# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 16, 2024, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636 "2024-02-16T02:56:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 262
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/5222 "2025-01-09T21:34:52Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Cats and catpans poll: there were no options for our situation: 2 pans, 2 cats. All of the “2 catpans” options were for 1 cat, or more than 2. I knew that even with 17 choices I was going to miss something! – I did give you an “other” option, though. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/5223 "2025-01-09T21:43:57Z")
Um, what’s a catpan? Not that I necessarily need to know since I don’t have any cats. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/5224 "2025-01-09T21:45:26Z")
I just had to look it up too ! I’d only heard of them as litter trays. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/5225 "2025-01-09T21:59:55Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > – I did give you an “other” option, though. Which was, in fact, what I chose. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/5226 "2025-01-09T22:17:34Z")
One cat, one box in the basement that he used faithfully for many years. Recently, though, he decided he didn’t want to use the box anymore and started leaving little his treasures in the hallway, right outside our bedroom door. Could be an age thing, like maybe he doesn’t want to go down the stairs anymore. I dunno, really, but there’s no talking to him about it. So we started putting puppy pee pads down on the floor (two at a time, to cover the possible area), and thankfully, he gets his, uh, “production” on them. So “other” for me. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/5227 "2025-01-09T22:37:17Z")
The only term I knew for them was “litter box,” but I always call them “stink boxes.” ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/5228 "2025-01-09T22:38:23Z")
I have to admit I initially thought this was a car part related to the catalytic converter. My confusion only lasted a nano second before I realized it was about the animal. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/5229 "2025-01-09T22:45:25Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > what’s a catpan? A shallow pan, these days usually made of plastic, which contains any of various types of litter that a cat can dig in; the purpose of which is for the cat(s) to piss and shit in. Most cats like to bury their waste and nearly all cats can be easily trained to use a pan. As you may have figured out by now by the rest of the comments. @dirtball – your aged cat may be telling you that he now wants a cat pan in an easier location to get to. You could try moving the pan to the hallway, or adding one there. Or, of course, if the pee pads are doing the job and you’d rather have those: whatever works. (I once had a 17 year old cat insist on a pan in my bedroom, although she was at the time still routinely going up and down the stairs. That bedroom had been not only her favorite sleeping place but also her place of refuge in times of trouble for nearly all of those 17 years; I wasn’t about to shut her out of it. I eventually gave up and put one as far from my bed as I could get it, and she agreed to that. I no longer have a catpan in my bedroom. It’s very nice not to have one there; but it would be even nicer to have that cat still alive and purring on the bed.) ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/5230 "2025-01-09T22:48:50Z")
N+1 for me. I have a 3 level (garage and living area, 1/2 flight of stairs to kitchen, dining living area), short flight to top with bedrooms. Two on the lowest level, one on the top level. So at least one well separated. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/5231 "2025-01-09T22:54:24Z")
I would like to see Canada join the USA if only because the effect of it being, in essence, a 2nd big-blue-liberal California and its effect on Congress and the Electoral College would leave Trump supporters foaming at the mouth in rage; ‘be careful what you wish for.’ Obviously, it would never happen. But it would be a great way to get universal healthcare, various policies, etc. passed nationwide. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/5232 "2025-01-09T23:07:35Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > @dirtball – your aged cat may be telling you that he now wants a cat pan in an easier location to get to. You could try moving the pan to the hallway, or adding one there. Or, of course, if the pee pads are doing the job and you’d rather have those: whatever works. We thought of that, but there’s not a good place to put a box upstairs. The house, although a comfortable size, is not what I’d call “spacious.” One floor, three bedrooms with basement, with maybe a bit more furniture than we need. The pads were the first thing we thought of as a quick workaround when it became apparent that this was going to be a thing, and li’l buddy caught on immediately, thank goodness. (Or, you know, maybe he didn’t “catch on” but simply continued going where he wanted to go, and the pads happened to be there. He _is_ a cat, after all.) It’s not that big a deal to switch a dirty one out for a new one and spritz a little air freshener in the area. In between times, you just have to be mindful to glance down to make sure you don’t step in something you don’t want to step in. Having said that, I’ll add that if he were younger–that is, if we were looking at the problem as something longer term–we would undoubtedly be thinking about making a place for a box upstairs. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/5233 "2025-01-10T00:00:56Z")
2 cats, one box. They share just fine. I’ve always called it a “litter box,” though lately my wife has taken to saying “doody box.” I’ve begun mirroring that term when talking only to her, but I don’t think I’d ever say the words “doody box” to anybody else in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/5234 "2025-01-10T01:05:05Z")
One rabbit. One litter box. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/5235 "2025-01-10T01:08:38Z")
One of the main reasons I bought this house is because it has a cat door into the sunroom. That’s where the cat litter goes ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/5236 "2025-01-10T01:43:35Z")
I refer to my birthday as New Year’s Eve. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/5237 "2025-01-10T01:45:08Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > N+1 for me. Same here. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/5238 "2025-01-10T02:00:01Z")
When your pets are rats, euthanasia happens a lot. Nineteen of my rats have died; I don’t remember exactly how many were euthanized but it’s probably about 15. I always want to be in the room with them, but since Covid my vet has mostly not been allowing the owners into the building. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/5239 "2025-01-10T03:43:58Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > One cat, one box in the basement that he used faithfully for many years. Recently, though, he decided he didn’t want to use the box anymore and started leaving little his treasures in the hallway, right outside our bedroom door. Could be an age thing, like maybe he doesn’t want to go down the stairs anymore. I dunno, really, but there’s no talking to him about it. So we started putting puppy pee pads down on the floor (two at a time, to cover the possible area), and thankfully, he gets his, uh, “production” on them. > > So “other” for me. Same thing is happening here. She has no problem running around like a kitten. She’s just being a dick. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/5240 "2025-01-10T03:55:56Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Same thing is happening here. She has no problem running around like a kitten. She’s just being a dick Take her to the vet. That’s what I thought about one of mine once – until she started to stagger. Turned out she had a urinary infection, and had probably been trying to tell me that pissing hurt. (Medication worked, she recovered, her cat pan usage went back to normal, and all the cats got to eat better quality cat food for the rest of their lives. Or the rest of mine; but that was my First Cat who wasn’t my parents’, and I’ve outlived a number in the interval.) ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/5241 "2025-01-10T04:24:07Z")
The dog’s name is Chloé. I evenly split between calling her that and “pup.” The rabbit’s name is Buttercup. I almost always call him “Bun.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636.md?page=261) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636.md?page=263)