How To Set Up Litter Box For Kitten

Our mission is to help save dogs' and cats' lives through our educational content. To support our efforts, this page may contain chapter links. We earn a commission for qualifying purchases – at no price to you lot.

In "Litter Box 101: How to Choose the Best Litter Boxes for Your Cats and Why You Need To," I gave some pointers for choosing the best litter boxes for your cats.

Now I'one thousand going to show y'all how best to fix and maintain your cat'southward boxes.

Follow these tips, and you'll be able to avoid mutual litter box bug, like wayward peeing and pooping outside the box, and you'll also be prepared to identify painful or potentially life-threatening conditions.

Y'all Demand More Litter Boxes Than Y'all Might Think

Why would one cat need more than than one box? Considering there are a ton of factors that might block their admission to a single 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, solitary choice, it's not going to exist proficient for either of y'all (this is a polite fashion of saying that they'll find somewhere else to practise their business or suffer from a painful bout of constipation or fifty-fifty urinary obstruction). So, try to adhere to the "n+i rule" for true cat litter boxes by providing i more litter box in your home than the number of cats you have.

BTW, this box is a bit besides small for this cat.
Bank check out our commodity on how to choose the right litter box for your kitty.

Where to Put Your True cat's Litter Boxes

When it comes to litter box placement, your cat actually wants y'all to think the three "L"s: location, location, location!

The All-time Places for Litter Boxes

• Like shooting fish in a barrel access and exits: Ideally, your cat should have at to the lowest degree two ways to get to and from each box. This is to keep their box from becoming completely blocked (east.1000., by the family canis familiaris, a bully true cat, a closed cupboard door, etc.). If they can't get to or away from their box reliably, they're not likely to use it reliably.
• Plenty of space between: Even if y'all have the right number of boxes, it'southward merely equally important to spread out your true cat's litter boxes to foreclose problems. I shudder each time I see a home with the right number of boxes, but they're all lined up in a row in the aforementioned room (shut, but no cigar). It's all-time to spread the litter boxes beyond different rooms, and definitely have at least 1 litter box on each floor of your home. But if the boxes absolutely have to be in the aforementioned room or area, be certain to provide plenty of space betwixt them.
• Adept air apportionment: Your true 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. (Acquire about other ways to reduce litter box odors.)

What to Avoid When Placing Litter Boxes

• Drafty vents: Heating and ac vents can create unpredictable (as far equally your cat's concerned) drafts of air that can startle and stress out your true cat. Attempt to avoid locating their litter boxes virtually such vents.
• Human foot traffic: If your true cat has to cope with the possibility of a bunch of people walking (or running, particularly if you lot've got pocket-sized children in your dwelling house) by their loo every time they've got to get, it definitely won't be comfy or fun for them. Try to detect a place that doesn't go too much pes traffic.
• Noise: Going to the bath is a fairly vulnerable scenario for cats, and they tin oftentimes be on "high alert" when in their box. If they're doing their business in an area where there's a lot of noise — peculiarly if the noise is loud or sudden — and then your cat isn't going to be able to become in peace. Though laundry rooms are common places for people to put their true cat'south litter boxes, the racket from a clunking clothes dryer or the finish-of-bike alarms from either motorcar tin exist enough to stress out your cat when they're feeling exposed. Try to avoid the laundry room if y'all can.

Bonus Tip: Try Pheromones

To assistance your true cat unplug, try plugging in. More than to the indicate, consider plugging in a Feliway calming pheromone diffuser near your cat's litter boxes. The Feliway calming pheromones tin help reduce or foreclose stress and anxiety in cats and — since stress and anxiety tin can be a mutual contributing factor in urinary issues with cats — forbid bug from ever happening in the starting time place.

How Much Litter Y'all Should Employ and What Type

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

• The blazon of litter: Get-go, of course, you've got to choose your cat's litter. Given all the options and absurd marketing buzzwords out there, I've dedicated an entire article to help y'all find the litter that'due south best for your particular true cat. Bank check out "Litter Box 101: What Type of Litter is Best for Your Cat." Simply, mostly speaking:
  • cats tend to prefer fine particle litters to big pellets
  • avoid scented litters
  • avert irritating your cat's sensitive nose and lungs, use a depression-dust litter
• How much litter to employ: 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 go away with an inch or two in the box for cats that don't exercise a ton of earthworks if you're diligent with scooping multiple times per mean solar day and if the litter clumps up solidly and quickly. But those are ideal litter box maintenance conditions, and even then, 1–2" of litter might not be enough. To play it safe, I recommend starting with 2–three" of litter in each box and then adjusting equally needed and always replenishing to maintain that depth.
• You might consider a litter attractant: For kittens who are just learning to utilize their litter boxes, you may want to add a bit of litter box attractant, such as the True cat Concenter Litter Additive linked below. This additive may besides exist useful in helping a previously litter-box trained true cat to autumn back in love with their litter box — but with these guys, it'due south also important to have them checked out by your veterinarian to ensure that there isn't a medical reason that caused them to abandon their litter box in the first place.

How to Maintain and Monitor Your True cat's Litter Boxes

The importance of scooping the "deposits" — both urine and stool — out of your true cat's litter boxes at least one time daily truly cannot exist overstated. Multiple studies have shown that cats routinely and strongly prefer clean litter boxes to those with "stuff" already in them. Later on all, would you prefer to apply a freshly flushed toilet, or by and large full porta potty?

A annotation about "self-cleaning" litter boxes: Enough cats are terrified of the noise and move 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'm non typically a big fan of these types of automatic boxes.

Wash, Rinse, Repeat

To avoid the buildup of caked-on litter, fecal matter, and leaner, try to practice a consummate litter box launder and refill near one time a month. Use soap and water to clean the boxes but do non use bleach or other harsh cleaners. The scent of bleach and other chemicals can cause your cat to avoid their box even after information technology's make clean. To stop up, dry the boxes and add together fresh litter. Depending on the number of cats you have and how stinky and messy they are, y'all may need to practice complete litter change-outs in-between these monthly litter box washings or wash the litter boxes more oftentimes.

Keep an Eye Out

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

If you observe changes in your cat'due south litter box, here are some potential causes:

• Urine: more clumps/larger size
  • Diabetes
  • Hyperthyroidism
  • Kidney failure (early)
  • Kidney infection
• Urine: fewer clumps/smaller size
  • Impending urinary obstacle
  • Bladder inflammation ("cystitis")
  • Float infection
  • Dehydration
  • Your cat might too exist peeing outside of their box
• Fecal: more stool/larger size/looser
  • Modify in diet
  • Abdominal infection
  • Intestinal worms
  • Pancreatitis
  • Food allergy
• Fecal: fewer stool/smaller size/more firm
  • Constipation
  • Aridity
  • Digestive obstruction
  • Your true cat might as well be pooping exterior of their box

Avoid Bodily Toilet Grooming

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

You lot might not exist thrilled about the prospect of scooping your cat's litter box or any attribute of having a litter box in your domicile, but earlier you recollect well-nigh toilet grooming your cat, take a moment to consider the consequences. I've outlined several important (and hopefully compelling) arguments against toilet training in "7 Reasons NOT to Toilet Train Your True cat."

Source: https://www.preventivevet.com/cats/how-to-set-up-your-cats-litter-boxes-to-prevent-potty-accidents

Share this post