The fact is that cats and kittens love to dig. I see evidence of that in my plant pots (and the black footprints surrounding them) and where we keep our litterboxes. Not even a traditional covered litterbox keeps litter where it belongs.

We are still waiting to be able to purchase our own Litter Robot. They are not available in Canada yet.  And, even if they were, we certainly couldn't afford to get seven all at once.

Yes folks, we have at least seven litterboxes on the go at any one time.

We dump the contents of every box every day, or every other day.  We wash and disinfect them at least once per week. The boxes we use must be of simple design, easy for the cats to use and easy for us to clean.

The problem is that a basic box, even one with a cover, doesn't keep the litter IN THE BOX.

What do we do?

Well, we could use boxes with doors, but if even one cat doesn't like the door -- and we have a few who don't -- then we have the makings of a messier problem than just litter sprinkled on the floor, if you know what I mean.  So even our covered boxes go without doors.

We can and do put mats outside of the litterboxes.  There are some designed specificially for this purpose.  A piece of astro turf or a car floor mat works well, too, and can be cleaned thoroughly. Another recommendation is to put a piece of plastic ceiling light grill (photo below) under the box to pick up flung litter:

http://www.envador.com/Photos/PVCII/GrillMaterial1.JPG

What I find, however, is that a really big litter collector is needed for those cats who LOVE to dig.  When you have seven litterboxes, space becomes an issue.

The solution I've discovered is to use litterboxes with a TOP opening.  These can be homemade or bought, but the design concept is pretty much the same.  Put the litter inside of a box with a hole in the top. No door is required.

In a pinch, I've set a litterbox inside of a large cardboard box.  Soon enough the cardboard needs to be thrown away, but it does save the room from being peppered.  My favourite design, however, involves puting a regular litterbox inside of a large, covered, Rubbermaid bin that has a hole in the top of the lid. When it comes time to clean, the bin can be swept and wiped out.  Only the removable litterbox on the inside needs a thorough wash and disinfecting every week.

This design won't work for teeny kittens in our cattery. Their outer boxes need a front door. Another solution is to put their small boxes inside  washable cat tents.

...Pam