Something else I learned about cat health. A healthy cat poos daily. Mine poo once in am & once early evening. If you notice the cat is not pooping on it's regular schedule the cat may be constipated or worse blocked. Call your vet. Get an xray. This one of the signs my cat showed. I am now thankful when my cats poo regularly, because they're healthy. Even though I don't like cleaning the litter box,it's worth having my precious indoor cats company.

Thank you Michele for your empathy. It took me awhile to heal from the loss of my pet. I hope by sharing the story, it may save someone's cat's life.

Michele, thanks for sharing your story. Honey wrap.Never heard of that. Better diet. Glad your cat is better:) Good job caring.

We have a furniture box for the main litter pan. We have two other pans in out of the way areas. I love the furniture box. No smells. People don’t even know it’s a litter box.

The food is on a tray in a corner of the kitchen and the water is in an opposite corner. I read once that cats prefer the water separate because in the wild, they wouldn’t eat prey near their water. Many domestic cats wouldn’t care, but our rescue cat stopped drinking from the toilet when we moved the water dish far from the food. So we keep it that way.

@Lydia oh man that would be awesome but in Alaska it wouldnt be good because of the cold. Im seriously thinking of making a Kitty condo kind of thing in the bathroom so that everything is in one place.

Lynda, I love your Catio. Patio for cats. That's really cool. Is there an entrance the cats can go in& out on their own?

Catio = A Cat Patiio.

The word I learned today, thanks to Lynda.

Here's some cool litter box incognito ideas.

I suggest using a plastic litter box with plastic lid within these wood furniture setups. That way it keeps pee in box from the occasional bad aim. Once pee in wood, can't get out. I made the mistake of not putting plastic lid on & just put tray in a wood furniture piece. I had to throw it away, because the pee miss messed it up. Lesson learned.

I like the one where it has 2 compartments so the litter on paws comes off in 2nd compartment on mat. The scratch pad on side is cool, too.

More plastic litter boxes.

I made one of these. It worked pretty good. I like the high walls. I had a little wooden stool for cat to get into. Having the opening above was better, because it cut down on the litter tracking out of box in my experience.

I ended up upgrading to the ModKat. I like it better due to the unique square size, harder lid to hold cat's weight better, & especially the thick canvas liner that can be pulled out to easily dump it.

1 of my friends had the plant litter box. The opening was turned around so cat could get in, but front look like a plant. Several times I visited I didn't know it was a cat box. But 1 day the cat was using it & I asked oh my gosh, where's that scratching noise? Lol. She showed me the opening. If I ever get 1 I will replace the obvious fake plant, with something more realistic.

That's not my cat. Photo I found online. I wish I got a photo or video of mine back in the day. Anyway....

I once trained my 6 month kittens to use the toilet. It was not easy. Imo, Need a separate bathroom to be cat training bathroom, a lot of patience for process & cleaning mistakes. But it was great while it lasted. The regular size girl was great, but my Big boy stopped using it. What happened was the Bigger he got the bigger his poos became, the bigger the poos, the bigger the water splash. Once He got splashed by water too much that was it. Cats and water splashes don't often get along.

Here's the system that worked for me.

To get cats use to it. I stacked several books 4 & put regular litter box on it. Each day add a junk book until you reach toilet level. Then add training system. Wait to they keep walking on toilet, then add litter to trainer. Once they use it, remove all books & old litter box. The opening rings get bigger until no longer needed. Very important to take the time slowly to cat gets use to until going to next step.

I do miss them using toilet, because I loathe the litter box. I also miss my guests amazement seeing a cat cleanly use a human toilet.

More cat area ideas

Turn a piece of furniture into a discreet cat bathroom

Fun interior ideas for cats to play inside.

That cat looks like he likes hanging around

In apartments: often had a 2 bedroom with the extra bedroom for storage, exercise etc and would line the closet with plastic & keep the litter box there. Another apartment had a closet for washer/dryer & I used that for the box -- again, lined the floor and the walls with plastic - so no spills or splatters would ever land on the floor or walls.

In my house the box has been in the basement utility room, and when the child with dog moved in for a while, the cat' s food went downstairs also (baby gate blocked the stairs to keep the dog out, but the cat could get through). Cat adapted well to that thankfully. I kept both animals' food in clean litter buckets -- snaps shut securely, keeps the kibble fresh. I had space to keep the dog's up in the kitchen by his dishes and kept the cat's in the basement.

When cat got older and had a little trouble with hitting the inside of the box, I switched to a long underbed storage box -- plenty of room, and slightly lower sides were easier for cat.

Houzzers with cats.

Question about scratch pads, towers, etc.

I have bought lots of different scratch towers & for years all my cats over the years never used them. I tried tried rubbing catnip on them, too.

For some reason they ignore it and go scratch something else. Right now it's an old, ugly cushion chair leg. I want to get rid of it, but I need something to replace it with so they will continue not to bother my furniture.

Has anyone had success getting a cat to actually use a scratch tower they made or purchased?

I was thinking of trying this next time.

Open to suggestions.

So true, Michele. Cats do it there way. That is cute story about Sunshine the cat. My cats, too, like the boxes the things come in more than the toys inside. I got a cushion cat pad for them to sleep in. 1 of them uses it correctly, the other smushes the top down & sleeps on top of it instead of in it. Cats are entertaining. They add a lot of joy in the home.

Another vote for The Litter Robot. Super expensive for essentially a cat toilet, but let me tell you with 3 indoor cats it has been a life changer. I can't get over how much I love it. If it broke today I would buy another. It's my favorite thing I own. No joke.

As for hiding as others have shared you can build/buy a cabinet, or hide it away in a closet with a door, or put in in a discrete corner. We keep our extra food in a plastic tub with lid for freshness.

I feed, water and provide potty for my cats in the basement. They also have an extra watering station up in the kitchen, and sometimes get treats there. I use the clumping litter. I store the extra food in the basement / mudroom bath.

I will look into this Litter Robot. It's the one job I don't like. I even prefer to clean up after the chickens than after the cats. (It probably helps that the chickens are living in a coop outside....)

When I first went out on my own in the 80s, it was to a small 2-bedroom condo with a teensy bath. I kept the litter pan (for my one cat at that time) in the bathroom in front of the vanity. The only place to put it so I wouldn't have my feet in his pan while sitting on the throne. He got fed and watered in the kitchen.

There's a half bath off our laundry room, that's where the litter box is. I want to replace the small vanity with a wider sink with legs, skirted, and put the litter box under there. Two cats.

Their dishes are in the kitchen. One in a corner, the other in front of a cabinet we don't get into much during their meal times...except to get them a clean dish. and boy, do they know the sound of that cabinet door opening, as opposed to any other cabinet door in the whole kitchen! They come a-running!

I have my 2 cats bowls in kitchen under the island table. That gives them plenty of space to eat under & out of my walking space.

I have the litter box in bottom of bathroom closet on tile floor. My towels & linens in a different closet, because I want fresh smelling towels.

I have heard cats do not like to eat near where they go to bathroom. Makes sense, same with humans. I be upset, too, if I had to eat dinner in a bathroom. Lol.

"...boy, do they know the sound of that cabinet door opening..."

I know...that particular door. That always amazed me, too. We could also open the freezer for ice cream and our cat would be right there. She could have cared less if you opened the freezer any other time.

My Kitty Lily has her own room. When she came into the family 13 years ago (found in a neighborhood park), we had 6 rescue dogs who were all eager to help themselves to her litterbox and food.

We cut a hole in the hallway and framed it out. I keep her litter box (fastidious about cleaning it) under the desk. She has a birdhouse hanging outside her window and I keep her bowl of food under her bench.

Lily's room..

We named our original backyard stray visitor Lily -- the garden cat.

I lived in an apartment with two bathrooms. The master bath had a small, square shower, the hall bath had a tub-shower combo. The master shower was so small I bumped my elbows when washing my hair, so I put the litter box in the shower stall and I used the other tub. The shower stall did a great job of containing the litter and was a dream to clean!

@artistharanova - Yes, the cats have a kitty door (seen in the left lower corner of the pic). They can come and go inside the house as they please, but they spend at least 1/2 of their time in the catio. All of the cats are rescues and used to be outdoor cats. I didn't want them to have to give up the outdoors, but we live pretty much in the middle of the woods - with bobcats, coyotes, etc. So, the catio was the answer. My husband says the cats live better than him (not true)! lol

artistsharonva - so sorry about the loss of your cat - re scratching posts - up until recently all of my cats (rescues) have been indoor/outdoor cats - I have never found a scratching post that any of them would use - now I just have one rescue and she is an indoor cat - she has 3 cat trees - they each have 2 shorter posts that are wound in sisal rope & she has no interest in these at all - the two longer posts are covered in carpet and these are her scratching posts - so we have little tufts of carpet all over the floor! Oh well . . . that's life with a cat!

Lynda, Thanks for sharing. :)

That is a great idea and solution! Lucky cats.

I plan on doing something like this eventually. I have a semi-busy road nearby, hawks, and some roaming critters around that I want to protect my sweet cats from. I also feel bad leaving them inside all day when at work.

When home no problem, we have a nice screen porch they can enjoy with us & get outdoors and enjoy watching nature togeather .

Unfortunately, my smart cat has learned to open the screen door with her claws. So. I started locking door, then she figured how to unscreen the screen in the corner with her claws. Thankfully I found her, by shaking food bag outside & she came running back.

I can't leave cats on porch unattended anymore.

Your cool idea may finally be the successful solution I have been looking for . It's amazing how smart cats are. I feel like we're constantly playing a game of 'outwitting the other' s plan" Lol.

Thank you Susan for your kind post.

I agree "Oh well . . . that's life with a cat!" :)

I have rarely had a cat that liked the commercial scratching posts. The most recent two seemed to strongly prefer the carpeted bottom step of the stairwell! But, my husband once brought home a remnant of a rough sawn cedar beam -- about 3.5 ft long -- that I used as a plant stand. Both cats that I had at the time loved to use it as a scratching post.

I just put mine in the bathroom; I really don't have anywhere else. I did have a top-entry litter box, but my cat got sore feet and I couldn't use it for her. HOWEVER, she sprays horizontally (which is why I got the top-entry, for it's very tall sides; the ones w/ the lid, the pee just ran down the lid, out the seam, and onto the floor.

I found this!
NVR Miss Litterbox

A very-tall-sided litterbox with a side entry.

It doesn't have a lid, which is a bit of a bummer, but it works!

We used to set the litterbox on top of a flat plastic storage bin, and hid the litter itself inside that. I might try that again, if I stick with this side-entry litterbox.

Raee- thanks for the scratch tower idea of rough cedar beam. Plus that smells good. I am going to try that. Thanks again :)

I designed a U-shaped cat litter box to fit inside my bathroom vanity. The U shape fits around the drain pipes under the vanity. My friend built it for me out of pieces of nylon cutting board, stainless screws and silicon caulking. Does not leak. I cut a 6 x 7" opening in the side of my vanity facing the bathtub. I draped a litter-catching mat over the side of the tub, which also gave my 2 cats traction when they jumped up on the edge of my tub to enter their cat box. This takes up no room in my small bathroom, hides the litter, gives the cat privacy and keeps the litter from scattering.

As for scratch posts, my little cat likes her Ultimate Scratch post, which is vertical, and my big Maine Coon loves her horizontal cardboard scratcher, as well as the sisal wrap around the legs of my cat condo.

I put my cat food in a plastic storage drawer, their food is in a dog dish in my laundry room on the other side of the baby gate to keep the dogs out. Litter boxes on the other hand...in my Laundry room behind a faux wall. Have yet to figure out how to keep the litter from getting everywhere on the floor. But this is the safest place for us since we have 3 dogs, they can't get into the cat box.. I also have 11 cats... I have tried covered cat boxes over regular ones.. and my cats refuse to use anything other than a regular box. I have pretty much given up on making it pleasing for me since i do not have a lot of space. So the cats win. haha

I have had cats all of my life and now I have none. I don't want anymore because they might outlive me and I am enjoying the freedom of not having them to take care of.

I never kept a box for my cats until we came to live in the burbs. My cats mostly wandered in and out at will. Even in the burbs I used to let my cats out and they used the box mainly in the winter time.

You know that old adage about how if something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is not true? Apply that to Febreeze. That stuff is scary! Really? It eliminates odors? Scary, scary, scary. I would never buy it, ever, in any form.

One of my cats was doing really poorly with lots of hair loss, losing weight, and just all around bad health. I had been feeding him the Costco brand of wet food. Once I quit that, he turned around quite quickly. I think that stuff was bad, bad, bad.

One thing about that litter, though, It seems that if this would be happening to enough cats that it would be a known issue. It seems that a vet might warn people about this. There is so much cat litter sold and so very many cats that it has to have happened before. It can't be an isolated experience.

Did your vet directly attribute this blockage to the litter?

It certainly seems like it plausible. That stuff is very hard to dissolve with water. I think that type of dirt is used to line livestock ponds with.

What a lot of money people spend on kitty litter and kitty food! What an industry it is!

We use Dr. Eisley's cat litter. Have had cats as housemates for 30 years. this stuff is the best. Minimal smell. Minimal dust. Holds together wonderfully. The litter box stays clean much longer than any other litter we've tried, and I can tolerate the smell.

We scoop the box twice a day (and maybe more "as needed").

We have two boxes and keep one in the office, and another in an unused bathroom tub.

Hello cat lovers.

I just wanted to update my previous comment suggestion for Sophresh cat litter. I have stopped using because the formula has changed to adding partial plastic! The ast 3 bags I bought have obvious different colored plastic & foil pieces mixed in it now. I noticed my cat playing with a piece of foil. I inspected the bag & there were a lot of obvious pieces that did not belong. That's dangerous in my opinion if the cat plays with, might ingest platic or foil! BAD! I no longer use or recommend. Very disappointed they messed up a good paper litter.

Avoid...until they go back to past all paper formula.

I have now switched to Yesterday's News. My vet recommended & that is what they use. I mix in some pine pellets on bottom to help absorb pee smells then put the paper pellets on top. 1/4 or pine to 3/4 of paper pellets. I have been very pleased with the results.

I hope by posting this, it will bring attention to cat litter & safety. Just because it is litter & not to be ingested, does not mean a cat or dog will not ingest. Cat litter needs to be tested more & be made of safe products that if ingested, will not harm. Better safe than sorry.

Our cats depend on us to keep them safe & buy safe products.

I love cats. They can add a lot of joy to a home.

I once had a cat genie self cleaning litter box. I loved it, until I didn't. I went down to the basement, then realized it had failed, and had tried to clean repeatedly, so it overflowed and there was liquid cat waste all over the floor. That is not an experience I want to repeat.

TY for the reviews of the litter robot. It sounds like that would not hold the same risks.

My husband and I are commonly called "the crazy cat people". We currently have 6 indoor cats. All of them once lived outside either as ferals or babies of ferals that we befriended and adopted. Several of them were bottle fed after we took them in. And we feed a colony of cats outside. Usually 6-8 sometimes more, sometimes less) show up for breakfast and dinner. Right now there are two adorable kittens that I would love to bring indoors, but I'm cat crazy, not insane, LOL.

We have tried many litter boxes. They all work of course, but the Litter Robot has been awesome! We keep it in the cat's bathroom, formerly known as the master bath.

We have a gravity feeder in the kitchen that dispenses as they deplete (eat) the supply. It's available to them 24/7, and yet we have no overweight cats. At dinnertime they share (each in their own dish) a 5.5 ounce can of food.

In the garage, there is a metal trash can with a tight fitting lid that when full, contain about 50 pounds of inexpensive dry food for the outdoor cats. Another container (Iris) holds about 40 pounds of a better quality food for the indoor cats.

Oh, my! After writing this, then reading it, I was tempted to delete it. I really do sound crazy! I work full time and DH works from home, so he gets to spend more time with them. He loves them as much as I do, if not more.

Here he is, feeding some kitties outside.

Here's Bruno inspecting his Litter Robot.

I like you donna_loomis. I'm a crazy cat person too! We have four. We have a large "closet" in the basement and that's where we keep the cat boxes. One of the girls is a standing pee-er, so we use tall sided Rubbermaid containers. They're long as well. I ordered from Kitty Poo Club, to see how they would like it. So far they're not fans. We have an automatic water thing upstairs in the kitchen, and food is in two Frisbee's in the basement outside the closet. I found out cats don't like to have their whiskers touch the sides of the bowls, which is what prompted the switch to Frisbee's. Mine free feed--if they run out, even for a second, they'll gobble until they throw up.

+1 for the Litter Robot. It's life changing. Sits in the laundry room and self cleans each time my cat uses it. Had it for almost 2 years with no issues.

I usually clean it every day, in the morning and in the evening. I prefer to keep it clean and my cats like it this way too. Though that robot litter looks neat I doubt my pets would appreciate it. Since the last winter, they became somehow bigger and now I'm looking for a new litter for each one of them. After reading this review I'm thinking to choose between big and simple hooded litter box or a hidden one.

My cat’s litter box is kept in the one and only bathtub (in the only bathroom) in the apartment. It is kept clean. It has to be. Unless someone sees her or is allergic, they wouldn’t know she’s there. It’s a plain open box. I think putting it in furniture would make it inconvenient to clean.