New Kitty Litter Box

stefaroo

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My 1-year old cat Chester, whom I adopted in January at 9 months of age, seems to have a bit of a problem peeing slightly outside the box. It doesn't happen all the time, but enough to become a nuisance. There's nothing physiologically wrong with him - I think he's just not aiming properly. Or, he's very particular about having a very clean box. He has his own box and doesn't share with Moe, my other kitty. I clean both their boxes once a day, but am wondering if I should either clean his box regularly twice a day or get a "spaceship" kind of covered litter box. Having said that, with cats being such creatures of habit, should I anticipate any difficulties with Chester adapting to a closed private bathroom? Any suggestions?

Many thanks,

Stefaroo
 

keltednora

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Try a box with a top on it or with higher sides...he might not be realizing that he's hanging over the edge when he goes.
 

nano

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Yeah, he's probably outgrown the old box so you need to go to a much bigger size. Good luck!
 

redhairedgirl

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We moved Frodo and Sam gradually to different boxes. First we had the open tray (what a mess), then to a higher-sided one with a lid, and finally to one of those "spaceship" boxes. It fits into the corner nicely and now the only mess we have is litter kicked out of the door. They're very zealous diggers.
 
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stefaroo

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Thanks everyone for their suggestions. I had already pretty much decided that I would get a new "high-sided/spaceship" litter box for Chester and just wondered really, if anybody had any experience with their furball having difficulties adapting to a new litterbox, seeing as how they're such creatures of habit.

Thanks,

Stefaroo
 

dancemuse

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Stefaroo, I just got a new box for my three--one of those top-entry Clevercat boxes. I haven't had any trouble with them adapting to it, and in fact they seem to prefer it to the Booda Dome that has been in the bathroom for as long as they've all been there. Just put it in the same place as the old box and use the same litter. With my new box, I left the lid off for the first day so that they would understand that it was their new box, and then I put the lid on, so that they would learn to go through the hole. It works beautifully.

For the most part, cats are very fastidious. They like using the litter box, so unless they have a health problem or are stressed, they will adjust pretty easily to a new style of box.
 
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stefaroo

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Thanks to everybody for their suggestions. I went out and got Chester a new spaceship covered kitty litter box and he had no problems adapting at all. And of course, Moe thought it was pretty cool and decided that his open litter box just wasn't going to do anymore, so I now have two matching silver spaceship covered litterboxes for the furballs. Thanks again!

Stefaroo
 
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stefaroo

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Just an update from my last posting yesterday. It would seem that my concern about Chester adapting to a new type of litter box was well-founded. It seems that the little bugger has decided that peeing on (or under) the bathmats in my bathroom is preferable to using his litterbox. He did it right in front of me yesterday when I got home and he was plucking at the bathmat as though it was a litterbox until he found just the right spot. It didn't seem like it was an "acting out" behaviour, but at this point, what do I know? When I realized what he was doing, I picked my jaw up off the floor and removed the bathmat to throw in the wash right away, hoping that a good solid washing would remove the scent of his urine and thereby hopefully the desire to go there again. I picked up the other bathmat and realized that he had been using that one as well. I'd noticed in the last couple of days that the corner of the bathmat was sort of turned up and I thought the cats were just goofing around playing, but when I saw the unmistakable stain marks on the rubber underside of the bathmat, the truth became clear. All this has coincided with the arrival of the new litterbox this past Friday. I've never in all my years had a kitty with peeing issues and I'm still quite stunned about this. I've taken the lids off the spaceship litter boxes in the hopes that it'll make him more comfortable. He did a poop in his box yesterday but peeing is another issue. Help?!?
 

roxy_loves_cj

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My little guy has recently outgrown his box. I am trying to decide what to do with him too. I dont think he would do with a covered box, as he is scared of bags and boxes (abused when he was a baby, before he came to live with me) and I like the one he has now that has a snap on border thing that raises the sides a good 2-3 inches all around. (it also holds the liners in perfectly!) So I am trying to find a bigger one that is similar. I would like him to use a covered one as he loves to scratch the wall as he is using, as well as he loves using it as a landing pad, or launch pad and sprays litter all over the place.....
not sure what to do with him...
 
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