Litter Box & Dogs

sakura

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Right now I have 2 cats and 2 un-covered large litter boxes. We will have a dog in a few months and, in my experience, they like to get into the litter box. I would like to prevent this, but I'm really not a fan of covered boxes. My cats will use a covered box (though they probably hate it). I haven't really seen any large covered boxes and one of my cats is fairly large (9-10 lbs, not huge but still).

The only thing I can think of doing is installing a cat-door in to a room where the litter box would be, but that isn't practical because we aren't home-owners.

What is a good solution for this issue?
 

ldpeterson

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Well I'll be the first to tell ya that covered litterboxes don't deter dogs anyways so no need to worry about having to change that. lol

I actually did install a cat door to my laundry room, but I do have other boxes in the house so they are placed in a room with a pet gate like this. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...m?pcatid=12521

It has a cat door so the dogs can't go through. Obviously it depends on the size of dog you get as well. If your getting one about the same size as the cats then the cat door would be useless.

In that case I would put just a small gate up short enough for the cats to jump over but too tall for the dog to jump. Or you could even make it to where the cats can climb something to jump over. A stool of some sort.

Hope that helps some!

Oh and the automatic boxes are a great choice and help keep the dogs less interested because they are usually empty.
 

liza24

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I have a Rottweiler and my bunch. I have 5 cats, and he NEVER touches the litter boxes!

I have 3 oversized HUGE covered boxes, and he dosent even care they are there,lol.

He has grown up around the cats, and they have always had covered boxes, and he never really had a want to see what was in them. I also think that his head wouldnt fit in the hole even if he wanted it too,lol

Here is a link to a box like the ones i use, mine is bigger and not a sifting box. The cats love it cause they can dig like hell, and it stays IN the box,lol. Its big enough even for Sace, my 13lb Birman. I did take the door off tho.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2755056
 

bnwalker2

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We have our litter boxes behind baby gates and pieces of plywood, the dogs don't even try to get in them anymore.
 

tamgirl99

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I use a baby gate too, but does anyone else get tired of stepping over them? Ugh, I wish I could find a better solution. I have to keep my gate between my bedroom and bath so it's definitely an annoyance to me.
 

marianjela

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A regular covered box doesnt really work, because the dog can still stick his head in. And although you said you dont want to use covered boxes one suggestion for anyone else interested is to use TWO cardboard boxes or one covered cat box and one larger cardboard box.

The trick is to alternate the openings. The second box has to be big enough, that when the cat goes in the first box opening, he can walk around it to the box on the inside with the opening at the other end.

Did that make sense?

Another option is to use one of those storage tupperware containers and cut a hole in the lid at the top. This is too high for any of my dogs to get their heads into. And I have a Newfoundland! Although he wouldnt be caught dead eating cat poop - lol

My mom's solution for stopping her dog from getting into the box was to give her cat their own room and place a chair behind the door, enough that the door remains open enough for the cat to get in and out, but not enough for the dog. And the chair is easy enough to move when she needs in the room - also, it is heavy enough that if the dog tries to push on the door, she can hear it and correct the dog.

I've known friends who've cut holes in their basement door so that the cat could get down to the box, but not the dogs...

Good luck with finding what works for you!
 
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