I bought an expensive self cleaning litterbox because if the normal one gets even slightly dirty after, say, 1 day, she will use the carpet instead. It's been happening for weeks. I can't keep coming all the way home on my lunch break to clean the litterbox or pick poop up off the floor. So I bought this automatic litterbox.
It cleans itself 20 minutes after the cat gets out of it. Unfortunately, she saw me setting it up, and it does a test sweep when plugged in. She seemed freaked out about getting in it after that, and even got startled for no reason when checking it out.
So she's chosen to use the floor rather than the new litterbox for the 2 days that we've had it, even though we moved it to the corner where she goes if the litterbox isn't clean enough for her liking.
Further detail:
- The box is in the same place the previous one was, albeit pushed up against the wall where she went if the other one wasn't clean.
- The litter used in the automatic box is different, but this is a requirement for this special litterbox.
- The box cleans itself by sweeping everything into a compartment slowly with a metal rake.
I have got to train this 5 month old kitten to use this litterbox. What can I do?