We’ve got 4 cats. The two males are rather large (big not fat). The largest is 2-3x the smallest, all fully grown. We also have a dog. Incidentally, this means that the boxes in the past needed to be of the covered type. One of them is uncovered and in a place that the can’t get to. So the largest cat, and maybe some of the other ones preferentially prefer the uncovered one at least 99.9999% of the time. It is getting to the point where we might have to stop using the uncovered one and move the (new) litter box, and so I need a replacement that he will use instead of pissing on the bathmat or weird corners :(.
The covered boxes I have are basically like this. The dog is a standard Dachshund, so pretty short but tenacious. Some of the open boxes with high walls might work except they usually have a low lip on one side.
Basically I need one where he won’t feel so confined. A very large covered one may work, but I wouldn’t know without pulling that trigger. Do large cats like top entry? Or any advice about getting big cats in there? Can they easily be trained to do so?
Easy to clean is nice. I prefer using a shovel; I don’t like sifting ones that require 3x as many steps and I don’t need a self-cleaning one.
I’m partial to the Booda Dome. The largest size is pretty big and the stairs do help shed some ( not all ) of the litter.
I’m sorry, I’m not following. You’re considering getting rid of the box the cats use most of the time? That seems like it will cause more problems. What does having a dog have to do with the litter boxes?
How many boxes are there currently, how many covered and how many uncovered? Where are they in the home? Many cats prefer uncovered boxes in low-traffic areas that are not in a corner. They are most vulnerable while eliminating and are highly aware of that vulnerability, being small predators themselves. They vastly prefer being able to see all around them and having more than one exit available if needed. Especially if another pet in the home may be stalking them or guarding the box entrance, either on the way in or on the way out.
Many people have good luck with just buying Rubbermaid type storage boxes and cutting an entry into the side, they’re bigger and cats prefer them. One of the first pieces of advice given for people with litter box issues is to take the covers off. Your cats showing preference for the uncovered one is evidence that may be part of the problem (the others being covered). I need more information.
I once had a covered box for two cats. Except that one of them kept growing, and wound up weighing 27 pounds. At some point he learned that all he had to do was back into the box, and that it didn’t matter that his front half stuck out.
Tootsie Rolls with sprinkles.
Can the cats all jump higher than the dachshund? I’ve had 5 cats in my life and all prefer the open boxes and will only use a closed one if they have no other choice. Can the dog jump into a bath tub? I once kept a litter box in our spare bathroom bathtub… one cat had a habit of getting INTO the box and then peeing over the side (born on a boat?) and that solution worked well and kept our crawling baby and toddler away.
Cats that live with other pets often don’t like the covered boxes because they feel like they could be ambushed or trapped, but many cats still prefer some sort of privacy.
If the cats can all jump high enough, I’d find an area where I could put an open box with a barrier or a solid baby gate that will keep out the dog but allow the cats to jump over. This may require a ledge/shelf/small table at the top of the barrier for the cats to land on. Put some treats up there to encourage them to jump up. As long as they can jump higher than the dog, it would be easy to get a gate or build a simple barrier. My husband made one out of plywood and that worked well.
Also, with 4 cats, you need to find the biggest litter box possible. When we had 2 cats, we used a large pan we got from a hardware store - I think it was for mixing cement. We kept it clean and scooped it daily - dominance wars would result otherwise. Good Luck!
