How To Set Up Cat Litter Box

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cat sitting inside a litter box In "Litter Box 101: How to Choose the Best Litter Boxes for Your Cats and Why You Demand To," I gave some pointers for choosing the all-time litter boxes for your cats.

At present I'g going to show y'all how best to gear up upwardly and maintain your cat's boxes.

Follow these tips, and you'll be able to avert common litter box issues, like wayward peeing and pooping outside the box, and you'll likewise be prepared to place painful or potentially life-threatening conditions.

You Need More Litter Boxes Than You Might Think

Why would one cat need more than one box? Because there are a ton of factors that might block their access to a unmarried litter box and other things that can crusade them to develop a stressful or painful association with it. If you've only given your cat a single, lonely pick, it'due south non going to be skillful for either of you (this is a polite way of saying that they'll discover somewhere else to do their concern or suffer from a painful bout of constipation or fifty-fifty urinary obstruction). And so, try to adhere to the "n+ane rule" for true cat litter boxes by providing i more than litter box in your home than the number of cats you have.

BTW, this box is a chip too pocket-sized for this cat.
Check out our article on how to choose the right litter box for your kitty.

Where to Put Your Cat'south Litter Boxes

When it comes to litter box placement, your true cat really wants you lot to remember the three "L"s: location, location, location!

The Best Places for Litter Boxes

Piece of cake access and exits: Ideally, your cat should take at least 2 ways to become to and from each box. This is to proceed their box from becoming completely blocked (e.g., past the family domestic dog, a smashing true cat, a closed cupboard door, etc.). If they tin can't get to or away from their box reliably, they're non likely to use information technology reliably.
Plenty of space between: Even if you accept the right number of boxes, it's just as important to spread out your cat'due south litter boxes to preclude problems. I shudder each time I see a abode with the right number of boxes, but they're all lined upwardly in a row in the same room (close, but no cigar). It's best to spread the litter boxes across dissimilar rooms, and definitely have at least one litter box on each floor of your home. But if the boxes admittedly have to be in the same room or area, be certain to provide plenty of infinite between them.
Expert air apportionment: Your cat's nose is quite sensitive, and cramming their litter box in a small cupboard or a muddied basement is likely to force them to bargain with scents and odors that could stress them out and dissuade them from using their box. (Learn well-nigh other ways to reduce litter box odors.)

What to Avoid When Placing Litter Boxes

Drafty vents: Heating and air-conditioning vents can create unpredictable (as far as your true cat's concerned) drafts of air that can startle and stress out your cat. Effort to avoid locating their litter boxes near such vents.
Foot traffic: If your cat has to cope with the possibility of a bunch of people walking (or running, peculiarly if you've got pocket-sized children in your abode) by their loo every time they've got to become, it definitely won't be comfortable or fun for them. Try to observe a place that doesn't get too much foot traffic.
Noise: Going to the bathroom is a fairly vulnerable scenario for cats, and they can ofttimes be on "high alert" when in their box. If they're doing their business in an area where there'due south a lot of dissonance — particularly if the noise is loud or sudden — then your cat isn't going to be able to go in peace. Though laundry rooms are common places for people to put their cat'due south litter boxes, the racket from a clunking clothes dryer or the end-of-cycle alarms from either automobile can be enough to stress out your true cat when they're feeling exposed. Try to avert the laundry room if yous can.

Bonus Tip: Attempt Pheromones

To aid your true cat unplug, try plugging in. More to the point, consider plugging in a Feliway calming pheromone diffuser near your cat's litter boxes. The Feliway calming pheromones can help reduce or prevent stress and anxiety in cats and — since stress and anxiety can exist a common contributing factor in urinary problems with cats — prevent problems from e'er happening in the first place.

How Much Litter Yous Should Utilise and What Type

Filling your cat'due south litter boxes is generally straightforward, but in that location are a few things you should know to help get the right setup for your cat.

The type of litter: Get-go, of form, you've got to cull your cat'southward litter. Given all the options and absurd marketing buzzwords out there, I've dedicated an entire commodity to aid you find the litter that's all-time for your item cat. Bank check out "Litter Box 101: What Type of Litter is Best for Your Cat." Just, more often than not speaking:
- cats tend to prefer fine particle litters to large pellets
- avoid scented litters
- avert irritating your cat'south sensitive nose and lungs, use a low-dust litter
How much litter to use: The right depth of litter for your cat'due south box will depend on their preferences and digging habits, your scooping habits, and the type of litter you're using. Y'all could become away with an inch or two in the box for cats that don't do a ton of earthworks if y'all're diligent with scooping multiple times per mean solar day and if the litter clumps upward solidly and rapidly. But those are ideal litter box maintenance conditions, and even then, 1–2" of litter might non exist enough. To play information technology prophylactic, I recommend starting with 2–three" of litter in each box and and then adjusting as needed and always replenishing to maintain that depth.
Yous might consider a litter attractant: For kittens who are just learning to use their litter boxes, you may want to add a bit of litter box attractant, such as the True cat Attract Litter Additive linked below. This condiment may also be useful in helping a previously litter-box trained cat to fall back in dear with their litter box — but with these guys, it's also important to have them checked out by your veterinarian to ensure that at that place isn't a medical reason that acquired them to abandon their litter box in the first place.

kitten going potty in litter box

How to Maintain and Monitor Your Cat'south Litter Boxes

The importance of scooping the "deposits" — both urine and stool — out of your true cat'due south litter boxes at least once daily truly cannot be overstated. Multiple studies accept shown that cats routinely and strongly prefer clean litter boxes to those with "stuff" already in them. Afterwards all, would yous prefer to use a freshly flushed toilet, or generally total porta potty?

A annotation about "cocky-cleaning" litter boxes: Plenty cats are terrified of the dissonance and movement these things make to recommend against their utilize. Add together to that the importance of actually seeing the trends in what your cat is putting out — which "self-cleaning" boxes deprive you of — and y'all can see why I'1000 non typically a big fan of these types of automatic boxes.

Launder, Rinse, Repeat

To avoid the buildup of caked-on litter, fecal matter, and bacteria, endeavour to do a consummate litter box wash and refill virtually once a calendar month. Employ soap and water to clean the boxes but practise non use bleach or other harsh cleaners. The smell of bleach and other chemicals tin crusade your cat to avoid their box even later on it's clean. To finish up, dry out the boxes and add fresh litter. Depending on the number of cats y'all have and how stinky and messy they are, you lot may demand to exercise consummate litter alter-outs in-betwixt these monthly litter box washings or wash the litter boxes more often.

Keep an Middle Out

Changes in your cat's urinations and/or defecations can be some of the clearest signs of certain diseases and other medical or behavioral conditions. This is why it'south so important that you monitor the number and size of the urine clumps and fecal deposits in your cat'south litter boxes each day when you scoop them.

If you find changes in your true cat's litter box, here are some potential causes:

Urine: more clumps/larger size
- Diabetes
- Hyperthyroidism
- Kidney failure (early on)
- Kidney infection
Urine: fewer clumps/smaller size
- Impending urinary obstruction
- Bladder inflammation ("cystitis")
- Bladder infection
- Dehydration
- Your cat might also be peeing outside of their box
Fecal: more than stool/larger size/looser
- Alter in nutrition
- Intestinal infection
- Intestinal worms
- Pancreatitis
- Food allergy
Fecal: fewer stool/smaller size/more than business firm
- Constipation
- Aridity
- Digestive obstruction
- Your cat might also be pooping outside of their box

Avoid Actual Toilet Training

Lastly, I want to make a quick notation about training your cat to use a human toilet: don't do it.

Y'all might not be thrilled virtually the prospect of scooping your cat'southward litter box or any aspect of having a litter box in your dwelling house, but earlier you think about toilet preparation your cat, take a moment to consider the consequences. I've outlined several important (and hopefully compelling) arguments against toilet training in "vii Reasons Not to Toilet Train Your Cat."