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New Cat Owners5 min read

Setting Up the Perfect Litter Box for a New Cat

Bringing home a new cat? Getting the litter box setup right from day one makes a huge difference — for your cat's comfort and your home's freshness. Here's exactly what to do.

Bringing a new cat home is exciting — but getting the litter box setup right from the very beginning is one of the most important things you can do. Cats that develop bad litter box habits early are notoriously difficult to retrain, so investing a little thought upfront saves a lot of frustration later.

Start with the right box size. The litter box should be at least one and a half times the length of your cat. Many commercially available litter boxes are too small, particularly for larger breeds or adult cats. A box that's too small leads to mess outside the tray and a cat that's reluctant to use it.

Location is critical. Cats prefer privacy when using the litter box, but they also need to feel safe — they won't use a box in a location where they feel cornered or startled. A bathroom, laundry, or quiet corner of a spare room works well. Avoid placing the box near food and water bowls, as cats instinctively avoid eliminating near their feeding area.

Choose a litter your cat will accept. Most cats prefer unscented, fine-grained clumping clay litter — it most closely resembles the natural substrate cats would choose in the wild. Heavily scented litters can be off-putting to cats, even if they smell pleasant to humans. Start with an unscented option and only switch if your cat shows a clear preference.

Set up your disposal system before your cat arrives. Having a Litter Genie pail ready from day one means you can establish a clean scooping routine immediately. Scoop at least once daily, drop the waste directly into the sealed pail, and your new cat will always have a clean, fresh-smelling box to return to.

For households with multiple cats, introduce litter boxes gradually. Start with one box per cat plus one extra, positioned in different locations around the home. This reduces competition and territorial stress, particularly important when introducing a new cat to a home that already has resident cats.

Getting the litter box setup right from the start is one of the kindest things you can do for a new cat. A clean, well-positioned box with a good disposal system like Litter Genie makes the transition to a new home much smoother — for your cat and for you.

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The indoor cat litter disposal system trusted by cat owners across Australia and New Zealand.

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