Covered litter box advise

[nsweezie]

On the weekend I bought a litterbox with a cover on it. Clyde had no problem using it, however Scooter seems to be almost frightened of it, and has not used it yet.
I tried to encourage him using it by taking the cover off, praising him etc but nothing works. I now have 2 litter boxes on the go, and would appreciate any advice.

[lynnestankard]

nsweezie - when we bought our covered litter box - it frightened our Ketchum to death!! He just didn't use it! So off came the cover and we're back to an open litter box

Lynne

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

I've actually heard that each cat should have it's own litterbox.

My Peanut would poop on the floor sometimes, even when the litterboxes were sparkling clean. I thought maybe it was because Tubby was being territorial with the litterboxes, so we now have 3 litter boxes for 2 cats.....and she still poops on the floor sometimes.

[lynnestankard]

Originally posted by Tubby & Peanut's Mom
I've actually heard that each cat should have it's own litterbox.

I read that somewhere too - but having no room for three litter boxes they've all agreed to share!! Even when Dan decides to scratch the wall, the floor, the dishwasher ANYWHERE except the litter!!

Lynne

[Gio]

Prema does not live uncovered litter boxes, she loves some privacy. Maya is the same but will use it uncovered when I just finished cleaning it and I've had no chance yet to put the lid back on. Foxy has only used covered ones. We have 2, one we always keep on the balcony and when it gets hot the second we keep the second one there as well.

I've actually heard that each cat should have it's own litterbox.

I'm not sure that it would work. My sister lived with me for a while and we had 5 in cats sharing, we had a few litter boxes, and they all used only 2 of them. Obviously they expected us to clean them several times a day

[purrley]

Cat are really finicky when it comes to change. I think you gotta start out with the litter box you're gonna use when you bring a tiny kitten into the household, but when you wanna change having adult cats, it just won't work - at least that's the tail with my cats. If I tried to change the litter or the type of box - all hell would break loose, if you know what I mean. I even have trouble when I move the boxes from one side of the room to the other. I have 4 cats and 2 boxes. They must be scooped every day. All my babies are really good at using them thank goodness

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

All my babies are really good at using them thank goodness

I guess that's the important part. You have to find what works for you and your kitties, and stick with it. As long as it works for you, and they are using it, life should be good.

[wayne0214]

All 9 of my indoor-at-night furkids use the same box, and if it should get "dirty" before I can change it, they will diversify and use the other two alternatives.

.......wayne

[Ali's mom]

When I changed from an open box to a closed box my cat thought it was a new bed for her and slept in her litter all night and all the next day.
Then later on I tried to change the type of litter well she made a point of pussing all the litter out the door of her box on to the floor. I guess she didn't really like the new stuff at first but I put all the litter back in and she never had a problem with it again. (while I was putting the litter back in the box I got a few angry kitty stares )

[nsweezie]

Scooter still won't use the litter box, but Clyde just loves it. This morning he was in there playing with his toys, and then he started licking himself.
At least one cat is pleased.

[BigCharles]

We had problems with covered litter boxes. Lamoni would stay in the liter box and keep Fifi out. Then she would get on top of it and keep him in. Finally she would go on top of the box. What a mess.

We did the one box per cat trick and put the boxes in opposite ends of the house. When we would change them, Lamoni would make sure that he marked each box by using it. Fifi would not go in a box that he had recently used.

We had two covered boxes fo a while. One would trap the other in a box. They became afraid of using the box because the other cat was always waiting just outside the box to attack. Off came the covers.

We would watch for the cats to use the box and then scold the other cat if interference was about to take place.

Now our LitterMaid sits in the attacked garage and scoops away.