I got a weird problem involving both of my cats (Siegfrieda, to the left; Kika, to the right).

Kika is rather particular about having her own litterbox(es), and refuses to use a litterbox shared by another cat. Frieda on the other hand is adept to the “if I fits, I sits, I shits” philosophy, and is totally OK sharing litterboxes.

That creates a problem: no matter if properly and regularly cleaned, the only one using litterboxes here is Frieda. We had, like, five of them at once; and Kika would still rather do her business on the patio.

How do I either teach Kika “it’s fine to share a litterbox”, or teach Siegfrieda “that’s Kika’s litterbox, leave it alone”?

  • Lvxferre@mander.xyzOP
    3·
    7 months ago

    Thank you guys for all those ideas! Sorry for the late reply.

    A few highlights on ideas mentioned here:

    • @0x0@lemmy.dbzer0.com’s idea of testing different litters might work. Frieda used to be a street cat, so she’d rather use dirt or grass (or finer litter), while Kika was always a home cat so she prefers more typical gravel-like litter.
    • @atx_aquarian@lemmy.world mentioned odour removers. I didn’t try them, I used alcohol instead. Got to try it too.
    • A lot of people mentioned smart systems that allow/deny entry for a cat based on the microchip. I gave those a check, and they’re outright expensive here in Brazil. (Import taxes are specially harsh on electronics, plus cost of living is smaller than in Europe and CA/US so stuff like 100 euros or dollars is actually a big deal here.) I might want to try a poor man’s version of that though, by not allowing Siegfrieda to access my bathroom at all, and placing Kika’s litterbox there.

    A relevant detail that I didn’t mention is Kika’s age - she’s already 16, and cats get a bit stubborn when old (not that we humans are any different…). But I think that a mix of the solutions that you presented might work.