Part Two: Happy Litter Boxes

Continuing from where I left off in July 2015 (moving to Colorado from Maine was complicated!), more key points for happy litter box compliance to follow:

7.  Location of litter boxes is crucial.  First of all, cats want individual, private litter boxes, and not a group of stalls like a public restroom.  What I mean by this is that you can only have one box in any given room, and there should be boxes on each floor of a home (basement, main floor, second floor, attic, or at least each and every floor that kitties are able to visit in your home).  They want to feel safe.  No one, cat, dog, human, or otherwise should be able to sneak up and startle them.  Low noise and low traffic with good visibility are ideal.

8.  Each cat in the household should have a litter box available at all times, plus one extra.  Officially, the formula is n+1 litter boxes (where n = number of cats).  Interestingly enough, some cats prefer one box for liquid eliminations and a separate one for solids!  Hence, an additional box is key.  Even with only one cat, you should have two boxes in two different rooms.  Four cats should have five boxes and so on!

9.  Entirely new boxes should be provided at least twice per year.  In spite of your weekly cleanings, and twice (or more!) daily scoopings, plastic retains odors and bacteria.  Replacing boxes a minimum of twice a year will eliminate offensive lingering odors for your kitty and reduce bacteria.  Happy kitties means happy people!

10.  Finally, a couple of my favorite brands of litter from experimentation only (no funding or endorsements):  SmartCat 100% grass clumping litter and Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract, especially the Senior formula.  Others I have used and would use again include Blue Buffalo's walnut-based clumpable and all other available varieties of Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract.  I prefer the Senior version most due to its light weight and fine granules, though it is not a clumpable.  You can still scoop out the urine-soiled areas with a fine enough scoop (thin slots), and if you are cleaning the box and changing the litter weekly as recommended, it stays fresh.  Everything (every brand and texture of litter I have tried) tracks, and if anyone has found a fine litter that does not, please share!

Hope this is helpful, and please let me know if you have additional questions.

Katy Hazzard, VMD