Can cats share a litter box

There is no best cat litter box.
But you can choose the best litter box for each cat.
Different cats will have different preferences for cat litter boxes and cat litter due to differences in cat hair length, cat age, cat health, etc.
However, before choosing a litter box for your cat, please first understand the most essential role of a litter box: to facilitate cat excretion.
The most fundamental responsibilities of cat litter and litter boxes are gradually being forgotten.
Cat litter boxes seem to be becoming more and more in line with “human needs and aesthetics.”
In the wild, cats will cover their excrement with soil, sand, and even leaves after excreting.
For wild cats, it doesn’t matter what they use to cover up. What really matters is 4 points:

Fully cover the cat’s odor.

Excessive smell will make the cat’s whereabouts discovered by other animals. Moreover, this odor information can also let other animals know the cat’s health, age, etc.

The place of excretion should be far away from the cat’s resting place.

Cats will choose places to eliminate away from water sources, food and resting places. If the cat is close to the above places, it is easy to be attacked by other animals when excreting.
Some male cats will choose a place that can only be reached by “walking for 2 minutes” as their “natural litter box”.

Things covering excrement cannot cause harm to cats.

Cats will not choose moist soil to cover their waste. Because wet soil can cause skin problems for cats. In the summer, wet soil means a greater chance of “bug encounters.”
Cats will not choose a ground that is too hard to urinate, as the digging power of cat claws into the ground is not strong. So cats will choose loose sand that is more easily available.

Cats will not choose a place where other cats have excreted.

If a wild cat finds that a cat has defecated in a certain place. Then the wild cat will leave at least 150 meters away and choose its own “natural litter box” again.
In the wild, male cats will not allow other cats to urinate in their own territory. If a male cat discovers such a thing, he will attack this “not very polite” cat.
When choosing a litter box and litter for your cat, you should also consider these habits of feral cats.

There are 5 common misunderstandings when using cat litter boxes, which should be avoided as much as possible.

The first misunderstanding: the cat litter box is too close to the cat’s food bowl and resting area
The cat litter box must be at least 2.5 meters away from the cat food bowl.
The more appropriate distance is actually 5.5 meters to 7.5 meters.
On the issue of distance, domestic cats are already very different from wild cats.
Wild cats will choose to relieve themselves as far away from resting places and food sources as possible.
However, because domestic cats have lived at home for a long time and lack “awareness of danger to other animals”, they will gradually lose importance on distance.
However, cats that have just arrived at home will often choose to urinate further away from the food bowl.
This is why, when your cat first arrives at your home, you should place the litter box as far away from the food bowl as possible.

Second misunderstanding: good cat litter can be cleaned later

No matter how good the cat litter is, you should clean it up as soon as possible after your cat poops.
There are three appropriate time periods for cleaning cat litter:
Within 15 minutes after the cat excretes: the best cleaning time. Cleaning up in time during this time is best for the cat’s health.
Within 1.5 hours after the cat excretes: This is an acceptable limit for the health of the cat.

Within 4 hours after the cat excretes: This is the “last appropriate period” for cleaning the cat’s excrement. If the cat litter is frequently cleaned for more than 4 hours, it may cause a series of problems to the cat.

It is worth noting the habit of cleaning cat litter.

If the scavenger can clean the cat litter within 15 minutes every day, but only occasionally does it for more than 4 hours, this will not affect the cat.
However, if the cat litter is cleaned more than 4 hours after the cat excretes for a long time, the cat’s health will be in danger.
One of the most common dangers comes from cats’ increased risk of gastrointestinal disease.
What’s more serious is that if the cat litter is not cleaned in time for a long time, it will affect the cat’s immunity.

Myth #3: Cat litter boxes are never cleaned.

Many cat owners think that changing cat litter is important, but they neglect to clean the litter box.
Cat litter boxes need to be cleaned in time.
If time allows, the litter box should be cleaned every 5 days.
If the litter box owner is too busy to clean the litter box frequently, the cat litter box should be cleaned at least once a week or every 10 days.

There are 4 aspects to pay attention to when cleaning the cat litter box:

Clean the litter box with clean water, not any human cleaner.
Use a brush or cloth to scrub the litter box thoroughly.
The litter box should be dried or wiped dry before being used by the cat.
Cat litter boxes with lids also need to be cleaned in time.

Myth 4: Thinking that multiple cats can share the litter box.

Cats should not share the litter box.
The biggest hidden danger of sharing cat litter boxes is the rapid spread of cat diseases.
One detail that is easily overlooked is: do not put litter boxes for different cats together.
These litter boxes should be at least 2 meters apart. Cat litter boxes that are too close will put cats under greater emotional pressure when excreting.
Unlike the wild environment, cat litter does not mask the odor of cat excrement very well.
Cats can feel uneasy if they smell the “excrement smell” of other cats nearby while excreting.
A more appropriate way is to place litter boxes for different cats in different rooms.
If there is really only one cat litter box in the house, it must be cleaned as soon as possible after each cat urinates.

The fifth misunderstanding: Changing cat litter easily will make the cat unable to adapt to this sudden change.

When a cat has been using a certain type of cat litter for a long time, do not change the cat’s litter easily.
Some cats will have “obstacles in excretion” due to changes in cat litter. Some cats will even go to “non-litter box” places at home to relieve themselves.
Especially when changing between different types of cat litter, it is easier for cats to have a “confusion period” for 2 to 3 days.
A more appropriate way is to prepare a new litter box at home and put the new cat litter in it after you decide to change the litter for your cat.
Cats will go to the new cat litter on their own. Generally, after observing it several times, the cat will take the initiative to “go to the new cat litter” within the next 3 days.
When you see that the cat has accepted the new litter, you can completely replace the original litter after 2 days.
This kind of replacement process makes it easier for cats to adapt and will not cause psychological stress to cats due to sudden changes in the environment.
If the cat litter has been removed promptly and the cat litter box has been cleaned regularly.
Then your cat has avoided many of the “hidden dangers that a litter box can cause.”
Another thing you need to pay attention to is the overall replacement of cat litter.
It is best to replace 5% to 10% of cat litter every 10 hours.
For example, when you come home from get off work and find that your cat does not seem to be excreting in the litter, you should also replace about 10% of the cat litter in the litter box with new litter.

Domestic cats don’t only enter the litter box when they need to eliminate. Many cats even like to lie down in the litter box.
Replacing a small portion of cat litter every 10 hours is better for the cat’s health.
In short, poop scoopers should remember: for cat litter, frequent cleaning is more important than what you use.