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Box count, size and placement
How many boxes
The rule of thumb in Cornell's house-soiling guidance and across cat-welfare advice is one box per cat, plus one. Two cats means three boxes. The spare matters because cats often prefer to urinate in one box and defecate in another, and because a freshly used box is a box the next cat may refuse.
Size and style
Size matters: a box should be long enough for the cat to fit with room to turn and dig - International Cat Care's litter-tray advice is that many commercial trays are simply too small, and a large, open tray is often recommended. Covered boxes trap odor some cats dislike and let a housemate ambush the exit; if you use one, watch whether your cat hesitates. Senior cats, kittens and arthritic cats need a low entry side.
Where boxes go
Think like a cat choosing a bathroom: quiet, low-traffic, private, with more than one way out. Practical rules:
- Spread them out. Three boxes side by side in the laundry room count as one location to a cat. Different rooms, and different floors in a multi-level home.
- Never by food or water. Cats strongly prefer to eliminate away from where they eat.
- Avoid ambush corners. Dead-end spots where another cat can trap the user cause avoidance - pick places with an escape route.
- Keep access constant. A box behind a door that sometimes closes is a box that sometimes doesn't exist.
Check your setup in five minutes
The box setup checklist walks through count, size, placement and access item by item and saves your answers on this device, so you can fix things one at a time and see what's left. If accidents continue after the setup is right, move to litter choice and cleaning habits.