I should have one more litter box than I do. I’m not following the guidelines for a cat litter box and selling. The rule is one litter box for each cat and then an extra box. This isn’t a rule designed by the manufacturers of litter boxes, as you might suspect. Although, they probably endorse it because it’s definitely to their advantage to make you buy as many litter boxes as possible. One litter box can last a lifetime, so it’s not like there is a huge motivation to buy a bunch of litter boxes. But the fact remains we have 3 cats and 3 litter boxes, and nobody wants to look at litter boxes. Not me, not house guests / visitors and certainly not prospective home buyers when touring a Sacramento home to buy.

Back when I was selling my own home and had only one cat, where to put the litter box was a huge concern. With 3 cats, it’s even worse. First, you can’t just go moving litter boxes around the house. Oh, no, no, no. Cats hate change. And they have ways of showing you their displeasure, in case you’re thickheaded. You’ve got to plan ahead. If you’re thinking about selling your home in Sacramento, deal with this litter box issue upfront, way before you go on the market. You should find the least offensive and most hidden place to put your litter box. Back in Minnesota, I used to keep the litter box in the basement but when home showing, the box was less conspicuous under my dressing table and out of view.

I also put my cat into a crate when home buyers came over. I put a big note on the crate too that warned: Don’t Pet the Cat! That’s because Brandon, a ruddy Somali, would literally knock the glasses off your face. To say he did not like strangers would be like saying it gets hot in Sacramento in the summer. You have no idea until you experience the phenomena.

There was that time I had been standing in my front yard, talking to the neighbors, when a real estate agent was inside showing my home. I could hear him knocking on the glass windows, and I thought he was showing the buyers the sturdiness of the dual pane. I had no idea my cat had actually trapped the three of them in a corner of the living room. When the agent didn’t stop knocking on the glass, I went inside to check and found them huddled in terror. Meow, said Brandon. He was sitting on the floor looking innocent.

From that moment forward, I had to lock up the cat during showings.

There are a huge variety of cat boxes available nowadays. The litter box you might use for every day use might not be the litter box you want to use when showing your home for sale. Just remember, out of sight, out of mind. Especially people who don’t much like cats will not want to look at cat litter. So, you might want to consider a covered cat box. There are cat boxes that automatically flush and sort of look like toilets. You need a water source like the valve for your toilet or washing machine to which you attach a t-connector. You also need a place to dispose of water, like a toilet or laundry box in the wall with a drain pipe.

Just make these changes before putting your home on the market. Give your cats plenty of chances to adjust to the changes. Because the last thing in the world that you want is for a a potential home buyer to open your front door, take a whiff and say, “Oh, cats live here.”