Litter box

"Cat box", "Cat sand", and "Kitty litter" redirect here. For the nucleotide sequence in molecular biology, see CAAT box. For the British television presenter, see Cat Sandion. For the safety box in motorsports racing, see run-off area.

A basic litter box and scoop

A litter box, also known as a sandbox, cat box, litter tray, cat pan, potty, pot or litter pan, is an indoor feces and urine collection box for cats, as well as rabbits, ferrets, miniature pigs, small dogs, and other pets that instinctively or through training will make use of such a repository. They are provided for pets that are permitted free roam of a home but who cannot or do not always go outside to excrete their metabolic waste.[1]

Cats are fastidious by nature.[2] Free-roaming domestic cats will attempt to cover their urine and especially their faeces within their home range, in proximity of their food area.[3][4][5][a] To achieve this, they rake the surface in a backward sweeping motion with their front paws to draw loose material over the waste. The efficiency of these attempts is limited by soil texture, as cats have to break the surface with their toes due to their claws being protractile.[8] Still, on rare occasions outdoor cats have been observed trying to dig holes to deposit their excrements in.[9] The raking behaviour is associated with sniffing the waste and will often follow from it.[3][10][b] Raking is said to occur rarely when the motivation behind elimination is to engage in scent marking.[11][c] At thirty days of age, domestic kittens start to exhibit the innate behaviour of raking loose sand or soft dirt. This initially occurs in advance of elimination and can be combined with ingesting particles.[14]

Cat litter boxes are designed to stimulate feline instincts around waste elimination and provide a cat with loose material that is easy to rake over the waste. A litter box's bottom is typically filled with 2 inches (5 cm) or less of cat litter.[15] Litter box filler is a loose, granular material that absorbs moisture and odors such as ammonia. Some litter brands contain baking soda to absorb such odors, or owners may sprinkle a thin layer in the bottom of the box, under the cat litter.[15] The litter material also satisfies a cat's instinctive desire to hide their scent by allowing them to bury their waste. The most common material is clay, although recycled paper "pellets" and silica-based "crystal" variants are also used. Sometimes, when an owner wishes to stimulate the cat's natural instincts, natural dirt is used.

The litter can give off a strong odor, and must be disposed of periodically. It is recommended that the litter box be kept in low traffic areas of the home, such as a basement or laundry room to avoid litter box aversion.[16] There are commercially available special types of litter to help cover or lessen the odor produced. They contain baking soda, plant extracts and/or odorized crystals.[16] If kept in a room with an intake vent, an air freshener may be added on the furnace filter to isolate the odor from the rest of the house.

  1. ^ "How long do cats live? Ageing and your feline". VetWest.com.au. 8 May 2013.
  2. ^ Beaver 2003, p. 248.
  3. ^ a b c Feldman 1994, p. 1096.
  4. ^ Panaman 1981, p. 65–66, 71.
  5. ^ a b Beaver 2003, p. 252.
  6. ^ Feldman 1994, p. 1094.
  7. ^ Panaman 1981, p. 63–64.
  8. ^ Beaver 2003, p. 288.
  9. ^ Panaman 1981, p. 65.
  10. ^ Panaman 1981, p. 65–66.
  11. ^ Beaver 2003, p. 251.
  12. ^ Wendland 2011, p. 1.
  13. ^ Molteno, Sliwa & Richardson 1998, p. 40.
  14. ^ Beaver 2003, p. 247.
  15. ^ a b "Preventing litter box problems | The Humane Society of the United States". Humanesociety.org. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  16. ^ a b "Litter Box Problems".


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