With 10 cats, you can imagine we go through a lot of cat litter.
I’d like to thank Chewy for free shipping.
And the poor FedEx driver who has the misfortune of delivering to us.
All 160 pounds of litter. Every month.
Over the years, we’ve developed some litter box standards around here.
Our House Rules for Litter Boxes
Any room a cat could accidentally get locked in must have a litter box.
Cats aren’t spiteful. They aren’t plotting revenge because you dared to go on vacation for three days.
Most of the time, if a cat suddenly stops using the litter box, there’s a reason.
One of those reasons is simply not having access to a box when they need one.
If someone accidentally closes a door, we don’t want a cat forced to choose between “hold it” and “find another option.”
We set them up for success by making sure a litter box is always available.
In our house, we also installed cat doors so the cats can’t accidentally become trapped without access to a box.
(Those cat doors will absolutely become a future product review.)
Litter boxes go in rooms where people go.
The living room? Yes.
The bathroom? Yes.
The office? Yes.
A bedroom? Yes.
The kitchen?
Eew. No.
Cats don’t love using litter boxes hidden away in dark, isolated corners of the house. Going to the bathroom is one of the times they feel most vulnerable.
A conveniently located box is much more likely to get used than one hidden in the farthest corner of the basement.
Litter boxes must have high sides.
If you’ve never lived with male cats, allow me to introduce you to one of life’s less glamorous surprises.
Some boys don’t squat particularly well.
Instead, they stand a little taller and pee a little higher than you would prefer.
High-sided boxes help keep the litter inside the box and the urine where it belongs.
Your floors will thank you.
Litter boxes are scooped as needed.
Sometimes that’s once a day.
Sometimes it’s multiple times a day.
Sometimes it’s ten minutes after you just finished scooping.
No one wants to use a dirty toilet.
Your cat doesn’t either.
With seven litter boxes serving ten cats, scooping frequently is simply part of life around here.
What Our Setup Actually Looks Like
Despite the official recommendation of one litter box per cat plus one extra, we currently maintain seven extra-large litter boxes.
Four are located inside the house:
- Living room
- Bathroom
- Home office
- Bedroom
The remaining three are technically in the garage.
Before you picture cats weaving between parked cars, the garage setup deserves some explanation.
Two cat doors lead directly through the walls of the house into a framed, screened section of the garage dedicated entirely to litter boxes. The cats have constant access, while the humans maintain the illusion that we have some separation between our living space and seven giant toilets.
It works surprisingly well.
Mostly.
As long as Chewy keeps delivering 160 pounds of litter every month.