Where to Put a Cat Litter Box in a Small Apartment?

Millions upon millions of people all around the world love and appreciate being able to have pets. However, there are some circumstances where you may not be able to have the pets you want. It could be that a family member or a roommate has an allergy to your favorite animal. Other cases could include a landlord not allowing animals on the property, or that you simply do not have the space for an animal. With that being said, there are some situations where you may be able to have an animal in your home. One good example of this is the fact that many apartments allow cats in the building, as they are considered quieter and easier to care for than dogs. Depending on the size of your apartment, you may find that you are having some trouble finding where you should put your cat’s litter box. After all, you won’t want to be looking at your cat’s droppings.

There are countless cat owners who have faced this same problem, and thankfully, have formed a variety of solutions that you could go through to see what works best for you. Just because your apartment doesn’t have a lot of space doesn’t mean that you can’t put a litter box in a convenient location.

Consider How Many You Will Need

First things first, you will need to consider how many litter boxes you will need. This is important, as you will want to delegate the spaces out accordingly, or you may need to create additional spaces yourself. The general rule of thumb for litter boxes per cat is that you should have one litter box for each cat you own, plus one extra. Therefore, if you have two cats, you should have three litter boxes in total. If you have four cats, you would have five litter boxes in total. For most small apartments, you will only be working with one or two litter boxes, and if you only have one cat, you can usually get away with just needing one litter box in total.

If you have multiple cats, you should make sure to space all of the litter boxes apart. Cats, even those that have grown up together, can be territorial creatures. If the litter boxes are too close together, the cat with a dominant personality may try to “own” more than its fair share, meaning that your other cats may be tempted to relieve themselves elsewhere. If you have not adopted a cat yet and you are still considering how many you will want, this should be something you take into consideration.

Think About Privacy and Traffic

It can generally go without saying that people do not appreciate being looked in on when they are doing their business in the bathroom. This also applies to cats, who are relatively clean and sophisticated animals. When you are thinking about where you should put the litter box, you will want to put it someplace where your cat feels as if it is out of sight. Cats, while having these needs, are also fairly simple creatures. Even putting a curtain up in front of where the litter box is can be enough for a cat to feel as if its litter box has become private. One good example of this would be keeping the cabinet underneath the sink (as long as you remove any cleaners or chemicals stored underneath), and just replacing a curtain where one of the cabinet doors is.

In a similar sense, cats also do not like busy traffic around their litter box. They are posh creatures; where they want their business to be private, they also want their business to be comfortable. When people repeatedly pass by an area, it can be quite loud to the cat and the noises and smells can be disorienting to a cat who is just trying to do its business. This means that you will generally want to keep the cat’s litter box out of areas that have heavy foot traffic. You wouldn’t want to put the litter box just in front of the front door of the apartment, even if it is a somewhat secluded area, as this area will have a lot of people milling around. A better example of where you could put the litter box is creating an opening on a closet or wardrobe, and leaving the litter box on the bottom floor for the cat to access.

Good Ventilation and Good Access

Other aspects you should think about include making sure that there is decent ventilation in the area the litter box is located and also making sure that your cat can see and access the litter box whenever it pleases. Cats have quite sensitive noses, so areas that are not well ventilated can spell bad news for the cat’s litter box. If you have no choice but to put the litter box in a place that is poorly ventilated, such as a closet, then you will need to clean it more often so that the smell doesn’t build up. More often than not, adding the litter box to the bathroom can be a good idea, as bathrooms are designed to be well ventilated.

You will also need to make sure that your cat knows where the litter box is. If you are willing to put in the work to show your cat where its litter box is and train it earlier on in its life, you may be able to get away with hiding the box away in a place it normally wouldn’t think of. Otherwise, your cat will need to be able to see its litter box from most places in the apartment. Hiding the box on a shelf or behind closed doors (aside from privacy curtains) is not a good idea, as your cat may not know where it is. Usually, finding a hidden corner of the bathroom is going to be the best bet for where a litter box can be located without disturbing anyone else in the apartment.