I imagine if Ollie, and most cats, could design their perfect litter box it would be your entire living room covered in a thick layer of litter that is used for nothing else but their own bathroom breaks. This isn’t the most practical solution for us, but it’s a likely reason your cat prefers the great outdoors.
So, how can we make an indoor box preferable to Ollie and other cats?
- Start with a huge uncovered box, or even a kiddie pool, and fill with a thick layer (about 6 inches) of unscented clay or fine sand-like particulate clumping/scoopable litter. For Ollie, you may need to play around with the substrate types to make it more natural. Try using soil or peat.
- Litter box hygiene can play a huge role for Ollie. Be sure to scoop it once or twice a day and clean the entire box out at least once a month with soapy warm water (do not use bleach). Ollie probably likes having a fresh spot every time he goes out.
- Something we often forget about is location, location, location! So important! Keep the box away from high traffic areas or noisy rooms like laundry/furnace rooms, and away from dark areas or physical challenges (ladders, small entryways, etc.) Avoid dead ends, corners or trapped locations. You should definitely have boxes in multiple locations and on each level of the home, which is especially important in a multi-cat home. You can watch their behaviour to see if one cat may be more dominant over the other and “blocking” the other cat from the litter box. Two boxes right next to each other are essentially the same location so it’s not ideal.
You may have to be more creative with your Ollie and succumb to an outside “catio” with an ideal box that he can get to from inside the home.
I hope some of these suggestions are helpful to you and to other cat parents experiencing similar issues.
Good luck!
Dr. Amy Rojman, DVM
