Pets in the city

Urbanization

It used to be commonplace to assume that pets were only suited to the suburbs. Gardens to roam in for dogs and cats, and more importantly, plenty of space for toileting. However, as pet ownership increases in urban populations, owners require solutions for smaller spaces, apartments without gardens, and lifestyles that mean time pressure on the working family who may be away from home regularly.

Convenience

Smaller pets can mean easier care as well as less space required. Any calm temperament is an absolute must with an ‘indoor’ pet who will need to also be relatively quiet if neighbours are to be respected.

If on the ground level, taking any dog out for toilet trips is as simple as any normal house, as well as providing frequent opportunities for exercise in order that they can expend excess energy and stay fit. No yard? No problems. It is only when the pet is kept on higher levels of buildings that the effort to care for their toileting needs takes serious consideration.

Ferrets avoid soiling their own beds and eating areas, and can be trained to use litter boxes, even wiping themselves before leaving the area. A wide range of ferret litter is available but care must be taken to choose only approved types, as ferrets enjoy pushing their noses into their litter, known as ‘snorkelling’ meaning their airways can become blocked if incorrect litter is chosen.

Rodents such as rats or gerbils generally choose an area to toilet so it is often easier to allow them to choose that area of their cage and then introduce it as the preferred place by providing a separate litter tray in this space.

House training

With small, or young pets, toileting will be more frequent and trips up and down lifts or stairs to the outdoors can soon become time-consuming. Products exist to help with this dilemma. 

For dogs, ‘puppy pads’ designed to absorb urine are well-known. However, dog litter trays are designed especially to provide a regular and more robust toilet. The Rascal Dog Litter box allows the dog to step down slightly into the unit, with raised sides permitting dogs to raise their leg whilst urinating without splashing onto the surrounding floor. A layer of washable artificial grass covers a base of absorbent newspaper.

Cats often locate a litter tray themselves but dogs in particular need to be thoroughly taught by their owners that the urge to toilet means locate this special place. Animals learn this by location and habit, so it is worth remaining consistent.

Clean means success

Cats particularly like clean litter trays and may refuse to toilet in ones that have even the slightest remnant of faeces or urine left behind. Self-cleaning litter trays, such as the ScoopFree Automatic Litter Box use a litter that absorbs odours and dries out waste and states it can be left for up to 30 days at a time before the cartridge requires changing. Once the cat leaves the box, a timer is set which after 20 minutes rakes across the litter removing solids into a waste trap. 

Deodorising products can help to reduce odours but these can often deter pets that rely on scent for information. Most animals have better senses of smell than humans, so strongly perfumed litter, whilst attractive to humans, may deter them from using our carefully planned pet toilet spaces.

Space saving

Cats have been shown to prefer litter trays that are at least one and half times the size of the cat themselves, so it may be unfair to provide a smaller litter box just to suit space-saving needs.

Finally, city living does not mean sacrificing everything that is natural. One client I worked with had a small balcony to their apartment. Preferring to use an eco-friendly solution to the problem, we installed polythene as a base, and a section of grass turf to allow the puppy to establish their toilet area here.