A Two-Hole Cat Litter Box

My wife had just finished cleaning the cat litter box when Fuzzie, the older of our two cats came in to make a deposit. This is typical behavior for him. It is as if he has a clean litter box alarm that alerts him. No matter where he is in house, when the litter box has been cleaned he moves in.

It is understandable that he might want to make the first drop on the fresh litter with the litter habits of Fat Boy, our other cat. As a matter of fact, there is a possibility that Fuzzy is waiting for Fat Boy’s deposits to be removed so he can enter and exit the litter box and without soiling his toes. Of the two cats, Fat Boy gets the most use of the litter surface

Fat Boy will keep us busy with cleaning the litter box 2-3 times per day. I remember one day, when I was occupying the throne, Fat Boy came into the bathroom to take care of his own elimination. I knew that he could use up some litter but actually witnessing it is quite an experience.

I was amazed by what that cat did. It could be more aptly called a flash flood than urinating. Had he been over an ant hill there would have been no survivors in the colony.

It was one thing to clean double fist-sized clumps of urine saturated litter from the box. It was quite another to hear a seemingly endless flow while the cat hovered in the litter box. It seems certain that he has a bladder the size of a grapefruit.

When Fat Boy was a kitten we took him to the vet out of concern for his excess water consumption. The vet did tests but could find no health issues. No one will ever believe it when I tell them that the cat consumes at least one quart of water per day.

It is a fact, though. I have isolated him and his water source from the other pets in order to get an accurate read.  At the beginning of the day he had a one quart dish filled to the brim with water. By the end of day the dish is empty and Fat Boy jumped onto the sink in search of more water when the faucet was turned on.

We don’t have an ordinary cat litter box. Those commercially made litter boxes are simply not enough. Our litter box is actually a 36” by 24” by 10” deep storage tub in which we keep no less than a five-inch level of litter to avoid urine-soaked mud on the bottom of the box.

You don’t have to worry about Fat Boy covering up his leavings, either. He could never do it alone anyway. He would have to have a motorized Tonka pay loader standing nearby to move some clay. It would be like operating a kitty landfill.

Even with this over-sized litter box, we need to clean it 2-3 times per day. I have found urine puddles on the litter and had to throw fresh litter over it before cleaning the box.

This morning, when the Fuzzy’s clean litter sensor guided him to take a dump, he got a surprise. While in the serious process of pinching off a Toostie Roll, Fat Boy came in alongside. Fuzzy wasted no time in finishing his task and getting out of the litter box. I can’t say that I blame him.

Sharing a litter box with Fat Boy would be like John Boy Walton doing his morning duty when Grandpa Walton came into the two-holer privy to do Metamucil blow. I would get out of there too.