Thinking of getting a cat

Question

i am living on my own, i currently have a dog... a lab. I was thinking of getting a cat. She loves my parents cats (even though they don't love her) and think they'd be great for one another. Only one thing is really stopping me... where to put the litter box. Does anyone have any suggestions? I live in a one bedroom apt so i'm kind of limited. I was thinking of taking off the door on one of my cupboards in the bathroom and putting it there. But am worried about the smell. Anyone have any experience or suggestions?

I should also say i grew up with cats all my life, know how to take care of them, in fact my dog is actually my first dog.

Answer 1

I have a dog and also needed to "keep it out of the litterbox".......

My cat has a cage.....and the back of the cage is connected to a small nightstand dresser with the litterbox inside it. (I took the drawers out and the litter box fit perfectly)

So basically kitty has the whole cage to sleep in (when he is in there) and the litterbox to the back in it's own "home" so to speak...

The dog can not get into it or I should say "won't" go into it and I just leave the cage open when kitty is out and about so he can get into the box when he needs to.

I only keep kitty in the cage at night and about 2 hours a day (nap-time) so he's never afraid to go into the cage to use his box with fear of being "locked" inside when he enters.

I'll add a link with a pic that might be helpful.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.js...

Best of luck!

Answer 2

You can get a "Cat Washroom" - It comes in white and also black, I think. It can be used as a side table anywhere or just put it in your bathroom. Stick a litterbox inside and it's a stylish place for kitty to go p**p. You could also use this as an idea and make something yourself from a cheap side table. :)

Answer 3

I live in a 650 square foot appartment and have two cats.  You must clean the litterboxes daily to keep the smell down, and wash them out once a week or so.  Scoopable litter is also a must.

What I did was bought an old cabinet, and cut a door hole in the side, and put the litterbox inside.  It keeps the litterbox out of sight, and if you make a little zig-zag path using partitions you can reduce the tracking of the litter through the rest of your house.  

Inside a closet (with a little cat door) also works really well.

One thing to watch, is dogs LOVE to eat cat p**p.  So it's a necessity to have the cat box in a place the dog can't get to it.

Answer 4

you could get a covered litter box

Answer 5

The bathroom would be a great idea as you'd be easily able to scoop out the p**p and flush it.  You could put a light curtain infront of the litter box so it's not out in plain sight for those using your bathroom.

Don't use the clumping litters - they turn to cement in your toilet's pipes.  Use simple wood stove pellets.  They absorb all the moisture from the urine and remove the smell.  If you dump the pan out when the pellets are about 1/2 - 3/4 broken down the pan dumps out dry.  And the best part?  They're super cheap.  You can pick up a 40 lb bag for around $4-$5!  They're the exact same product as what's sold as Feline Pine but without a cat face on the bag - so an eighth of the price.  You can find them at Lowe's, Home Depot and some grocery stores during colder months and year round at farm and feed stores as they're often used in horse stalls to keep moisture and odor under control.

Labs are great with cats.  They're very sweet, good natured dogs and you shouldn't have any problems.  Definitely consider adopting a cat instead of a kitten.  Adult shelter cats are wonderful - I have three of them. There's often cats at the shelter that have already been around dogs which will make introducing to your friendly dog even easier.

If your dog tends to like to snack on cat p**p (dogs are gross LOL) there's products you can buy to put in your cat's food that make it's p**p taste horrible (that sounds funny but to dogs cat p**p is YUMMY LOL)  Here's one available from Drs. Foster-Smith - http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/pr...  If this is a house you own and not a rental another option would be to cut a hole in the door so the cat can go in the bathroom when the door's shut but the dog can't.  But not sure guests would feel comfortable with a hole in the door.

Answer 6

put it somewhere where your dog wont get into it. By a trash can, or by your washing machine if you have one in your apartment. If its easily accessible, you can put it in your bathroom. It wouldnt affect the cat too much if you put an air freshener by it either. I think the cupboard things are a great idea but just make sure your cat knows where it is and is easy to get in and out of

Answer 7

Under the bathroom sink with one door partly open or in a small corner of a room were no many people go in.

Answer 8

I put my cats' litter box in the bathroom. If you have some sort of enclosed porch you could put it there as long as the cat can get to it through like a little cat door and can't get out of the house.

Also you can train your dog not to go in there.