Can a litter box cabinet work in a small apartment with a cat?
Summary
It can, but a cabinet does the opposite of what feline guidelines recommend. The AAFP and ISFM guidelines call for an open box one and a half times the cat's length; Cornell's Feline Health Center wants a 360-degree view and more than one way out. If you still want the box hidden, the cabinet has to hold a box that size with an opening a stiff older cat can step through.
What the guidelines say about covers
Cornell's Feline Health Center says most cats prefer an uncovered box that lets odors escape and gives a 360-degree view, and that from the cat's side, a cover holds odors in. It also says to position the box so the cat "has more than one way out," which means not surrounded on three sides. ASPCA says cats like a quiet but not "cornered" spot where they can see people or animals approaching.
A litter cabinet pushed against a wall is covered, closed on three sides and has one door. The 2014 AAFP/ISFM guidelines are a little more forgiving: they cite research in which cats split about evenly between large covered boxes and uncovered ones. They still recommend open boxes whenever possible, so owners can watch and scoop, and warn that small covered boxes can keep larger cats from posturing normally.
Size, count and cleaning
The guidelines recommend a rectangular box 1.5 times the cat's length from nose to base of tail. For a cat 18 inches long, that is 27 inches. In one study they cite, adult cats preferred a 34-by-15-inch box over a smaller one, and they suggest sweater boxes, under-bed storage containers or concrete mixing trays to get there. Hold any cabinet up against those numbers before buying it.
A single cat should have two boxes in two separate places, according to the guidelines; ASPCA and Cornell say one per cat plus one, which also comes to two. The guidelines add that cats read two boxes side by side as one large box, so in a studio the second box needs its own corner.
The cleaning schedule shapes the furniture too:
- Scoop at least once a day (ASPCA, and the guidelines' minimum).
- Dump the litter and wash the box weekly, per ASPCA; every one to four weeks, per the guidelines, with soap and hot water only.
- Keep litter one to two inches deep (ASPCA, Cornell), or at least 1.25 inches (the guidelines).
A cabinet whose door opens only partway, or whose box has to be tilted out through a narrow opening, turns the daily scoop into a daily wrestle.
Food bowls, the washer, and moving day
ASPCA and the guidelines both say to keep food and water away from the litter box, since cats usually don't like to eliminate near where they eat. ASPCA adds busy, loud spots such as next to the washer and dryer. In a studio where the washer sits in the kitchen, those two rules can leave very few places for either the bowl or the box.
When the box has to move, ASPCA and Cornell both say a few inches a day. Older cats and cats with arthritis may struggle with top-entry boxes and high sides, per ASPCA, and the guidelines note that cats with degenerative joint disease may need a box with a very shallow opening. For vertical space in a small home, ASPCA suggests shelves, window sills and multi-perch cat trees, and a scratching post at least three feet high that does not wobble.