Where to place the litter box?
Location Location Location. We hear it in real estate, and now in cat boxes;)
If you've been reading our litter box 101 and cat care articles, you may have noticed that our first assumption is always - look at things from your cats point of view. We're going to start there with this important issue.
You may not think where you put the litter box matters, but In terms of your cats comfort, choosing the right location for your litter box can be paramount. If you have a cat who is not using the litterbox, this basic of rule of thumb may get you on your way to alleviating the issue, or, at the very least, it's one thing you can check off your list.
Cats in nature choose a quiet and private area to do their business. Using this information, we can help create a more natural indoor 'wilderness' for our cats by placing the litter box in a quiet and private place. Preferably, the location of the litter box would be away from high traffic areas of your home or apartment. If that's not possible, you may consider placing the box in the bathroom, at the end of a hallway, or where there relatively is less going on.
Examples of where not put the box are: next to a drier, or other loud appliances, or next to where your cat eats, drinks, or sleeps. If you have one or more cats that dominate over others, don't put all the litter boxes together as a more dominant cat may block a less dominant cat from entering the litter box.
An important issue to take into account is that kittens should have litter boxes close by for their comfort, to ease anxieties, and to train them. An older cat may know that their litter box is down the hall and around the corner, but it's too much to expect your kittens to know or learn that right away.
One last suggestion we would give - don't surprise your cat and move the litter box across the house! If you need to move the litter box, do it in steps and over a period of time. This will keep your cat anxiety free throughout the move, and everyone will be happy.
The bright side of this (and most litter box advice) is that what's good for your cats is also good for you. You probably don't want to see the litter box all the time, or have it in a high traffic area of your living space, so it's a win-win human-cat triumph!
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Stay tuned for upcoming articles on how many litter boxes to use, litter liners, and kittens and the litter box. Click "Get our Newsletter" below to receive our emails with articles, cat care tips, and more.
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As always we look to ways of keeping cats comfortable, happy, and using the litter box. Following these and other basic rules of litter box care can help avoid problems from coming up if your cat uses the box well, and help to alleviate problems if your cat already has litter box issues. Please note that some litter box behaviors and avoidance can be a sign of medical problems - if your cat has litter box issues or you notice changes in litter box behavior, it is important to take your cat to a good veterinarian. Although Boxiecat brand litter is veterinarian recommended, the writers of the article wish to state that we are not qualified to give medical advice.