100 % chance of having a litter box issue if you have 4 or more cats ?

[mishicats]

A vet told me the other day that if you have more than 4 cats you have a 100 % chance of litter box issues. I was not happy to hear this news since I have four cats and as of now have had no problems. Has anyone else heard this statistic or do you believe it is true?

 

[GemsGem]

Well I've got 9 cats, all of them kept indoors.
6 maine coons, 2 domestic short hair & 1 sphynx.
I do not have any litter box problems at all. All my cats are very clean. But I do clean my litter trays regularly twice a day & I have 9 litter trays.
I think a lot of problems happen when litter trays are not cleaned often enough & then the cats refuse to use the dirty litter trays

 

[fhicat]

Lot of folks on TCS have 4+ cats. I highly doubt that 4+ cats = litter box issues. Litter box problems is a result of behavior or medical issue, not as a result of some arbitrary, magic number.

 

[maewkaew]

100% sounds ridiculous because there are homes with 4 or more cats who don't have a problem,  which proves it wrong.    I have several friends who have more than 4  cats and are not having problems.

  I agree with GemsGem, it does depend a lot on the maintenance of the litter trays.    ... and on the number / location of the trays. 

It also depends on other things like how the cats get along,  the size of the accomodations,  whether the cats have hiding places,  high perches,  etc.  and activities that interest them.

 

[peaches08]

I can understand that when you increase the number of cats, you increase the possibility of inappropriate elimination due to hygiene and illness. But the 100% figure I can't quite jive with.

 

[happybird]

I'm another person with more than 4 cats (I have 5) and no litterbox issues. I scoop a lot (6+ times a day) and dump the boxes and scrub them with hot, soapy water about once every 10 days.

Needless to say, I strongly disagree with your vet Like everyone else said, it mostly has to do with good litterbox maintenance. Or if a cat is sick and trying to let you know something is wrong.

 

[hawkbarb]

I use to have 4 cats and now have 2 but I've never had any issue with the cat box. They all used it with no problem.

 

[carebearbaby1]

I have 7 large indoor cats, 4 jumbo litter boxes and zero issues. I use a great litter that clumps tight and controls odor and scoop once a day. The only time I've ever had any issues was when my Toby was a kitten and I'd just brought him home from the shelter. He wanted to poop behind the computer desk and not in the litter box. Cat Attract litter additive cleared that issue up quickly. As long as you have plenty of litter boxes and keep them clean you shouldn't have any issues. Generally they say at least one box per cat, but if your cats get along then you probably won't need that many.

 

[mishicats]

I am glad to hear that most of you think the 100% statistic is false. When the vet told me that I didn't think she was right but as a so called professional you tend to believe what they tell you. It pays to do your own research and ask others about their experiences. Thanks for all the responses. They make me feel better. I was kind of upset when she told me this.