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Old July 2nd 03, 01:22 AM
Sara
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Default Itsy bitsy kitty litter box in carrier?

I'm trying to acclimate my two cats to carriers in preparation for a
trip that will take 7-8 hours, sometime this autumn. The girls have
separate carriers. The smaller kitty will be in the intermediate size
Kennel Cab and the bigger one will be in a large carrier of the same
brand.

Since I will be traveling alone in a compact car with the kitties, I
don't think it would be a good idea to let them out of the carriers at
rest stops to use a litter box on the car floor. So I am trying to
come up with ways to handle the elimination problem.

One way could be to use small shoe-box size plastic containers as
litter pans inside the carriers. These boxes are about 10" long and
6" wide, small enough that the cats would still have room to lie down
in the carriers. But I'm wondering if they would actually use them.
The cats might have to be contortionists to get themselves in
position! If anyone has put a litter box in a carrier, please share
your experiences.

Another way would be to use disposable litter boxes inside the
carriers. But the ones I've seen would take up about a third of the
floor space in the carriers, not leaving a lot of room for the kitties
to stretch out and be comfortable.

Or I could line each carrier with incontinence pads or disposable
diapers. I'd like to hear your thoughts on that, too.

BTW the younger & smaller one, 9 year old Freckles, is acclimating
quite well. I had her out in the car for a half hour this evening,
and she just sat in her carrier without a peep. I wouldn't go so far
as to say she enjoyed the ride, but she accepted it.

Her adopted sister, 11 year old Muffin, will be a different story. I
just got her last year and she is terrified of being put into the
carrier, and of cars. Her carrier has been sitting out for a few
months so she is used to seeing it and being near it, but she won't go
in, even with a nice soft blankie in there. Thanks to this NG I have
just found out about Feliway, so maybe that will help.

Thanks for any and all thoughts on this subject!