Should eat cat in a household have his/her own litterbox?

[xedothecat]

I've had two cats, both female, for the past five years. Until recently, both cats have shared a litterbox contently. Lately though, one (not both) cat has decided to take her business elsewhere. Is there a reason for this? Should they have their own boxes? If not, what else can I do? My place is starting to smell like pee.

 

[thor]

They definitely need one each.

 

[Matthew]

no! my neighbor has 4 cats and they only use 1 litter box!

 

[Babz]

The general opinion is that there should be one tray per cat plus one extra, in separate and private places. Just a thought though, make sure the cat that is not using the litter-box doesn't have any sort of urinary complaint because if she has cystitis for example and having a pee has caused her pain she might then avoid using the litter-box as she associates it with pain. You know your own cats best so I'm sure you'll be aware if she isn't well. Or it could be that she may have had a fright while using the litter-box and again be avoiding it.

Clean the places that she uses thoroughly, and wipe over with white spirit (not turpentine) or even white vinegar to remove all traces of the smell so she doesn't keep going back and doing it again, also you could try placing a new, previously unused even different coloured litter-box wherever it is that she's peeing and she may go back to using it.

Good luck.