Kitty's Litter Box - Location

We no longer use our fireplace so we cleaned it out and put the litter box in there and put a fireplace screen in front of it. The cats can go in without the dog being able to have access to it. We change it frequently and the smell factor has dropped dramatically since we moved it from an extra bedroom.

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oh how I feel your pain!! I love our cats, but I am a clean-freak and hate the smell!! Gah! I love in an apartment and understand the small space issue as well. Here are my tips, if you like-
1- switch to the pine litter if you haven't yet!!! Feline pine is the name brand, but we get the cheap version at the local pet store. It holds in the smell, is flushable for frequent scooping and lasts about a week (with two cats!) as long as you scoop poop daily. Also, they don't track it through the house like the clay stuff!
2- best location is a room with a vent fan, such as a bathroom or laundry room. It keeps the smell from spreading to the rest of the house if there is a smell situation.
3- invest in a corner kitty box if you don't have one. they are more space efficient and can be stuck in places that the bulky one's wont go. I knew someone who put their catbox in the cupboard under the sink in the bathroom because they had no floor space! It actually worked pretty well, just had a little spacer to keep the door ajar a bit. Or, if worse comes to worse, in the shower/bathtub. Weird I know, and a pain that you'll have to move it to use the shower, but at least it's out of the way!

Bottom line- no matter what you change when you move, take kitty strait to the new location when you move in and set them in the box. make sure they know the new place so they don't change potty behavior. Also, sounds gross i know, but if you bring a little old litter from the box and put it in the box at the new place it will help over-ride the new house smell and freak them out less. Last thing anyone needs is a mad kitty peeing on your furniture in your new place!

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i have a big laundry room, it goes next to the hot water heater, we cut a hole in the door, i painted trim to put around it, then put his name in little block letters above the "cat door". Its pretty funny, but i prefer all unused rooms closed off, plus i have a 2 year old so it just makes sense.

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We keep our litter box in the basement, which is also where we have the cat's bed and toys - he has access to it all day, and we close it off at night so he doesn't roam all over the house.

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The best is if you can cut a cat door in a door (as others have suggested) to a closet, laundry room, space under stairs, etc. The small opening keeps smells in. Mine is now in the back of my hall coat closet (in an apartment, can't cut holes!) so the closet door has to stay open. It hasn't been a problem, though.

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We had an extra closet that was big enough- put a cat door in the closet door and we were all set- the closed door helps keep smells down too!

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We have our in a closet in our office. We cut a hole in the door and put a cat door in. We figure we can just replace the door if we ever move.

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There is no easy answer for a stinky litter box. My daughter has her cats box in her room because her Dad does not want it in the main part of the house or bathroom. I have a indoor/outdoor rug under it to catch all the litter escaping the box. She cleans it throughout the day, but whenever we come indoors from outside we can still smell the darn thing.

When I was younger, we had a cat door that allowed the cats to go in and out, but often we had interesting critters from outdoors enjoy the cat door, too!

Good Luck!

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We (thankfully) have a basement with laundry in it. I bought a cat door and my landlord happily cut a hole in a spare door and installed it for me. Whenever we buy a house I will plan on having it in the basement again (assuming we have one) since that has been by far my favorite place to keep it.

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We have an awkward piece of room between the kitchen and bathroom, just wide enough to hold a small desk. The litter box is under the desk, and I made a curtain to hang across the front of the opening. Since I walk by there countless times a day, I clean the litter box a lot, so generally the smell is not a problem.

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Ours is in the garage - our cat is in the garage at night and in the daytime she goes in and out through the cat door to our yard.

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I agree with Shane B. its so difficult to find a spot where you don't smell the poop. ugh!

but you say the bathroom may be too small? i thought ours was too in our last apartment, but it fit perfectly between the toilet & where the little toilet roll holder thing was. it looked like it wouldnt fit but it did. and yeah its a little weird to have it right where you go the bathroom, but hey, unless u have the luxury of a laundry room, you might try spaces that look too small but end up being perfect (or close enough.) :)

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We put ours in the laundry room.
In the past we also put it in the closet of the spare bedroom & kept the closet door cracked.

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Ugh. There IS no good place for a litter box, in my opinion!
I love cats, don't get me wrong, but the litter?
I don't care if I clean it five times a day and rinse the entire thing out with soap and water, I swear, all I can smell is cat pee and poop.
When we lost our last cat, I swore that was the end of it. And I'm sticking to it. I'm a cat person and I've been blessed with some really great ones, but if there isn't an out of the way place for the cat box, I'm not happy.

I hope you find somewhere that works.
Best wishes on your move!

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We keep ours in the basement. For years we kept it in the hall bath and then moved it everytime we had company into the basement. At one point we both realized that it was fine down stairs and actually meant less "shifting" when we had people over... for the cats and for us!

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We've had the same issue with small bathrooms and no other convenient, out of the way, location for our litter box. Then I discovered that putting the litter box in our bathtub worked WONDERFUL! We've been using Swheat Scoop Cat Litter which is flushable and very safe for our cats. It also has very, very low odor. Any litter that got kicked out into the tub was easily rinsed down the drain. The litterbox did have to be removed in order to shower or bathe, but then was put right back afterwards. This method and location also helped cut down on the cats tracking the litter around the bathroom.

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Laundry area but our cats go outside more than they do inside.

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If your cat is allowed in the garage, then that's the best place. Before kids we had indoor/outdoor cats. We had a cat door from the house to the garage and one from the garage out to the yard. The cat door to the yard was closed at night and they stayed in at night for safety. The litter box was in the garage and never bothered us or any of our guests. After kids, the door to the house has been closed and the cats have limited access inside-only when we supervise. If you have no garage or have a strictly inside cat, I would recommend your master bath ,master bedroom or laundry room - places guests don't usually see and little kid guests don't usually have access to (some kids get very intrigued by cat "sand" and want to play). That way, the litter box cannot bother any guests. I have visited homes where the litter boxes are in the main house or the main bath and it's offensive, especially if it hasn't been cleaned or the guests don't care for animals. I own cats and even I can be offended by this! Keep the litter changed regularly and there shouldn't be too much of an odor problem in your room. Enjoy your kitty - pets are wonderful additions to any family!

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In the utility room off of the mudroom, with the 2nd fridge, furnace and water heater. We leave the door open unless the cat has been naughty. Then she goes in there for time-out with the door closed.

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We just got kittens and have our litter box (one with a top to help with the smell) in a corner of the living room. As long as I clean the box daily (and change the litter every week or so) the smell doesn't bother any of us.
We used to keep it in the office before we had kids, but since my DH works from home sometimes and has to close the door we didn't feel that would work for us anymore 8-)
Good luck finding the perfect place for your family!

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We have always kept ours in the garage. We installed a cat door, and all the kitty items are out there (litter box, food, water). Works great!

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I don't have a cat, but I know a few people who house trained their cats by slowly moving the litter outside and other then that they are always inside. I like the idea of a cat door for inside or outside. Most people I know though keep theirs in the laundry room?

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ours has always gone underneath the bathroom sink. our cat can open the cabinets (unless they have that little magnetic latch - then we just put a screw in the frame to keep the door from latching). we have always lived in apartments (now a duplex) and it has always gone there. of course it makes that cabinet unavailable for use of other items, but you do what you gotta do. i always thought it was better than having it out in the open where company can see. one of the grossest things was when i was visiting someone's house and sat down to pee and staring me in the face was their cat's poo. of course, said bathroom was also pretty nasty, but it was a memory that will stick with me forever...lol.

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I put the litter box in the bathroom downstairs. The door can be closed a lot of the time and he meows to be let into it if he needs to go and it's closed. I have had more people make comments that they don't smell the cat box which is the main goal. I clean the poop out as soon as it hits the box, it smells up the house pretty fast. I would like to know which is the best type of cat litter?