I'm trying to head off what I see as a potential problem. I have two cats - a resident (Molly) and a recently adopted stray (Little One). Three litter boxes. For three months Little One was happy to go in the box that's in my bathroom. She'd walk past Molly's box and not show any interest. I was away for a week - my assistant came in every day to feed and scoop - and when I got back, I found that Little One has now been going in Molly's box. Now Molly is very particular about cleanliness. She won't go if her own poop is in there. I'm worried she might start acting out if she realizes she's sharing a box. So far, I've been able to stay ahead of it by scooping it out before she goes in after Little One's paid a visit. I'm wondering if there's any way to redirect her back to the one she was using. Any suggestions or guidance is appreciated. Thanks!
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any way to redirect a kitty to a specific littler box?
- Thread starter orpheygene
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- #2
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anyone?
anyone?
Will Molly use the other litter boxes as long as they're up to her cleanliness standards? With two cats, I would think that if you scooped once a day, they'd both have to work pretty hard to really soil up three boxes between cleanings. And, since it looks like they've been sharing a box (or boxes) while you were away, do you notice and behavior changes now that you're back? As far as training one cat to use one litter box and not another, I'd have no idea how to do that. The only thing I could even think of would be to install a cat door (the kind that only opens for the cat that's wearing the key in her collar) in a door and keep Molly's box shut in that room. Hopefully the two of them will be able to peacefully sort out their litter box differences and things will be ok!
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Molly only uses other litter boxes when she absolutely can't get to hers. One of them she's never used at all. It's always in her box. I'm fanatic about scooping - especially now that Little One's here. She's very poopy so I check all the time - especially now that she's decided going in Molly's is a good idea. I'm trying to head off Molly figuring it out.
Maybe LO just likes Molly's box because it's bigger - so I'm going to get another one just like it and see if that redirects her.
As far as behavior changes, no, not really. They tolerate each other really well, though not cuddle buddies yet. If anything, they seem a bit friendlier. Like maybe it was a bonding experience.
As far as behavior changes, no, not really. They tolerate each other really well, though not cuddle buddies yet. If anything, they seem a bit friendlier. Like maybe it was a bonding experience.
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- #5
In case anyone's interested - I think I solved the problem. Little One is a bigger cat than Molly so I started to think - maybe she wandered into Molly's litter box and liked it simply because it was bigger. So I got another box like it, put it in place of the one Little One was using before, pointed it out to her and voila - so far, so good. She started using it last night and I just heard her in there swatting away. So if anyone has this type of problem, my advice would be - try to think like your cat. You'll be surprised what you can discern.
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- #6
Interesting. With the exception of Ryffian I've been talking to myself on this thread. Why do I bother? I'm out.
Glad to hear things seem to be going well with the two of them and their litter boxes
