Cat litter box entrance, where is the best pside for it to be?

vada50

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Hi, I am having trouble because my Maine coon do in his litter box but all the sand gets out the box so I bought a very big plastic box (like the ones in youtube videos) and going to put his sand box in it.

I want to know which side you think is better for the entrance, the long side or the other side for the litter sand to not get out that easily.
 

donutte

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Hi, I am having trouble because my Maine coon do in his litter box but all the sand gets out the box so I bought a very big plastic box (like the ones in youtube videos) and going to put his sand box in it.

I want to know which side you think is better for the entrance, the long side or the other side for the litter sand to not get out that easily.
When you say the one like in Youtube videos, do you mean the big bins? What size do you have? I have two that I made myself - one is a 30-gallon bin and the other a... 20 gallon? I can't remember now.

For the 30-gallon bin, I cut an opening on the long side because it was primarily for my bigger cat, and she needed more room. My other one is primarily for my younger (all smaller) cats, so an opening on the end was sufficient.

Since your kitty is bigger, I'd suggest doing it on the long side. Although, you probably still want to put something outside of it because some litter will still come out. Are you gonna be putting the lid on it? If your goal is to keep litter from getting all over, you probably would want to, otherwise he can (and will) just jump over the long side of the box, and that will REALLY get litter all over the place. I know from experience!!
 
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vada50

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Hi Donutte,

Thank you for your answer. Yes the big bins. I bought two, one is 70liters around 15 gallons) the other one is double in size so probably 30gallons. The height in both is 40cm. I will cut an open as you say on the long side. Also I think I will try without the lid but if he goes crazy as you say I will have to put it on lol.

Also this are the bins I bought, I couldn't find in clear plastic, this big sizes in the shops, I hope is not a problem

 

FriendOfTheCatBoys

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What do you mean when you say you are going to put their sand box inside it?

Are you using this as a litter box, or to house a litter box?

If you intend on doing the latter I would recommend against that. The chance of them urinating and/or defecatinn outside of it but inside the bigger bin is very high.

I fail to see how which side you make an opening for them would impact how big a mess the make. I say cut the opening based on the logiciatics of where you are going to be placing it in your home.

If tracking is a big concern their are mats you can place outside their litter boxes that will help trap it. I can not speak to the efficacy of any products specifically produced for that purpose, however, I bought a few cheap rugs from ikea for 10 bucks a pop and set them up outside my guys boxes. It's not foolproof and there's still a bit of litter being tracked past the rugs, but they help trap a lot that would otherwise be coming loose elsewhere.

Be sure that you cut a big enough opening so your cats don't have to squeeze through to get in, and set up some sort of step/ramp so they don't have to jump in or out. You want to make it comfortable and easy for them to get in and out and not having to junp will reduce the mess.

And last I would strongly suggest you toss out the lids. Having them on will reduce the airflow and cause odors to linger inside the box, which can deter the cats from wanting to go inside it.
 

maggiedemi

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Those of you that use those storage totes for litter boxes, don't they cost a fortune to fill with litter? I have jumbo size litter boxes and I have to buy two 40 pound boxes just to have enough to keep them deep enough all month.
 
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