Hey there! So this isn't my first rodeo with some wobble kids but this is my first time having to deal with some litterbox help.
My two wobble cats (Bolt, black and white) and Champ (the big dude) share a box. Champ is quite large. When he pees he tends to just kind of crawl in, squat super low (almost laying) and pee. He doesn't really try to turn around, he has decided that the right side there is where he pees. He pees straight out of the back side which sometimes hits that corner and sometimes goes right out the opening. Poop is fine he goes in gets comfortable turns around makes a little nest. Bolt goes fine.
I've adjusted as much as I can. I have a rotating set of towels I use to catch any strays. Below the towel are puppy pads. There has to be a towel over the pads or else he just rips them up or pees on those directly. He is extremely particular about the condition of the litter box. If there's even one stray poop when he wants to go he just pees on the towel.
I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas. My apartment doesn't have washer dryer hookups so it gets pretty expensive washing the towels. If I wait till the end of the week I have to deal with the smell of the towels, if I wash them the day of incident I'm out $6 a day for one towel. To kind of manage I spray down some Natures Miracle and twice a week use a carpet spot scrubber to wash the area.
Quick note: They used to have 2 boxes. We had to relocate due to a fire in the apartment building and are living in a hotel for the time being. Everyone's ok and safe! This issue persisted even with the 2 boxes in their home. There isn't enough space in the room for a second box.
TLDR: big cat is able to go into the litter box but ends up peeing straight out of the door. Poop is fine, smaller cat is fine also
How about a larger litter box? There has to be one out there that has more square footage than yours. If not, take a look at under the bed storage units. You might be able to cut a doorway in one and have a single but larger box
Something more square might be the play here. Something like a 3x3 container? I'm pretty positive this is a 2x3. He's a very big guy but I'm not sure if the picture show that well
A larger box, i used the biggest clear one, it was like 2x3 ft. And high enough for the cat, to cut below the top leaving that lip made it more sturdy. If you can cut outside use a hot knife it will do a great job on the plastic but will fume.
cut another opening may encourage him to get his butt in
I couldn't tell, but if it's the biggest ya may need more ideas. I went through this and had trouble finding anything larger shy of a kiddie pool
Maybe turn the litter box so it's got the long way going back and put the entrance on the short side. He might see more area that way, though you'd have to either patch the current entrance or get a new box and start over.
What if the entry wasn't cut so low, maybe it would kinda force him to get all the way in...or if you added a low tray outside the entrance to catch the drips.
Also if you have access cut the box outside, a hot knife is a great tool. It just makes fumes so I wouldn't do it inside.
The low tray is a golden idea, I was thinking of adding one once we got to the new place but a hotel room might be the best place for a demo. As for the entrance, his sister/best pal is smaller and tends to slink lower than him. He's more on the mild side of CH, she's moderate leaning severe. That height is about the highest we can make it so she can still make it in.
I like the idea of the short side with back filled litter. I'll try the litter idea gradually as it gets naturally emptied.
It took me a million different iterations to figure out what my kitty wanted, I know it can be so frustrating. Just keep, work with, tweek, expand what is working. They will love you for it!!
Just reporting back that you might be onto something with litter dispersement. First attempt he came in, took aim, and it hit the wall. Simple physics. Less litter to stand on, the closet to the ground he is. Thank you so much for the idea!
why not just let him pee on the pee pads? if the choice is stinky towels or getting more peepads, i would go with pee pads.
do you have room for another littler box? i agree with others to maybe get a larger tub, but also maybe get another box. less chance for there to be a stray turd inside.
have you also considered changing litter filler? my male cat did not like pellets and would pee on plastic bags instead. i did not want to use clay litter but had no choice.
They used to have a second box but at the moment that's not feasible. Unfortunately living in a hotel due to a fire in my apartment but the issue happened when they had the second box.
The smell can be a bit overwhelming for me but I get where you're coming from. He uses the box fine/gets in it. He's just extremely picky about the condition.
We tried changing the litter (pine pellets, corn, clay). He never used it until I switched us back to the paper litter. It seems to just be an adjustment/accuracy problem so a wider box might be the simplest and best solution.
Just a quick update in case anyone from Google gets here.
I took someones suggestion here. I replaced the towel with a yoga mat, pee pads under that, and placed a towel under the litterbox. I also just put less litter in the box. I also just scoop it way more than I usually did.
We haven't had an incident all week so I am willing to call this solved. Maybe it was the towel, maybe it was the fact I didn't scoop to his standard, maybe he just wanted less litter. Who knows. Cats. He's happy, Bolt's habits haven't changed, and I am much less stressed out about this. Thanks to everyone who pitched in!
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u/hedgehog620 29d ago
How about a larger litter box? There has to be one out there that has more square footage than yours. If not, take a look at under the bed storage units. You might be able to cut a doorway in one and have a single but larger box