You must be familiar with the thumb rule of one litter box per floor, but is it necessary? People have contradictory views regarding this matter. While it’s said that it helps, some people consider it a waste of money.

So, let’s find out what’s going on.

Why do Multiple Litter Boxes help?

You should have a litter box on every floor for various reasons. It’s about your cat’s territorial nature and various other reasons.

Below-mentioned is a list of the same:

Accident Prevention

Not having a litter box around or anywhere near can usually cause accidents. What kind of accidents?

If your cat suddenly gets nature’s call, out of panic, it’ll poop or pee in the nearest location it’ll be comfortable in instead of trying to go to the litter box. Having a box per floor solves that problem.

Reduced Anxiety

Similar to the previous point. Not having a litter box nearby can cause continuous anxiety in your cat as it panics them if they have to use it out of nowhere.

Especially if your cat is suffering from UTIs, having a litter box nearby is very important as they need to pee frequently.

Otherwise, your cat would give up on the litter box and start peeing and defecating anywhere it likes or finds comfortable.

Minimised Competition

Cats are territorial animals; no matter how much you domesticate them, you cannot change their genetics.

If you have more than one cat at your house, having multiple litter boxes is necessary to cause cats are not very good at sharing and can make a big issue out of it.

Having multiple litter boxes gives them a sense of freedom, thus not making them too protective of it.

Odor Control

Having multiple litter boxes prevents the over-usage of a single litter box, thus decreasing the frequency of litter boxes needing to be cleaned. This altogether results in less odor from the litter boxes.

Enhanced Privacy

Cats aren’t the biggest fans of being watched while doing their business (I mean, who the heck is).

If you or someone else is near their litter box, having an extra litter box on another floor will give the cat the option if it’s uncomfortable here. This will also help in keeping calm and prevent anxiety.

Litter Box Options by Floor

Sorting litter box types by floors is another big brain move you can pull to make things easier. For example, let’s say floor 1 is the busiest in your house, so I’d suggest you keep a closed or covered litter box there. That’ll help keep the area odorless and won’t deprive your cat of a litter box.

Moving on to floor 2, if floor 2 is not busy, then It’s wise to put an open and self-cleaning litter box over there, which will give the cat open-air space and easy litter box cleaning.

Special Considerations for Multi-Cat Households

Multi-cat households are nothing different than army treaty zones if looked at carefully. You need to be very considerate of each cat as an individual.

Litter Box Ratios

The golden ratio of the paw world is to have one litter box per cat and an extra. That being put in an equation would be, let’s say you have 3 cats.

Therefore, you need 3+1 litter boxes. So, we have a ratio of 1:1. When it comes to multi-cat multi-story households, you don’t have to have that many litter boxes on each floor. Instead, you’ll have to analyze it yourself for each cat.

Preventing Territory Conflicts

Territory Conflicts among cats in multi-cat households aren’t a new or surprising thing. Not all cats like to share or adjust.

While some are just fine blending in with their siblings, some take their territory very seriously and thus become protective of it. 

Make sure you keep some space between the litter boxes. If just some space doesn’t work, make sure you try to keep them in different places based on the place you find your cat most of the time.

Accommodating Preferences

This might sound very picky at first, but it’s quite simple. You have to place the litter boxes where you want your bed to be placed.

Cats are not the biggest fans of chaos. They are easily panicked by loud noises and thuds out of nowhere. It’s essential to give thought to where you keep their litter box. 

The place should be well-ventilated, quiet, not very high, and with ample sunlight. If any of your cats do not like places like these and prefer dark and small places, make a note of that and shift the box to such a place.

Conclusion

All of this might sound not very easy, but it’s not. A little thought is enough for your little friend to feel appreciated and cared for.

Having multiple litter boxes if you have multiple floors and multiple pets is essential. Make sure you always follow the thumb rules in the pet world, and you’ll run into fewer problems in the long term.