Outside the Box

My cat is large. My cat is old. My cat has arthritis.
All of which means my cat has problems with the litter box.

Since he's so friggin big, he doesn't fit in the normal sized ones. He hangs one end or the other out over the edge resulting in a mess either way. If he hangs the back end out, well that's obvious. If he hangs the front end out, he does this thing where he sort of rocks forward as he goes which results in a stream arcing from the litter line up up up the side of the box....and out.

In his younger years, he used a large plastic storage bin as a cat box. The bin was long and wide enough to accomodate his bulk while providing high sides as an extra precaution. Now that he's older and has arthritis, he can't jump in and out over those high walls.

I wasn't a huge issue before I moved as his box was on the top landing of the stairwell to my basement. The smell from his increasing number of misfires was not something that entered into the living area, and I could give the spot a good cleaning every once in a while without living in cat stink. Now that I've moved in my new cozy (small) apartment, the box is out in the living area and anything that doesn't go in the box and under lots of litter is immediately and enduringly noticable (scooping doesn't help if he's been shooting over the side).

I've gone through three versions - or is it more? I think three is the more proper number as two have involved only slight adjustjments to other more distinct models - of a box that will accomodate the kitty. So far, none has worked out entirely satisfactorily. All of them have included taking the largest cat box I can find and placing it INSIDE some high walled shell. Various materials have been used for the shell and various orientations of the box relative to the shell have been attempted. While I have managed to protect my carpet, wall, desk, and baseboard heater from friendly fire, I have not managed to find a box that functions in a fully box-like manner. That is, none of my models thus far have truly dealt with the issue such that the cat goes into the box, goes in the litter, and covers it without something escaping.

In the meantime, I'm about to try Cat Box 4.0. Much like Cat Box 3.1, this one will involve a large plastic tub but I will look for one with (a) higher sides and (b) a wider base. As with CB3.1, I plan to saw down part of one side for him to use as his point of entry, but unlike CB3.1, I will NOT saw all the way down to the bottom. For CB4.0, that will not be necessary since the entire plastic bin will be the box as opposed to the protective box "shell" in which the actual litter box was placed. The box in shell model has been my strategy for versions 1-3, but I am finding that although this protects the world around the cat box area from friendly fire, it does allow for another layer of mess (between box and shell). A quiet hidden mess that I don't find until I lift the box out of the shell. For now, CB3.1 is working with a layer of cat litter under the box (in the shell) but still I must remember to not tip it towards the cut side when I change the litter, and I also have essentially created two litter box surfaces for no really good reason. Hence, CB 4.0 will (I hope) bring it back down to litter and waste filled area while still (I hope) providing high enough walls and a wide enough area that he doesn't need to hang anything out of anywhere.

If this doesn't work, I'll be at the point where I'll consider posing the cat box problem online as a challenge to engineering students. Maybe I could get PetSmart, the Humane Society, or the ASPCA to pony up a prize of some sort for the university or student that can come up with the solution. It doesn't have to be a huge prize even. Just a token thing...especially if what I've heard about the rivalries between various engineering programs is true. MIT vs Cal Tech? You know, like the Beaver Cup? I wonder if I'd get any takers.