Litter Box Size

Hi,

My cat is not covering her waste lately, and I am afraid it is because she is getting too big for her litter box (as the vet and i have ruled out many other possible easons).

Some cat expert sites online say that the litter box should be at least 1.5x as long as the cat. But if you actually measure a cat, that number is hard to believe. My cat is a very small cat, probably 7 or 8 pounds, and she is 17 inches long from her nose to her butt. So the litter box would need to be at least 26 inches long, but that size is pretty much only found in the "jumbo size" litter box. Considering my cat is very far from "jumbo size," intuitively i feel that the 1.5x is an unrealistic exaggeration. A bigger cat could theoretically need a box that is 30-35 in long, and you almost don't see those anywhere.

so hoping that the issue is not the size of the box...any thoughts?

i could certainly try a larger box, but the problem is there is not much room for it.

thanks!

The bigger the box, the better. I've always used jumbo litter boxes and so does the shelter I work at, regardless of the size of the cat. The cat should be able to comfortably turn around in the box rather than having to back out.

Some inappropriate elimination behaviour can be prevented by using a very large box. Many cats are very picky about using a "dirty" box, meaning one with urine clumps or feces, and it's unrealistic to expect anyone to scoop every time the cat eliminates. Two or three times a day would be usual. A jumbo box provides more "clean spots" for the cat to use between scoops.