospital in Chicago. We inquired after DH adopted his third cat because DH lived in a tiny condo and we were concerned about their comfort. HOWEVER, Blum is a very fancy shmancy hospital (Oprah goes there) so we thought maybe they were being a bit over the top. SO, we then asked my family''s vet, who told us that one-box-plus is ideal. These are both vets that we trust very much, so we believe them. DH read a lot of books about owning cats and says that he read the one-box-plus recommendation in some of those, as well.

I imagine that whatever works best for your home and your pets is what is truly ideal. We currently have three cats and three boxes. Growing up I had four cats and two boxes at times, and they were fine, as well. DH cleans the litter boxes every single day, so I bet that we''d be fine with fewer than three, but our biggest concern is their comfort, so we keep all three boxes.

I didn''t mean for *my* guilt over having only three litter boxes for three kitties to start a panic. Seriously, no need for that! Carry on.

Ha, no need to worry, Haven-I don''t think you started a frantic panic.

I have three cats and two boxes and they really don''t seem to mind. I have no room for four litter boxes (seeing as how I can''t even find good spots to put two of them) and good lord that''s a lot of litter boxes! Plus sometimes it seems like all three of them only use one!

Cats...gotta love them!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

I so wish I had an extra bathroom! Ours is really cramped now thanks to the litter box. We have two kittens (brothers) and they share one box with no problem (they''re littermates! oh jeez, what a terrible pun!). We have an automatic litterbox that so far has been fantastic. It''s the Petsafe Automatic Litter Box - it''s superquiet (except when I dump in too much litter and the gears protest) and it''s been handling both kittens'' waste very well (I still have to scoop about once every few days to get rid of smaller clumps that fall through the conveyer belt but that''s it).

 

[everlong_x]

DH''s and my apartment is just over 700 sq. ft, but thankfully, we got a decent sized laundry room so that''s where our litter box is. I wish we could keep the laundry room door shut, but we close our bedroom door at night, so there''d be no way to know when he needs to go. Plus, he''s skittish and doesn''t like company coming over, so it gives him a place to run and hide.

 

[LGK]

In our old 900 sq/ft apartment, it went into a closet I took the door off of. Then I put a beaded curtain in front of the whole deal. Not perfect but OK. In our new place, we have a laundry room, so it lives down there and we never have to smell it or guests see it, which is awesome.

 

[princessplease]

FI and I have a pretty big pantry off of the kitchen where we keep the food, water and litter (of course the litter is not close to the food or water). I know plenty of people who keep theirs in the bathroom or kitchen.

 

[Elmorton]

We have two boxes (one per cat) in the basement, kinda tucked under the stairs. This is probably kitty TMI, but it''s kinda funny - they poo in one and pee in the other. How cats decide to do that is beyond me.

When I had a small one bedroom apt, the (covered) litter box was next to a filing cabinet in what should have been the dining area but what was my study.

My DH''s one bedroom apt had a bunch of closets, so he propped one open just a smidge (if I remember right, I gave him one of those large candles in a metal base, and that''s what propped the door), and there was an uncovered litterbox there.

I''m kinda anti-kitty litter in the bathroom. I hate how the litter tracks everywhere when it''s on tile. We put carpet squares around the litter boxes to catch the excess litter stuff.

 

[Haven]

Date: 11/16/2009 10:56:24 PM
Author: Elmorton
We have two boxes (one per cat) in the basement, kinda tucked under the stairs. This is probably kitty TMI, but it''s kinda funny - they poo in one and pee in the other. How cats decide to do that is beyond me.

Ours used to do that when DH lived in his condo! For whatever reason they stopped segregating once we moved into our house. When DH realized what they were doing he was really shocked.

 

[Elmorton]

One of the boxes is covered (poo) and the other is uncovered, and I think the privacy issue is part of it. Are your boxes covered or uncovered? Haha, now I''m kinda curious about this phenomenon.

 

[JustLikeYou]

ditto to the laundry room. One cat with the box in there, because it''s the only place the dogs won''t go sniffing around for it since they''re both afraid of the washing machine.

 

[Haven]

Date: 11/16/2009 11:06:31 PM
Author: Elmorton
One of the boxes is covered (poo) and the other is uncovered, and I think the privacy issue is part of it. Are your boxes covered or uncovered? Haha, now I''m kinda curious about this phenomenon.

No, they aren''t covered. We have the boxes with the really tall sides because one of our boys likes to splash litter all over the place. The boxes are in private places, though, so I hope the little guys feel like they have their privacy as needed.
I''m really curious about this now, too!

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 11/16/2009 11:01:19 PM
Author: Haven

Date: 11/16/2009 10:56:24 PM

Author: Elmorton

We have two boxes (one per cat) in the basement, kinda tucked under the stairs. This is probably kitty TMI, but it''s kinda funny - they poo in one and pee in the other. How cats decide to do that is beyond me.

Ours used to do that when DH lived in his condo! For whatever reason they stopped segregating once we moved into our house. When DH realized what they were doing he was really shocked.

Ha, mine do this too! Kitties are so funny! Both litter boxes are exactly the same, I bought them both at the same time and everything! And both are covered. Weirdos!

 

[iheartscience]

Okay, since this thread got revived I have to share this litter box I desperately want! It''s called ModKat and I think it would solve a lot of my litter box issues! It''s $180 though so it''s going to hurt a little to buy one, let alone two! Maybe I''ll get one for them for Christmas and see how they like it!

The website is just modkat.com. It comes in several colors although I''d just do white I think. The kitties go in from the top and it''s obviously a lot deeper than most boxes so apparently litter kicking issues are mostly fixed with it! Apartment Therapy reviewed it and they liked it a lot.

 

[neatfreak]

That is so neat Thing! I want one too!

We have our litter box in the garage. Garage is attached to the house (it''s storage-no cars in there) and we have a cat door so she can go in and out.

 

[oobiecoo]

Thing2of2 Are you just liking the design or is it also the aesthetic? I ask because I''ve seen something with a similar design... a box with the hole in the top... at Petsmart. Even if you just REALLY like the super cool modern looking one, you could maybe get this Petsmart one just to see if the kitties even like the concept first. Just an idea!

 

[D2B]

In our small laundry, only place really for us that works.

 

[chiquitapet]

We have 2 cats, and we keep 2 litter boxes on our balcony. In winter, when it`s too cold to keep the balcony doors open at night, we put 1 litterbox into the bathroom.

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 11/17/2009 1:44:00 AM
Author: oobiecoo
Thing2of2 Are you just liking the design or is it also the aesthetic? I ask because I''ve seen something with a similar design... a box with the hole in the top... at Petsmart. Even if you just REALLY like the super cool modern looking one, you could maybe get this Petsmart one just to see if the kitties even like the concept first. Just an idea!

Whoa, awesome find, oobie! I like the design and the aesthetic but maybe I''ll get the cheaper Petsmart version and see if they like it. It''s definitely more reasonably priced! That one could be upstairs and I could get the prettier one for downstairs...

 

[lulu]

We have a pet door that goes through the laundry room wall into the garage. My husband made a big box for the cats so they don''t have free reign in the garage. The front opens up so we can scoop.It''s plywood and he put down a press and peel tile floor. I love having it out of the house.