So, let’s discuss the covered litter box. Obviously, it’s one of the greatest inventions in the housecat world, right? Well, let’s look at the covered box from some cat perspectives.
First, we’ll consider Maude. Maude is, to put it gently, pleasantly plump. The door to her litter box is made for the average cat. As an overachiever in the eating department, Maude has trouble even fitting through the door, not to mention turning around inside to find the ideal digging spot. From Maude’s perspective, this is not the best option.
How about Prince? I may not have mentioned it, but Prince likes a CLEAN litter box. When he eliminates, he sniffs, digs, turns around, sniffs, digs, turns around, digs, eliminates, than covers very enthusiastically. To Prince (unless it’s is kept very, very clean), a covered litter box is like a port-a-potty.
Violet actually likes the privacy afforded by a covered litter box. The only problem is that, while the other cats can’t see her in the litter box, she can’t see what they’re doing either. Sparky the kitten has a lot of self-invented games. One of them is playfully pouncing on Violet as she comes out of the litter box. Sparky enjoys these ambushes a lot more than Violet.
Finally, we have Sparky. He doesn’t care. Covered, uncovered, clean, dirty, the litter box is where he goes. It’s a great part of his personality.
Now at this point, some of you are probably protesting because your cats have no problem with their covered litter boxes. This is great! However, if any of the above scenarios sound familiar, try a simple experiment. Place one uncovered litter box next to your covered box. See which one they use. Our cats tell us what they want; we just have to learn how to ‘listen’.
Kelley Wagner, CVT
Next Week: All The Way Home
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