Last year I remarried and my husband came with a cat. I also had a cat, who'd live in this house for 14 years (with a dog for several years, but as the only pet for about the last 6) The two didn't get along, despite efforts on our parts to ease them together. We had some rough moments in there in the spring of 2012. One of the up shoots of all that mess was that my girl started using a corner of one room for a litter box. I hadn't had the foresight to place one for her in a safe zone and she made the decision herself. We did our best to clean up that carpeting and placed a new litter pan in that area. For a time my older cat used that pan and the younger one used the old one. As time went on they both ended up using both pans. Occasionally, now, I will find the newer pan unused for a day and wonder if it's possible to remove it. I'm concerned, though, that there is still some scent left behind in the carpeting and that they will just smell that and use that area anyway, even without the pan there. The second pan is in a less than convenient place, but I'll keep going along as-is if necessary. Wondering if anyone else has ever dealt with a situation like this and what the outcome was.
I never had a situation like this. My first cat has passed and I have my second cat. Generally speaking after cats are used to their litter pan being in one spot, when you move it, it's like moving their identity to them. It causes them stress and anxiety.
However, I'm wondering if both your cats are now using the same litter pan without fighting over it? If that is the case, you might be able to remove the other litter pan, because both of them have bonded with the one. If there is a loss, hopefully it will be for a short period of time.
I'm a cat lover. I'm not a Vet or behavoir therapist, but maybe there are some amongst the group here. Hopefully this helps.
09-09-2013, 03:54 PM, (This post was last modified: 09-09-2013, 03:55 PM by Happyflowerlady.)
Babble, it sounds like your cats are happy with using the same littler pan now, so I believe that you can make the transition to only one pan if you are sure they are definitely sharing the litterbox.
Some cats are really picky about that, as I had a white Persian that was so upset when another cat used his litter box, that he would to touch it after that. He would use the floor beside the litter box, but would not go in the box. Once the other cat was gone again, I had to completely remove that old litter box, scrub the whole floor with bleach water, and then buy a new litterbox and litter for that cat. Only then would he use the litterbox.
I think if you take away the litterbox that you want to stop using, and then clean the floor really well, spray down the whole area with Odo-Ban, and then put SOMETHING sitting right in the spot where the litterbox was. That way, they can't get to the exact spot, it won't have the right smell anymore, and they will (hopefully) then go and use the other litterbox.
If you can just shut the door to that room for a few days while they are making the transition, that is even better.
Thank you both for your thoughts on this matter. I'm still not quite sure how I'm going to handle this matter. They are both definitely comfortable using the original litter box. I worried that my calico wouldn't ever use it again when the other girl started going in it, but that is definitely the most-used pan at this point. I think I might give it a try in time (removing it). I like the idea of not only cleaning the floor thoroughly, but putting something else in the space that the litter box is now occupying. I'm a touch nervous about this, since we seem to have a peace which didn't exist for a long time, but knowing we've gotten this far, I'm hopeful.
Will they both use the same litter box if one of them as already gone in it, and the other one needs to go before you had a chance to clean out the first one? I would perhaps make sure they are cool with sharing the box if it's already been used previously. If so then I would think it's OK to get rid of the other litter box. If not, then I would leave the other litter box to avoid any potential accidents on the floor. Our cats are still territorial over the litter boxes, my one cat will attack the other one while she's right in the middle of going, lol.
You should have as many litter boxes as there are cats. I've actually also read that you should have as many litter boxes as there are cats plus one. Not all the litter boxes should be in the same place, either depending on the cats. When I had multiple cats, I made sure to have enough litter boxes for them to give them options. Some days, they wouldn't use one of the litter boxes at all, and other days they would. But, because of what I read about litter boxes, I kept the litter boxes out for them to give them options.
