Cat Litter Box

Cat Litter Box

A cat toilet, a litter box or a litter tray is an essential element for the comfort of your cat. Here you will find all the major brands of litter boxes, such as Catit, Ferplast, Modkat or Savic at discount prices. And for even more hygiene, we also offer mats, scoops and litter garbage cans, as well as deodorizers and filters. No more bad smells! Discover also all our advices and our buying guide.

Which litter box to choose for my cat?

The choice of litter box is often crucial for your cat. Indeed, many peeing accidents are caused by a litter box that does not suit him. So, among the vast choice proposed by the manufacturers and the rules to respect to avoid problems of elimination outside the litter box, which box to choose and why?

On the same topic, discover my articles "Which litter box to choose for my cat" and "When and how to clean my cat's litter box".

Before choosing your litter box, it is necessary to know two or three important things about the cat's elimination behavior, whether it is pee or stool.

The number of litter boxes per cat.

This aspect is very important and often the cause of the problems of the cat that pees everywhere. You must have one more litter box than the number of cats living in the house or apartment.

Why do you need to have one more litter box than the number of cats living in the house or apartment? Mainly for two reasons:

• Because it is scientifically proven that some cats, and they are numerous, do not like to make their stool where they have peed, and it is complicated again because they do not like to make where one of their congeners has made ... You see the equation we are confronted with ...
• Another reason, when there is a conflict between cats, one of them can block the access to the litter box to harass the other one, the harassed cat has then no other choice than to relieve himself where he can.

Finally, if you have a house or apartment with different levels/floors, you will need at least one litter box per level.

The size of the litter box for a cat.

It is customary to say that the cat should be able to stand diagonally in its tray and turn around without difficulty, this means that the tray must be at least 1.5 to 2 times larger than the cat for its comfort is optimal. Also, think about the height, even though it slumps down to relieve itself, it should not be curled up or have its head in the possible lid!

The cat must also be able to scratch the substrate at its ease, so it needs some space, especially since some cats do it with vigor. In the latter case, high edges (20-25cm at least) are recommended to avoid having litter all around.

This is also valid for cats that urinate partly against the wall of the box, this avoids urine spills in the surroundings.

It will always be necessary to ensure that the access to the litter box, the lowest edge of the box, is at the right height for the cat: we will therefore take care to adapt it for a kitten or an old cat that would have joint problems and therefore difficulties to "climb" the height.

Where to put the litter box at home.

First criterion: The litter box should never be placed near the cat's feeding environment, its water bowl and its kibble or food bowl. The cat's instinct is not to pollute and/or contaminate its water and food, which is why it moves away to eliminate. The box must be placed in a quiet room.

Second criterion: The cat, in its litter box, must be able to see without "being seen" and must be able to flee by at least 2 different places (right, left, height, by the back, etc.). Also, avoid "bottlenecks", the ends of corridors, or cramped closets, or any place that limits its possibilities of escape.

Why? Because in the wild, when a cat eliminates, it is in a vulnerable position with respect to its predators. It collapses, is in a precarious balance, that's why the cat likes to eliminate in a place where it can see the potential threat coming while being more or less hidden. It can thus flee as soon as it feels threatened.

As you can see, this means that the lid is not recommended, so closed litter boxes are not recommended. As for the swinging door, which comes back in their buttocks when they leave, it is even more anxiety-provoking for them: as a punishment for having used the litter box, you must admit that it is rather counter-productive to solve pee problems...

Third criterion: If you live in a small area, the litter boxes must be at least two meters apart so that the cat can dissociate them well (and as mentioned above, with at least one litter box per level if your house has several).

Two Tips for choose your Cat Litter Box

- If you have dogs, consider putting the cat litter box high up, making it inaccessible to the dogs, so that they don't eat your cat's poop (coprophagia is common) and so that they don't block access to the litter box for your cats.

- If you have underfloor heating, put a sheet of insulation between the floor and the litter box, to prevent the heat from accelerating the proliferation of bacteria, as well as the odors, which the heat increases.

The different types of litter boxes.

So, with these rules how to choose: some bins do not respect at all the advice previously stated, but as our cats still have an elastic tolerance, they can sometimes accept our "small" fantasies or quirks.

So let's take a look at what is available and see what can be their respective advantages and disadvantages.

The standard litter box

You all know it, it's the litter box: a simple plastic box, only the height of the edges may vary, but the base is the same, a rectangular box, most often in colored plastic. There are small models for kittens.

Advantages: practical, easy to clean, visibility of its condition, if well placed, the cat can "escape" easily, its head is not hindered by a roof.

Disadvantages: for the cat none, for the human, rather unobtrusive and aesthetic, seen on the excrements. Holds less odors.

The toilet house (litter box with lid)

The so-called "toilet house" is usually a covered litter box, sometimes fancy, with a door on the entrance/exit of the box (cat flap type). They have a "small house" aesthetic and manufacturers rely more on your taste than the cat's for the choice of this litter. There are several sizes, for small and large cats and for some models, the entry is done by the top.

Advantages: retains odors, is more aesthetic for humans, more discreet in the environment

Disadvantages: the cover, and therefore the impossibility to see, can stress your cat and be the cause of its uncleanness. The door that folds down on him when he goes out is also experienced in a rather negative way by all cats.

Self-cleaning ("electronic") litters

These "new generation" litters are similar to the previous toilet houses, but are self-cleaning, that is to say they are equipped with sensors and programs that are automatically triggered when your cat is out of the litter box, and clean themselves.

Most of them are raking systems (a rake goes through the substrate) or systems that turn the substrate to separate clumps from the rest of the litter. Geeks like it, cats need to be used to it and desensitized. Often criticized and certainly criticizable, personally I think it's better to have a clean litter than a dirty one, so for negligent humans it can be a hygiene and well-being solution for the cat. Well, after a while, you have to empty the litter box that collects all these "little gifts", so there is still a need for human intervention, but not on a daily basis.

Advantages : the human has almost nothing to do, the cat has a clean litter box permanently

Disadvantages: The size of these boxes is usually huge, so space is needed, the cat may be embarrassed or frightened by the motor. It can be covered and therefore like the toilet house, impossible to escape freely.

What about using a human toilet for a cat?

Several brands offer human toilet adaptation kits for cats. They are a system of successive "trays" that are positioned on the toilet seat, to eventually make your cat accept the toilet seat. He learns to balance. Most of the kits propose very precise steps to facilitate this learning.

Advantages: no more litter boxes, no more cleaning, no more substrate to buy each month.

Disadvantages: ethologically questionable when one tries to recreate for the cat the conditions of its outdoor environment. It is also to be noted that from a certain age cats are less strong on their hind legs and tend to have difficulties and start peeing elsewhere...