How to Set Up a Litter Box

Steps

1. 1

   Work out how many boxes you need

   A good starting point is one box per cat, plus one spare. Two cats means three boxes. In a home with more than one level, you also want at least one box on each floor. Count both ways and go with the larger number.

2. Two worked examples: three cats in a two-storey house needs four boxes. One cat in a three-storey house needs three, not the two the per-cat rule gives.
3. 2

   Measure your cat

   Measure your cat from the nose to the base of the tail. Write the number down, because it decides which box to buy.

4. 3

   Choose an open box

   Start with an open box. It should be at least one and a half times your cat's length, and wide enough to turn round in. Bigger is better. At least one side should be low enough that your cat steps in without hopping. One small study comparing covered and open boxes found no strong preference, so treat open as a sensible default rather than a rule.

5. Why start open: a hood keeps the smell in the one place your cat has to stand. It also turns the box into a small enclosed space with one way out, which some cats will not use.
6. 4

   Pick a fine-grained litter

   Most cats prefer a soft, fine-grained litter that feels like sand. Choose an unscented clumping litter of that kind. Kittens should use a non-clumping litter for their first few months, because they may eat it while digging. Cats have sensitive noses, and a perfumed litter can put them off the box.

7. 5

   Choose a spot for each box

   Pick a spot for each box. Choose quiet places with little foot traffic, away from noisy machines like the washer and dryer. Your cat has to reach every box at any hour, so avoid rooms whose door gets shut. Keep the boxes away from your cat's food and water bowls. Spread them around the home, so a cat that finds one spot busy has somewhere else to go.

8. 6

   Buy what you need

   Buy the boxes, the litter, a scoop, a bin for the waste and an enzyme cleaner. Take your measurement with you and check each box against it. If nothing in the shop is big enough, a plastic storage box with one side cut down works well. You do not need a liner, and cats often catch their claws in them.

9. 7

   Put the boxes in place

   Put each box in the spot you picked for it. Leave a clear way in and out, so your cat is never cornered.

10. 8

    Fill each box two to three inches deep

    Add two to three inches of litter to each box. That gives your cat enough depth to dig and bury waste. Top it back up each time you scoop.

11. 9

    Set up somewhere to put the waste

    Put a disposal bin or a supply of poop bags beside each box. That saves carrying waste through the house, and saves taking the trash out every day.

12. Never flush it: cat waste and litter should not go down the toilet, even litter sold as flushable. It can carry a parasite that survives water treatment.
13. 10

    Show your cat the boxes

    Show your cat where each box is, and set it down in one so it knows. If your cat is new to the home, keep it in one room with a box until it is using it reliably.

14. 11

    Scoop it daily

    Scoop the box at least once a day. Twice a day, spread across the day, is what you should aim for. Wash your hands afterwards, every time. If you are pregnant, or your immune system is weakened, ask somebody else to do the scooping.

15. Wash your hands after scooping, every time: cat faeces can carry a parasite called toxoplasma. If you are pregnant, or your immune system is weakened, ask someone else to scoop. If that is not possible, wear disposable gloves and wash your hands afterwards. Daily scooping helps as well, because the parasite takes one to five days to become infectious.
16. Never use these cleaners: ammonia, and pine or phenol cleaners, are toxic to cats. Ammonia can also smell like urine to a cat, which puts some cats off the box. Do not use bleach either. Bleach meeting ammonia gives off a poisonous gas, and cat urine is itself a source of ammonia. Mild soap and warm water does the whole job.
17. 12

    Empty and wash the box

    Every so often, dump all the litter out and wash the box with mild soap or detergent. This is for smell and grime, not for germs, because soap will not kill everything that lives in a litter box. With clumping litter, do this about once a month for one cat, and about twice a month for several. Non-clumping litter needs a full change every few days. Dry the box and refill it with fresh litter.