Cats are a very commonly kept pet in the western world where the majority of our readers live and with cats being second only to dogs.
Due to their popularity, we constantly see people reaching out each month with a wide range of different questions on caring for their pet cat but we have noticed more and more people reaching out to ask about moving their cat litter box to the basement in their home and asking various questions about how to do it so we decided to publish this article.
It generally very easy to move your cat litter box to the basement without your pet cat rejecting the move provided that you make the move in small increments of a three to six foot change in the location of the litter box each day.
This allows your pet cat to keep the litter box in eye range of its previous location and once a cat is trained to use its litter box, moving to the new location of the litter box to use it shouldn’t be a problem.
Changing the location of a cat’s litter box definitely does seem to be much easier for anyone who is keeping a kitten or young cat.
Older cats tend not to like change much and they are often stuck in their normal routine once they reach the senior cat age bracket and may try to resist you moving their litter box by refusing to use it.
If this is the case with your cat then moving your cat’s litter box by smaller amounts and leaving it in each incremental location for longer is often the best option.
Can I Move My Cat’s Litter Box To The Basement?
It is usually very easy to move your cat’s litter box to the basement and keep your pet cat in the habit of using the litter box.
The biggest risk of moving your cats litter box to the basement is often any potential dangers to your cat that is in your basement as many people store tools and other potentially dangerous things in their basement.
It is usually easy to make a basement safe for your pet cat and you don’t usually have to remove any potentially dangerous things from there if you do use your basement for storage.
In most cases, all you have to do is store the tools or other potentially hazardous things correctly with there being plenty of cheap storage options available to make sure that there is no risk to your cat’s health in your basement.
Keep in mind that chemicals are also potentially hazardous to your pet cat too with many people also storing chemicals or old paint in their basement too.
If you are planning on moving your cat’s litter box into your basement then you really do have to take the time to check that it is a safe environment for your pet cat before you even start the process of trying to move your cat’s litter box to the basement.
How To Relocate A Cats Litter Box To The Basement Without Issue!
The easiest way to relocate your cat’s litter box to the basement of your home is to use the slow and gradual approach.
This method is based around you moving your cat’s litter box between three and six feet from its current location to your basement per day allowing your cat to get used to the new location of its litterbox.
Some cats may need you to leave the litter box in the temporary location for more than one day before moving it on again so make sure the litter box has actually been used before moving it on.
This is by far the most reliable method of moving your cat’s litter box and it has been used time and time again by people within the cat keeping community to move their cat’s litter box over the years with minimal problems with the cat rejecting the location of the litter box once moved.
We know that there are some methods that are commonly suggested on social media to just move the litter box to the new location and take your cat to it multiple times per day but this is not a reliable method.
The two litter box strategy can work but it needs you to purchase a second litter box to place in your basement and even then, it often takes a long time for the cat to use the new litter box rather than the older one in the current location that it’s used to using.
This is why we always recommend that you try to go with the strategy of just gradually moving the litter box if possible.
Why Are Some Cats Reluctant To Use A Litter Box In The Basement?
The most common reason that a cat may be reluctant to use a litter box in the basement of your home is due to you moving the cat’s litter box to its new location too quickly and the cat rejecting the new location.
In some cases, your cat may also be reluctant to use a litter box in the basement if there are strange sounds or smells there as some cats can struggle to relax in areas they are unsure about.
Due to many people storing chemicals or various types of household appliances in their basement it can be common for there to be strange sounds, smells, and vibrations if the appliances are turned on.
This really can make it difficult to get your cat to use a litter box that has been moved to the basement so we would always recommend that you do your best to try and get your cat used to a litter box that has been recently moved to the basement when the appliances are not turned on.
Some basements can just have a strong scent to them due to various types of chemicals having been stored in there for such a long time.
This can also make it difficult to get your pet cat to get used to using a litter box that it in a basement and unfortunately, it can be very difficult to get rid of these smells, especially if the chemicals have spilled onto the floor of the basement and been left to dry into the surfaces.
Conclusion
That brings our article on moving a cat’s litter box to a basement to an end. We hope that we have been able to help our readers better understand how they should be going about moving their cat’s litter box to their basement as well as the various things that can make it less likely for your cat to take to the new location of the litter box. It can definitely be a challenge to successfully move a litter box and make sure that your cat will continue to use it but provided that you take the slow and steady approach, you shouldn’t have any real problems.
