Two litter boxes?

I think it was a member of this board that suggested we put two litter boxes for our cat(s). I complied and though I didn't quite pay attention to the logic behind it, I figured it would make sense that somebody wouldn't want to poo and pee in the same place.

Well observing my cats make that simple decision more reasonable. I notice both my cats will poo in one box and than almost directly (at times) get up and move to the other box and pee.

Though I know most people haven't heard of the "Two-litter" box idea, and I think it's a good idea but..

what's the actual rationale behind it?

It is a definite recommended topic if you have more then one cat. Generally they say one per cat......................cats are sensitive when it comes to there bathroom, what may be ok to share for one year may change the next, so it is best to offer 2 for 2-3 cats and still be sure to keep up with cleaning it. Also larger homes, especially with older cats should have litter boxes on each floor......

Having to LBs also prevents aggression which can lead to "out of the box" experiences. I know I've got like 5 LBs downstairs because Ophelia likes to try to trap kitties in the box. She has too many boxes to look through to ever catch anyone, though.

I have 6 cats and 7 boxes. It always give the cats somewhere else to go, and keeps the boxes much cleaner than if I only had 2-3 for 6 cats

This is what I would do... 1-3 cats, keep the same number of litter boxes. If you have 4 cats, I'd keep 5 litter boxes. Just keep one extra if you have more than 3 cats. If you had like 12 cats (wow! ) I would keep 14-15 litter boxes. (God bless the soul who has to clean all those litter boxes!) If one cat maybe is especially clean and doesn't prefer to share a small poo space with another cat, it may result in the stinky bombs ending up elsewhere. Think about it; if you roomed with somebody that you liked but weren't really close with, would you prefer your own bathroom? I would! Same with cats... Prevents accidents and keeps everybody happy; it may prevent possible kitty fights as well. I have a friend who has 3 cats and she had 2 litter boxes at the time, and two got in a big fight over it. Anywho...

You know, having two litter boxes is great but my friend independently runs a cat shelter and struggles with paying the bills. Following up with KuntryKitty mentioned, she (my friend) does in fact have over a dozen cats at the very minimum who share about 2-3 large litter boxes.

So, is it doable? I guess it is doable but it'd be hard to convince me that 2-3 litter boxes would be "fine" for 12 cats. I guess, sometimes you have to make the best of what you have ! ! !

I feel bad for those cats but at least they have a person looking after them and she trieeeeees so hard !

Two? I have six! I put one down (in the garage) for every cat. I do notice that they use one box for #1 and #2...

Not really sure other then a "marking" type of thing. I'm lucky - Charlie and Ling will share the same one - its a deep large pan. But I have extra pans if necessary.

i had been having a peeing problem with Sneakers; he was going in front of the patio door. someone suggested two litterboxes (since I have two cats) and i figured - hey, what the heck!

Well, i got a second box - more like just the tray, cleaned out the bottom of the bathroom closet and stuck it in there. to keep the door from swinging open or accidentally getting shut, i rolled up a rag and wedged it under the door.

now, i seem to be having no probs with Sneaks - i hope i didn't just jinx myself

and, i have noticed that the kitties are now using the closet box to pee and the covered box for pooh.

go figure.

The theory behind having more than 1 box is that cats in the wild will not pee and poo in the same spot. Putting too much scent in an area is a dead giveaway that a cat is there, and predators will pick up on that. If you watch feral cats with kittens, they will go far away from where they have their kittens to protect them.

Originally Posted by Tru87

I think it was a member of this board that suggested we put two litter boxes for our cat(s). I complied and though I didn't quite pay attention to the logic behind it, I figured it would make sense that somebody wouldn't want to poo and pee in the same place.

Well observing my cats make that simple decision more reasonable. I notice both my cats will poo in one box and than almost directly (at times) get up and move to the other box and pee.

Though I know most people haven't heard of the "Two-litter" box idea, and I think it's a good idea but..

what's the actual rationale behind it?

Click to expand...

I may vary from the norm. I have two cats, one litter box and everything works out great. Alley digs way down in the corner, Persi does his thing on the top. So, I know who is doing what! And since they do not mind at all, why not. Neither cat has ever had an accident by not using the sole litter box. They also only have one food tray and that works out great too. Guess I am lucky with my cats, but it can be done!

If a cat has availability of 2 litter pans, I am sure the cat will use one for poo and one for pee. But if there's only one, the cat probably won't mind. It can definitely be done with only 1 litter pan for 2-3 cats, but I would much rather prefer having more litterpans, just for more preferred comfort from the kitty.

I have a single cat with two litterboxes. Basically I still have her original box which got a bit too small (we had a few incidents where the poo would land next to the box not in it.)

I then bought a bigger one and she uses that one almost all the time. However if I'm not quick enough in cleaning the big one she'll use the spare box. Much better than her going on the floor to protest so I'm continuing with two.

My two share one large litter box.
In the beginning when I first had them (aged 9 weeks) I had two because Milo was just a star and went straight to the litter tray and did his thing no problems. Pepsi however was confused and just did it anywhere! I noticed she kept pooing in front of the kitchen sink so I put a second tray there and in she went. No more problems. Eventually I moved the tray around the kitchen little by little and she didnt seem to notice (afterall a pooing kitten when you are trying to do the dishes doesnt work!)
Now they are 9 months and happily share on large tray. Milo digs and prefers to do it at the front of the box and Pepsi will go right to the back (am I sad that I know this!)
I think as long as you clean the box out very frequently and keep it as clean as possible it will work. My two have no problems at all.