Litter box opinions

I have two cats. One is 13 years old and ALWAYS uses the litterbox. The other is a kitten that is about 5 months old. We prefer to keep the litterbox downstairs. The kitten has decided that he doesn't always want to go downstairs to go potty, which I think is odd because he goes downstairs all the time. I've had him go potty in one of the upstair sinks a few times which is annoying, but not a huge deal since I can just turn on the tap and the mess is gone. But now he peed in our bedroom. It was inside of a cube cat toy so I'm thinking maybe he figured since it was covered it was a litterbox. I've picked up the cube and cleaned the carpet underneath it.

We only have one box http://www.cheappetproducts.net/BOOD...UM-P55189.html that is scooped daily and gets a full change/wipe down once a week. I know he still uses the box, because of the amount of poop in there (no way is it just from one cat).

My husband wants to lock him downstairs in the room he lived in during his first week with us. Another option is a second booda dome in an upstairs bathroom (which I really don't want to do). Or a second box downstairs, but I really don't think that's going to change anything since his issue seems to be with him going downstairs to go potty.

Which scenario do you guys think would work out best for him/us?

All of my cats prefer open boxes and the bigger the better. I use Sterilite bins because they are inexpensive and I can get them in just about any size. Perhaps change the one downstairs to an open top one and move the Booda upstairs. He might not like a closed box.

I think you should add another box upstairs. Some cats are masters of the passive aggressive game, and the older cat might be trying to intimidate the younger cat by blocking access to the litter box.

I only have one cat, but I've always read that in a multiple cat household one should have one litterbox per cat, plus one, and that they should be separated as widely as possible.

I agree to add another box in - with 2 cats - you never know if one is chasing the other away from the box.

From what I remember when mine were kittens, they may wait too long when they need to use the litterbox and it is too far away. So, they find a place to go to the bathroom elsewhere when a box is not handy. 5 months old is still very young.

Putting a box on each level of your house until he is older might help. This would be a help in the future for the older cat when age and arthritis get bad and the older one can't make it to the box downstairs.

With 2 cats you definitely should have a minimum of 2 litter boxes. The rule is usually one per cat plus a spare but having said that, we always had 2 - one for Bijou and one for Mika. They both, of course, used both boxes.

I agree that the older cat may be intimidating the younger one so please don't just blame the little guy and lock him up. I recommend putting another litter box on the main floor somewhere so the little fellow can get to it easily.

Well my husband and I are determined to make it work with this guy, regardless of what we have to do. I don't take it lightly when I bring an animal home.

Yesterday he peed right on our bed, so I gave in and put a large uncovered litter box in the upstairs bathroom. The main reason I didn't want one upstairs is it's difficult to keep the dogs out of it. The one we have downstairs is in the laundry room and my husband put a little kitty door in the big door so cats can go in and dogs can't. I did sort of find a half way point for that at least. I put the pan inside the tub, which has sliding doors so it's a lot more difficult for the dogs to get to it. Hopefully this way all the litter he kicks out will stay in the tub. Downside of course, is the tub can't really be used without a hassle (only used it for bathing animals anyways). He's already used it many times, so hopefully this will fix the problem. I'm hoping eventually I can take it out though, as I'd really like to keep all the litter downstairs. Thanks all for the advice

I had the same problem and actually set up two litter boxes downstairs and two upstairs. One was covered and the other was not so I could see which one was more comforting for each cat.

I know it's not always convenient to have litter boxes in the living area but I know they now make very attractive furniture that is specifically made to hide them. Definitely would not lock the kitten in the room as they may make the issue worse. Good luck!

Our little girl kitty (now 8 months old) has beaten me into submission on the box in the basement thing. I've tried twice to move our second box downstairs and given up twice, bringing one back upstairs.

I'll try again one of these days, but for now, the aggravation of a box in our living area is less that they aggravation of cleaning furniture.

BTW, my wife and I have gone many months now giving both kitties a "treat" whenever we see either coming out of the box. It's gotten to the point where I'm pretty sure they jump in the box an scratch around just to get a treat. Fine with me. The more they like jumping in their box, the happier I am.

I understand about the problem with dogs and litter boxes. Both my dogs would visit the boxes.

I use the rubbermaid storage boxes and cut a "U" shape out of one side at least 6 inches from the bottom. If you get a super size rubbermaid you can leave the top on and face it to the wall with just enough room for the cats to get in/out.

I got creative to disguise the litter box on the main level. I got one of those round three legged tables and put the box underneath then placed a decorative cloth over the table. I pinned the back side up so they could see an entrance. Keep it clean and no one will know there is a litter box there.

My DH also built a "window seat" that two has holes cut on either side and a removable top. The litter box is hidden inside the window seat.

Originally Posted by Skimble

I understand about the problem with dogs and litter boxes. Both my dogs would visit the boxes.

I use the rubbermaid storage boxes and cut a "U" shape out of one side at least 6 inches from the bottom. If you get a super size rubbermaid you can leave the top on and face it to the wall with just enough room for the cats to get in/out.

I got creative to disguise the litter box on the main level. I got one of those round three legged tables and put the box underneath then placed a decorative cloth over the table. I pinned the back side up so they could see an entrance. Keep it clean and no one will know there is a litter box there.

My DH also built a "window seat" that two has holes cut on either side and a removable top. The litter box is hidden inside the window seat.

Click to expand...

Well we don't really have people over, so I honestly don't care about the litter boxes being seen. I got a covered one for downstairs in an attempt to keep odor down and dogs out of it

So far keeping the uncovered box in the upstairs tub is working out pretty well. The kitten hasn't had any more accidents since I set it up, and I haven't see the dogs eating any kitty litter!

I'm so glad he's behaving now. Locking him downstairs was definitely something I didn't want to do. Hopefully it is just a kitten thing and I can move it out of there eventually, but for now it's better than cleaning urine out of the carpet or our bedspread.

When introducing a new kitten or cat to a multi pet home, it is so important to give them a room to themselves, a safety zone, somewhere they can always feel is their own. This should be a room separate from all others, but where you can keep a new litter box from then on.........