Thinking of getting a new litter box, especially one of the fancy self cleaning litter boxes? Even if you’re not and regardless of which kind of litter box you get, there’s a weird red flag to look for that you may miss if you’re not looking for it. Let me save you from needing a massive vat of urine cleaner by helping you avoid a litter box disaster.
What Do Cats Like In A Litter Box?
First, and very briefly because I cover this in detail elsewhere in both written and video form, things that help cats choose to use the litter box include:
- Placing it in an easy to access location
- It being easy to enter without requiring your cat to climb or move something to enter it
- Larger size
- Generally open topped boxes are preferred, though there are exceptions
This is a very simplified list, but it’s relevant to the red flag we’re about to talk about.
How Do You Transition Your Cat To The New Litter Box?
While, yes, not meeting those criteria are a big risk that your cat won’t keep using the litter box, the red flag to look for is something else: the instructions about transitioning your cat to using the new litter box.
Under normal circumstances, the only training you’d need to do is set up a new litter box and fill it with litter. You don’t really need to do much to help them transition other than leave it out and wait for them to use it. You then remove the old litter box. This may take a week or so, but it doesn’t require much effort. Easy, right?
If you read the instructions for some kinds of litter boxes, especially systems that involve pellets (which cats don’t like) and self scooping litter boxes, a lot of them suggest some variation of setting up the new box, keeping the old box set up, and discontinuing scooping the old box. The logic is your cat will find the old box so repulsive, they’ll start using the new litter box.
Any litter box that suggests you use this method to transition your cat should set off alarm bells. Put the litter box down, remove it from your cart, or do whatever you need to do to run away from it because you’re going to end up with trouble down the line.
Why Is This Method Of Transitioning Cats To A New Litter Box Bad?
You may be thinking, “Okay, but if the cat starts using the new box, then why does it matter how it’s done?” There are two big problems, both from your perspective and the perspective of your cat.
What you’re trying to do is force the cat to not use something they like and instead use something they don’t enjoy using. Your cat might use it out of desperation (and definitely not out of curiosity as instructions may claim), but that doesn’t mean they like using it.
It should be really concerning that you have to force your cat to hate their regular litter box to get them to start using the one you’re considering. It would be like me taking a piece of chocolate cake and pouring a bunch of salt on it so you’ll eat a large pile of kale instead. It doesn’t mean the kale is good and you’d probably eat it once you were hungry, but not because you want to eat the kale.
This is incredibly stressful for your cat. Even if your cat’s stress isn’t your biggest concern, the problems don’t end there.
Why Is This A Problem?
Ultimately, your cat is the one using the litter box. It should be appealing and comfortable to your cat first and foremost. Cats don’t have a sense of morality around litter box usage (they don’t see it as good or bad) so they just go wherever is the most appealing to them. That should be their litter box!
If, at some point in the future, your cat becomes sick, is really stressed, or as they age, the unappealing litter box will become more stressful or even physically challenging to use. Your cat is going to find somewhere else to do their business. Why would they climb into a box that is small and they can barely fit into when your floor is easy and requires minimal effort? They can just poop right there!
In other words, you’re taking a very big risk that your cat will stop using the litter box eventually. They may keep using it sporadically, but that doesn’t mean it will last for the rest of their life. You won’t like the results when prioritizing your preferences over the needs of the cat.
Read The Transition Instructions Before You Buy
Before you purchase any litter box, you should ask yourself a few basic questions including if it is easy to clean and if it is easy for your cat to use. Digging a little deeper and seeing how the company suggests you transition your cat to using their litter box will reveal whether it’s something that’s designed with cats in mind or designed entirely for humans. If it’s not designed for cats, save yourself the stress and find something else.
