This is a specific conversation about Cat litter boxes — size, type, and placement — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
So your vet has linked the overgrooming to stress and suggested adding more litter boxes — that's a really common and genuinely effective fix. The logic is sound: when cats feel uncertain about access to their tray, it becomes a low-level source of anxiety. Before I point you toward the right box, a couple of quick questions: how many cats do you have, roughly how big are they, and where in the house are you thinking of adding the extra boxes?
Just the one cat, she's a medium-sized tabby, about 4kg. The vet said to try putting boxes on each floor. We have two floors so I need at least one more. Currently just have a covered box in the bathroom upstairs.
inparticular.ai
Good — one cat, two floors, that's straightforward. The covered box is worth flagging though: covered trays are often part of the stress picture. Cats can feel cornered in them, especially if they're placed in a corner themselves. For the new box downstairs, I'd go open rather than covered, and size it properly — she needs a tray at least 1.5 times her body length to turn around and dig comfortably. At 4kg she's probably around 40–45cm nose to tail, so you're looking at a tray roughly 60cm long minimum.
That's bigger than I expected. Would it be worth swapping the covered one upstairs too, or just start with a new open one downstairs?
inparticular.ai
Start with the open one downstairs and watch her behaviour over two to three weeks. If the overgrooming eases, that tells you a lot — and you can decide about the upstairs box then. No need to overhaul everything at once. For the new tray, I'd recommend the Savic Nestor open cat litter tray. It comes in a large size at around 56 x 39cm which is close to ideal for her, it has a modest rim to contain scatter, and it's straightforward to clean. Nothing fancy — just a well-proportioned open tray that cats actually use. Place it somewhere she has a clear sightline and an easy exit route, not backed into a corner.
What about litter — should I use the same type in both boxes, or does that matter?
inparticular.ai
Use the same litter you're already using, at least initially. Cats under stress don't cope well with multiple changes at once. Get the new box established first — same litter, familiar smell. Once she's using both trays reliably and the overgrooming starts to settle, you can experiment with litter type if you want to. But consistency is your friend right now.
That makes sense. And where exactly downstairs would be best — kitchen, hallway, living room?
inparticular.ai
Avoid the kitchen if you can — food and toilet areas near each other bother a lot of cats. Hallway works if it's not a high-traffic bottleneck where she'd feel ambushed using it. Living room or a quiet corner of a utility room is often the sweet spot. The key is she needs to be able to see the approach, not feel trapped, and have a quick exit. Watch where she already tends to rest or spend calm time downstairs — somewhere near that is usually a good bet.
