soiling.setup.n-boxes
Litter setup — n+1 boxes, place, type, substrate, cleanliness
Attribution: Cornell Feline Health Center + ASPCA + Fear Free (Lees); buffet method named by IAABC Cassiday / ASPCA side-by-side
Evidence grade
authority
“this is the standard approach”
n+1, 1–2 inch unscented finer/clumping, uncovered, daily scoop are the standard approach on the opened Cornell / ASPCA / Lees pages. Buffet is a named diagnostic procedure, not an RCT of treatment. Cassiday n≈9 is under-powered by their own note — practitioner method, not a trial grade. No source here gives advance criteria or a week ladder.
Indicated for
- Inadequate litter setup
- Box aversion
- Substrate aversion
- Location preference
Prerequisites
None — this is a starting protocol.
Cadence
- Sessions/day: scoop at least once daily (ASPCA); Lees once or twice daily; Bahner: you cannot scoop too often
- Days/week: every day
- Max minutes/day: not specified
Sources disagree: Full wash: ASPCA weekly complete rinse/replace vs Fear Free Lees monthly dump+wash. Cornell has no numbered wash interval. No source gives a week-by-week setup ladder.
5 steps in the full sequence — not shown here
Sources (6)
- Cornell Feline Health Center — Feline Behavior Problems: House Soiling
- ASPCA — Litter-Box Problems
- Fear Free Happy Homes (Lees) — Litter Box Basics for Beginners
- Fear Free Happy Homes (Delgado) — spraying vs house soiling
- IAABC Foundation Journal (Cassiday 2025) — litter substrate preferences
- IAABC Foundation Journal (Parry/Dixon) — adding more litter boxes