My cat suddenly got picky about litter box

[Maggiez]

I adopted Pen Pen about 4 months ago and she's now turning 9 months old.
She has been littered train at the time I adopted her and has been using litter box without any issues since day one.

I have two kittens and two litter boxes at home. I scoop the litter box twice per day, and dump the litter and wash the boxes every 2 to 3 weeks (one is getting used more frequently so I wash it more often) using regular dish soap.

In the past, one box always get used for many times (sometimes 7 to 8 times) without problems while the other used 2 to 3 times before I scoop them.

But lately, Pen Pen meows a lot during the day to let me clean the box. This morning she refused to use the one I just cleaned, and only used the other (the one they preferred) after I scooped it. It was only used one time before I scooped it. And I just washed both boxes and added new litter just a few weeks ago.

What did I do wrong?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi! I am guessing that to start with you need to get a duplicate litter box to the one they prefer - probably two. While it could be a health issue with Pen Pen, I think that trying to add a couple of boxes that both cats seem to prefer would be the best place to start. If you are using different litter in the box they don't seem to like as well, keep the litter the same as the one they both like better.

I am sure other members will come along soon with other ideas!

 

[Mr. Meow]

There's a general "cat + 1" rule, to have one litter box per cat, plus one more. I agree with adding another, possibly 2 more litter boxes to your house.
In addition to that, try washing the boxes with an enzyme cleaner, which can take care of odors better than regular dish soap can. Always remember that plastic litter boxes can absorb smells over time.
Many cats are very picky about cleanliness, so they may prefer a clean litter box over a used one. If their food bowls are anywhere near the boxes, I'd move them. We don't have dinner in the bathroom, and cats don't want to either.
Also, many cats will pee in one box and poop in a different one. But seeing how they're at least using the litter boxes still, I'd say you're not really doing anything wrong. They can just pick and choose to use whichever one they feel like. You're in a good situation instead of them going outside of the litter boxes.

 

[Maggiez]

Yeah I've read about the cat + 1 rule before adopting them. I was hoping to get away with 2 boxes because our apartment is very small and I didn't want to put a box in the bedroom. But these days their poop is actually odorless after I eliminated carb loaded kibbles from their diet so the location of the box doesn't bother me at all. I guess it's time to add more boxes. And I will also try out the enzyme cleaner. Thanks for the suggestion!
They do like to pee in one box and poop in another! Depending on where I place the Litter Genie, they also switch up the boxes. It's quite interesting