How Many Litter Boxes?

[Lenox]

I had one. I read online the N+1 rule (you should own one more litter box than you have cats; for example: 1 cat means you should have 2 litter boxes, 3 cats means you should have 4 litter boxes, etc.).

We have one cat, so I subsequently setup a second litter box near the other one. I think she mostly uses the new one but I'm not 100% sure if she's ditched the old one yet.

Is this a good idea to have two? Any downsides to having two, aside from taking up more space of course? Should I go back to one? Is there an ideal way to utilize two litter boxes?

(I don't want to put them on opposite parts of the apartment, but I know that's a strategy too.)

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

You are going to get differing opinions on this, which I think depend upon people's past (and current!) experiences.

For me, I've always had just one cat at a time and have always used a single litter box. I've never had any cat that had issues with just using one.

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to The Cat Site. Feel free to post a new thread in our New Cats on the Block forum and tell us about your cat.

Back to the subject of this thread, I've also seen the recommended 1 for each cat, plus one. I've also read, 1 on each floor.

I've just got one for my Ruby, and she's fine with it. But I've also read about cats who like to have a separate litter box for each "type" of deposit, so in that case, you'd need 2 for just one cat.

Here's a site article on the subject, if you're interested:
How Many Litterboxes Should You Have?

 

[Georgia on my Mind]

Hi Lennox,

It sounds like you're doing everything right litter wise for your kitty. There's no downside to having two. She may just be choosing the new one because a: it's new and b: it's super clean - even the box is clean.
I think the number of litter boxes you have also depends on some factors.
- How often do you scoop?
- How clean do your cats demand their litter boxes to be?

Right now I have two cats, two litter boxes (next to each other) and I scoop twice a day and that's fine for them.
In the past I had a VERY fussy kitty who wouldn't go in a litter box with packages in it. So I had three litter boxes ( I had two cats) and scooped as often as I could.
As far as placement, the rule is don't place them right next to each other or near their food but they also shouldn't be in an inconvenient place like the basement. But like I said, I have mine right next to each other and so far so good.

One suggestion - every two weeks to a month, empty out both litter boxes and give them a good cleaning and rinse them out afterwards.

I hope this helped and thanks for being such a caring cat mama!

 

[Gizmobius]

I have two cats and two litter boxes. When I'm home, both are pretty much upstairs; one is in my bedroom and the other is at the top landing of the stairs. There's just no room downstairs for me to put a litter box but that doesn't seem to bother either of the cats. They usually use the one that's on the landing as it's the "closest."

I do housesitting/dogsitting and that's where I'm at currently, so the set up now is both boxes are downstairs in bedrooms right across the hallway from one another. No matter where we are, both cats use both boxes without any issue. Since the boxes are relatively close here, they don't seem to have a favorite one while in this house as they do when we're at our own house!

 

[Lenox]

Thanks for the responses, folks!

 

[FakeGourmet]

I think it depends on your cats and how often you are scooping and replacing their litter. When I had one or two cats, I never had more than 1 litter box. I have 5 cats and 2 litter boxes - one regular using regular litter and one automatic using clumpable. As GeorgiaOnMyMind mentions, if you have a fussy cat, you have to bend a bit towards the fussy cat. For instance, one of our cats will not use clumpable litter. So, that is what the upstairs box has.

 

[Lenox]

Hello and welcome to The Cat Site. Feel free to post a new thread in our New Cats on the Block forum and tell us about your cat.

Thanks for the tip. Posted. Thanks.

 

[duckpond]

I have 4 cats and normally run 4 or 5 litter boxes.

 

[sweetblackpaws]

I think one box for one cat is fine as long as it is kept very clean and in a secluded spot.

I have 3 cats and 3 boxes.

 

[Lenox]

Is it safe to say that there is no downside to MORE litter boxes? For example, would setting up a third confuse the cat and have an adverse effect? We're testing out different litters and litter boxes, so multiple is the easiest way to test.