Open or covered litter box?

[Taz_Zoee]

While volunteering at the shelter today my supervisor was talking to a couple adopting a 1 year old cat and mentioned that they do not recommend covered litter boxes for kitten because it can lead to respiratory problems.
I have always had a covered box for Taz and have one for Paizly too.
Has anyone heard of this? Is it true? And what do you have for your cats, covered or open?

[Freedom]

All my boxes have hoods. When I have a kitten in the house, I have always taken the cover off on and prayed the kitten would use that one; dumb, for sure! I know some of the other cats use the uncovered one, and of course it is the cats who "dig to China," leaving a pile on the floor. Honestly, I no longer remember WHY I do it for kittens. I know kittens under a certain age should not have clumping litter, only clay. I think it is under 3 months.

[Moesha]

Morgan has an open litter box. He digs and arranges every piece of litter. I have thought about getting a covered one, but he hates his feet in the litter. He stands on the edge with three feet and has only one in the litter while doing his business. I've been afraid he wouldn't like or use a covered box because of this quirk.

[Taz_Zoee]

Thanks for the response, Sandie!
Clumping litter is not okay either? Aww man, I'm really messing up on this kitten stuff here. Well she is over 3 months now, but I've had the clumping stuff since I got her.
I really hope I haven't put my little girl in any danger. I wouldn't be able to handle that.
So, do you think I should remove the hood on her box until she's a little older? But then again, she uses Taz's box sometimes too. Ugh, I'm so confused!!

[Taz_Zoee]

Morgan has an open litter box. He digs and arranges every piece of litter. I have thought about getting a covered one, but he hates his feet in the litter. He stands on the edge with three feet and has only one in the litter while doing his business. I've been afraid he wouldn't like or use a covered box because of this quirk.

Hee hee, that is pretty funny. I'd like to see a picture of that. Sorry Morgan. *snicker*

[kt_luvs_kitties]

Cindy, yes it can cause issues for kittens to have a covered box. I have about 6 covered, and 7 uncovered.

And they say not to use clumping, because if a kitten eats it, it will turn into "cement" in the tummy and can cause blockages.

If she has never been a litter eater, it should be ok!

Every baby kitten I have had/fostered (3-8 weeks old) have been litter munchers

[Freedom]

At this point, I wouldn't change a thing! If it was going to cause trouble, you'd have seen signs of something by now.

Chill out, enjoy kittenhood, and if you need something to do, take photos for all of us on PT!

[kitten645]

Mine are open because I think Hobbes couldn't turn his fat arse around in a covered one
Claudia

[Taz_Zoee]

Katie, I've never seen her eating litter, so I don't think I have a problem there.

Sandie, the lady at ARF said not to worry and just keep an eye on her. So that's what I think I'll do too.
Yes, I know, I need to post more pictures of her. Last week (or Aug. 5th) at the vets she weighed in at a whole 4 pounds!! She's getting so big!

Claudia, I thought Taz would have the same problem when he was at his heaviest (21.5 lbs), but he's never had an issue. A couple of times his big bottom must have been out of the box because he urinated on the mat in front of the box.

Thanks for the replies, ladies. And I'll try to get some pix and post them tomorrow.

[jennielynn1970]

At this point, all of mine are uncovered boxes (and they are the HUGE long litter boxes that PetSmart was selling) except for the litter box in the kitchen. That one I cover just because it's in the kitchen. It's there for Furbee and Boris in case they are too intimidated to deal with Zach to go upstairs (there are times...).

Unfortunately, I always have someone who misses pooping or peeing in the covered box. It's the biggest there was, but they go in face first, and then poop, and unfortunately, their butts are still outside the box, lol. Gotta love it!

I know at the shelter we never use clumping litter with the kittens. We use clay or pine. I wouldn't worry about Paizly at this point, and I'm sure there are millions of people who have used clumping litter with kittens and they were fine. Don't feel bad!

[Don Juan's mom]

I have two litterboxes. The one in the bathroom is open. The one in the bedroom is closed. Don Juan uses them both. Not sure about Zerlina; the little lady is SO dainty I hardly ever see her in the box!

Liz

[catmandu]

ALL OUR LITTER BOXRE ARE UNCOVEED AS THE FOUNDCATS ARE MOSTLY BIGGER THaN THE ENTRANCES , AND WONT FIT IN THE HOLE!!
A FEW TUBBIES AROUND HERE!!!

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

All litter boxes here are covered. It keeps the "smell" lower than open boxes. We DID HAVE TO remove the revolving door though, because Zazou and then also Snoopy didn't want to go through that door, and dropped their "home made sausages" on the floor...!

[Catlady711]

I've raised two sets of kittens in the past. One pair that were 4 wks old, and one trio that were 2 wks old.

I normally use clumping litter, however in both cases I used either plain clay litter or Yesterday's News litter for the kittens until they were about 2 1/2 - 3 months old. Mostly because they would play with it and those two litters were heavier so they didn't fling them out of the box so fast.

I also normally have hooded litterboxes (however I'm in the process of changing that) but those were all super jumbo sized and certainly not sized for tiny kittens. So I'd use several things upgrading size as the kittens grew until they were big enough to use the big kitty boxes. In the beginning I was using a small tupperwear dish, then upgraded to a smal dog bowl, then a large dog bowl, then a small open kitty box, after that point they were big enough for the regular sandboxes.

I find this site.... http://www.catinfo.org/litterbox.htm to have a TON of useful, helpful information on tayloring a sandbox to what your cats will find most attractive, thus reducing the incidents of accidents later. It's not kitten specific, but cat general information.

[sugarpaws]

We have five boxes all covered, one for each of them. Of course they all use all of them. The reason for having the covered style is that Sammy the Pooh Bear shoots up when he pees, I have no idea how that happens.
Marina