So you might be thinking about getting a Maine Coon. Or maybe you already got a Maine Coon kitten and now you are looking at all those small weird litter boxes and your are wondering, is this really the right litter box for my cat? I mean, we are talking about a Maine Coon here, we are not talking about a regular house cat. So actually this is a pretty good question. Do Maine Coon cats even use small litter boxes? Or in other words, is their aiming good enough for using a small litter box? So in this article I will show you what the best litter box for Maine Coon cats is.
If you are looking for a good litter box for a Maine Coon, you just have to get the Petmate Giant Litter Pan For Cat. In fact, this litter box is not only great for large cats like Maine Coons. It is the best litter box you can get for any cat. Why is this litter box so great? It has no cover and it is huge, so your Maine Coon will have a lot of space to move around to find the perfect spot and to bury its feces. With a huge litter box like this, no accidents will happen and you won´t have to remove feces from your floor that should have gone into the litter box. It is very stable and the plastic will not smell like urine even after long use. Besides that it is totally inexpensive.
So this answered your question, but when it comes to cats going to the toilet, the litter box is not the only thing you should be worried about. There are dozens of things you should know about this topic. I mean, let´s say, you got the best litter box in the world. It is so good that you are even thinking about using it yourself. Great! However what happens if your Maine Coon just don´t want to use this litter box? What if your Maine Coon starts to poop everywhere in your house, but not into the litter box?
If those are things that you don´t want to experience, or if you already have such problems and you want to solve them, continue to read this article. But first, let´s have a look at the best litter boxes in detail so you understand why the litter box I recommend is so great and what alternatives you could get.
The Best Maine Coon Litter Box
The following litter boxes are not only recommended by me. They are actually recommended by hundreds of other cat owners that own large cats. We have used several litter boxes and had to replace them several times because it just didn´t work out. The litter boxes below, however, are absolutely fantastic.
1. Petmate Giant Litter Pan For Cat
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Okay so this litter box is the perfect litter box you should get for your Maine Coon. As you might know, when it comes to litter boxes, cats need some space to turn around, they need space to find the best spot, they need space to bury their feces and so on and so forth.
This litter box is huge. I repeat, it is huge. Seriously, there are even people on Amazon that took a pictures of their kids lying or sitting in this litter box comfortably. Don´t believe me? Have a look at those images here, simply scroll down to customer images and see yourself how huge this litter box is. The exact measures are 34.7 x 19.8 x 10 inches.
Further this litter box has no cover. This might not be your first choice, because you don´t really want to see your cat going to the toilet and you probably don´t want your cat to spread cat litter everywhere, but for your cat this is the best solution.
Cats don´t like to go to the toilet in a cave. They need to see that they are able to escape in every direction and an uncovered litter box is perfect for that. I will explain why in detail later in this article.
The plastic is very stable and eco-friendly and it contains micro ban which is an antimicrobial to fight against the growth of stain and odor-causing bacteria, mold and mildew. In other words, the plastic won´t smell like urine after a while.
If you are asking yourself what those weird pockets on the litter box are, you can store the shovel and other things you need for cleaning the litter box there. Very practical and before you ask, no, you don´t need to be afraid that your cat might poop in those pockets. Everybody thought that before getting this litter box, but it turned out that this litter box is just so huge that cats don´t have to use the pockets.
As I said, this is the perfect litter box for Maine Coons, because it is so huge. You will have a hard time to find a litter box this big again. However you should always know that this litter box can get pretty heavy when filled with litter. This litter box holds 30 pounds of cat litter, so you might get an idea how big this is and how heavy this can be. For you as a Maine Coon owner, this should be pretty normal though, haha.
What about the price? There are some litter boxes that cost $80 and more. I think there is even a litter box that costs $500. Luckily the Petmate Giant Litter Pan For Cat is the opposite here. This litter box is not expensive at all. Check the price for the Petmate Giant Litter Pan For Cat here on Amazon!
2. Petmate Open Litter Pan – The Alternative
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Another great litter box from Petmate. The Petmate Open Litter Pan is a good litter box as well. However it is not as large as the litter box that I have recommended above and that means it might be okay for a younger Maine Coon. When your Maine Coon gets older and with older I mean huge, you should think about upgrading to the Petmate Giant Litter Pan For Cat above.
You could also use it as second litter box.
This litter box measures 25.6 x 18.3 x 10 inches. So you see, it is a large litter box, but not Maine Coon-large. Further it is even a little bit more expensive than the litter box above, but not much. Check the price on Amazon here.
What Litter Box To Get For A Maine Coon?
As you might have noticed, I wrote a lot about the size of the litter boxes, but is that really necessary? Is size an important factor when it comes to appropriate litter boxes for Maine Coons? The truth is that your Maine Coon will even poo into a small litter box for kittens.
Seriously, I have seen our regular house cat using a kitten litter box.
The problem with that is, that your Maine Coon won´t have enough space to move around. Our Maine Coon buries her feces thoroughly and for that she moves around a lot in the litter box. This would not be possible with a small litter box.
Besides that, if you use a smaller litter box, you might have to clean your floor more often, because happy little accidents are definitely going to happen. What I want to say with that is, that you might have to remove feces from your floor that should have gone into the litter box.
So get a huge litter box like the Petmate Giant Litter Pan For Cat for your Maine Coon and you will be fine.
Why You Might Need Several Litter Boxes
Okay, good! Now you know what the best litter boxes for Maine Coon cats are and why you should get at least one of the litter boxes above. But wait, why did I just say “at least one”? Well, I said it because you should actually get two litter boxes for your Maine Coon. Why you should do that? There is a very good reason for that: Because your Maine Coon might not like the litter box you bought for it and this means that your Maine Coon might poop elsewhere.
Trust me, you don´t want that. We have a Maine Coon cat and a regular house cat. Our regular house cat very often did her business wherever she wanted. Not only is this frustrating as hell, the smell… well, you know that it doesn´t smell like a warm apple pie your grandma just made for you.
One Litter Box Per Cat – Plus One Litter Box
Imagine this, you are coming home and your house just smells really bad. And then you find out that your cat went to the toilet – on your carpet. The next days your cat does that again and again and again. Trust me, you are going nuts. So I did my research and I found out that you always need one litter box per cat plus another litter box. So if you have one Maine Coon, it means that you need two litter boxes. If you have two cats, like we have, you need three litter boxes.
So you might think now: Pierre, you are nuts! I can´t put litter boxes everywhere in my house. Why do I even need to do that?
Our Maine Coon, Maze
Okay, let me explain. I understand what you mean. I did not like it at first either, but if you have to choose between putting more litter boxes in your house and cleaning your carpet each and every day, you definitely get more litter boxes as soon as possible.
Why You Have To Do That
So up to the next question, why do you have to do that? There are several reasons for that. One reason for that is, that some cats, like to pee in a different spot than where they do a number two. This has something to do with marking their territory. So this is also great if you want to avoid that your cat marks your walls, your furnishings and so on and so forth. Cats just want to make sure that their own smell is everywhere in the house.
And by the way, this goes not only for Maine Coon cats, I am talking about cats in general here. Every cat is like that. One is a little bit more extreme than the other, but in the end, That´s a cat behavior.
Besides marking their territory, you should also get several litter boxes, because this way your cat is able to show you which litter box it likes more, which placement it likes more. However we will come to the perfect place for your litter box right now.
Where To Place The Litter Boxes
Ever watched your cat while going to the toilet? The answer is yes, I know that. Do you know why I know that? Because I know that every cat owner in the world at least once went to the bathroom together with their cat. You did that, right? I bet you placed the litter box in the bathroom, you went to the bathroom one morning and your cat decided to join you and all you could do was laughing.
I mean, there is nothing wrong with you. Others might say that you are a crazy cat person but not me. I am on your site.
However is the bathroom really the best place for the litter box or litter boxes? Most cat experts say that the bathroom is not the best place for the litter box. They actually recommend to put the litter box in social places. For example, they recommend to place the litter box in the kitchen. Or in the bedroom. Or in the living room.
Why do they recommend that? They recommend that, because we humans tend to think that cats want to be alone while going to the bathroom. Why do we think that? Because we humans also want to be alone while going to the toilet…at least most of us. However this is not true. A cat would even go to the toilet right in front of you. In fact it gives them a little bit more security and if you have a cat that tends to go to the toilet everywhere, this gives you an opportunity to praise your cat when using the litter box.
Let me explain what I mean with that. If your cat marks your house and poops wherever it wants, you can´t punish your cat for that. So you should praise it for something that was done right. Catching your cat going to the toilet when the litter box is placed in your bathroom can be hard as the bathroom is the room that you use least. If you have a litter box in the living room, it will be way easier to praise your cat for using the litter box.
Is All This Really Necessary?
You might think now: Man this is getting out of hand. First I should get several different litter boxes for my cats and now I should even place them in the living room.
I know that this can be a little bit annoying. While we all want to own a cat, we don´t want to have too much to do with the litter boxes, so we just put them next to the toilet or next to the washing machine. The guest bathroom is a very common place for litter boxes as well.
So do you really have to do that? Yes and no. If your cat is not using the litter box properly, you definitely have to find the reason for that and one of the reasons might be that you should place the litter box in a different spot in your house.
If your cat is fine, does not poop next to the litter box or does similar things, then there is no reason to change a thing. You placed the litter box in the bathroom next to the washing machine and your cat is using it without any problems? Great! Don´t change anything.
Just change it if something doesn´t work the right way or if your cat is clearly showing you that there might be a problem.
Are Maine Coons Known For Being Picky When It Comes To This?
So what about Maine Coon cats regarding this situation? Are they known for demanding more litter boxes? Are they picky when it comes to litter boxes? Are they known for being picky when it comes to the location of the litter box?
As you know, every cat is different. Even if almost every Maine Coon is gentle and friendly and just amazing, there can always be one Maine Coon that is absolutely not like that. Same goes for using the litter box. However there are a couple of factors that come into play here. Is your Maine Coon healthy? Is there any history that could lead to a bad behavior in this regard?
Normally, Maine Coon cats are very clean cats as I like to say. Here is a little story of our Maine Coon, Maze.
Maze does not leave the litter box if she did not make sure that her feces are completely covered with cat litter. She is very thorough when it comes to that and she takes her time. Her burying her feces can even take two minutes. However this isn´t all.
When our regular house cat, Gigetta, uses the litter box, she often does not bury her bad smelling gift. Maze can not accept that, so everytime our regular house cat uses the litter box, Maze inspects the litter box a couple of minutes after that.
Very often she buries Gigetta´s feces. I call Maze the “litter box police”. We are not the only people who experienced that. Many people we know that have Maine Coon cats told us that they are very clean cats. So, I don´t say every Maine Coon is like this, but I say that Maine Coon cats are very clean cats.
How To Place The Litter Box The Right Way
So up to the next point. While you know now that you should have litter boxes in different locations in your house if you are facing some problems with your cats using the litter box, you should also know how to place the litter box correctly.
And in this case, you just have to get it right in order to make your cat feel comfortable. If you want your Maine Coon to be a 100% comfortable, you should follow this advice.
Always make sure that your cat is able to “escape”. What do I mean with that? The problem is that most litter boxes are build like a cave. However, they are not built like a cave, because cats like to go to the toilet inside a cave. They are built this way because the litter boxes were designed for humans. As I told you, humans don´t want to see their cat going to the toilet. So the designers just made the litter box cave like and everything was fine…for humans, not for cats.
So if your cat is sitting in a covered litter box, there is no other way to escape except the entry. Cats are very vulnerable when going to the toilet and having only one possibility to escape makes them very nervous. This could result in your cat not using this litter box anymore.
Just take the cover of that litter box off. It makes cleaning for you way easier and your cat will feel way better when using the litter box, because it can escape in every direction.
If you don´t want to do that, at least don´t place the litter box with the entry to a wall so that you can´t see what your Maine Coon is doing in there. At least turn it around so your cat doesn´t see a wall while going to the toilet. This will make your cat even more nervous.
…but seriously, just take the cover off. That´s the best solution.
Litter box designed for humans
Deodorizers Are A No-No!
Let´s say that you now placed a couple of litter boxes in different spots of your house. What will happen? Of course, if your cats use every litter boxes, every room will smell badly. And we are talking about cats here, when I smelled one of their gifts the first time I almost died.
We always had dogs and I knew how that smelled, but when I smelled a little gift from a cat the first time I was shocked, haha.
So there are litter boxes everywhere and it smells everywhere. Of course you think it might be good to place some deodorizers in the room or using some room refreshers. While I definitely understand that you want use such things, this is not a good idea.
Remember, your Maine Coon wants that the house smells like Maine Coon. So when you put litter boxes in different spots, your Maine Coon will be happy. However as soon as you use any room refreshers, the Maine Coon´s scent will go away and this will disturb your Maine Coon. In the end, it could even lead to your Maine Coon not using the litter boxes anymore and peeing everywhere.
This way your Maine Coon wants to make sure that it smells like cat in your house and with that method your cat is going to achieve that goal.
How About Deodorized Cat Litter?
Should you use deodorized cat litter or cat litter deodorizer? Actually this is the same as using room refreshers. This can confuse your Maine Coon and it could lead to the outcome that I have described above.
Really?
I know this is pretty hard. I mean, who really wants their home to smell like a huge cat litter box? No one! You are probably asking yourself if this is really necessary. If it really is not okay to use at least cat litter deodorizer.
All that I can say is, test it! It might be that your Maine Coons are perfectly fine with that and continue to use the litter box as always. However if your Maine Coon cats start to show behavior that might lead to even more smell, this is the first thing you should stop doing.
How To Prevent Any Bad Smells
There are several ways to make sure that your house smells good even if you have a couple of Maine Coons. Not all of them are really good in every aspect, as you have read above. Some are good and some of them you should not try at all.
However there is one surefire way to make your house smell good even if you have cats. And that is cleaning the litter box right after your Maine Coon used it. I know that many people do not follow this rule. I have been to a lot of homes with cats and I can´t count how often those homes smelled really badly.
That´s because those people do not clean the cat litter box frequently. With frequently I mean, you have to clean it right after it was used. If you don´t do that you will get used to the smell and won´t notice it anymore unless you stand right in front of the litter box.
Make cleaning the litter box 5 minutes after it was used a habit and you will eliminate the smell in your house.
Did you say I smell bad?
Knowing Your Maine Coons
You can even combine this with knowing your Maine Coons. What do I mean with that? Most cats go to the toilet right after eating. But not every cat eats the food immediately. If you know when your cats are usually done with eating, you also know when they are going to use the toilet.
Here is an example. You can feed your cats in the morning a little bit earlier than normal, before you do anything else. While you are getting ready for work, or just getting ready for the day your cats usually will be done with eating and then they most probably will use the litter box. If you are not in a hurry and need to leave the house within 20 minutes after waking up, this routine will give you the time to feed your cats and clean the litter box before you leave.
Guess what, it will not smell anymore when you come home from work.
Conclusion
I bet you came to this article just expecting to be informed about the best cat toilets for Maine Coon cats. As you see, it is not just getting any litter box for your Maine Coons. You have to know how to place the litter box correctly, you have to know where to place the litter box.
This really is a huge topic. There are many people that have problems with their cats urinating everywhere and they just don´t know how to stop their cats from doing that. So this article should definitely have helped you to prevent any problems in the future and besides that you also learned that one litter box for your Maine Coons might not be enough.
Again, if you experience any problems with your Maine Coon, if your Maine Coon is not using the litter box, try the things I have told you above. It will definitely help.
Further the Petmate Giant Litter Pan For Cat that I recommend in this article will also help you to prevent any problems. This litter box is huge, so that even if your Maine Coon has not a very good aiming, your floor will stay clean. This litter box is so huge, your Maine Coon just can´t miss it, haha. You won´t find a bigger litter box for Maine Coons anywhere.
Always remember that if you want to get another litter box than the ones I recommend in this article, at least make sure that the litter box does not have a cover. As you have learned, cats do not like to go to the toilet in a cave.
I really hope this article helped you. If you have any further questions about the best Maine Coon litter box, just leave them in the comment section below and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
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