The litter box is a very important part of your cat's life, yet we often don't do our part when it comes to making sure the box is clean and appealing. Cleaning and maintaining the litter box may not be your favorite thing to do when it comes to being a cat owner, but it's crucial to your cat's health and happiness. Here's a list of 10 tips to maximize litter box appeal:
1. Most cats prefer a soft, unscented scoopable litter. Texture is important to cats and the feel of a soft substrate on their paws is generally more appealing. Also, with a cat's excellent sense of smell, the highly scented litters can be offensive.
2. Use an uncovered box to allow for maximum comfort and to increase escape potential. Cats, especially in a multicat environment, need to feel they can easily escape from the box in order to prevent being ambushed by a companion cat.
3. Keep the litter level of the box at about three inches. As you scoop soiled litter, be sure to top off the box to maintain a consistent level.
4. Scoop waste from the box twice a day. Nobody wants to use an unflushed toilet.
5. Thoroughly dump used litter and completely scrub the box once or twice a month. If the box still smells after being thoroughly scrubbed then it's time for a new one.
6. The box should be the appropriate size for your cat. Don't ask a large cat to squeeze into a small box.
7. In multicat households you should have the same number of boxes as cats.
8. Don't place litter boxes all in one area. Scatter the boxes throughout the house so lower-ranking cats don't have to pass a higher-ranking cat's area and risk conflict.
9. Don't locate the litter box near the cat's feeding station.
10. Don't use litter box liners.
Pam Johnson-Bennett, CABC, PCBC is a Certified Animal Behavior Consultant and owner of Cat Behavior Associates, LLC. For step-by-step help with litter box issues, refer to the book Starting from Scratch.
Starting from Scratch
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