Our Ariel is approaching 6 (on 29 Apr), & has developed lymphoma. She's on pred, & being a tiny little girl all her life, is looking a bit like a bowling pin these days, which does make it harder for her to use a standard litterbox, cos her butt's just so much bigger than what she's used to dragging around behind her. What we've done is this. Instead of using a commercial litterbox, we've gotten some of those clear plastic Sterilite containers, long enough to go from the front to the back of the cage w/ no gaps on either side. We drill 2 sets of 2 holes in the back, so we can wire it to the cage (so it doesn't get tipped over)Then, we cut down what will be the front entrance of the box - & we cut it almost *all the way to the bottom of the box*, so there's virtually nothing to step over. Don't cut out the entire front of the box - leave the front corners, but make the entrance plenty wide enough so they have plenty of room to get in & out. Then, the important part - *burn* the edges you've cut, so they melt, & are not choppy, uneven, or prone to irritating your little one's rear end on the way out. We just use one of those Bic candle lighters, running it evenly across the cut areas, so they melt smoothly. Since the Sterilite boxes are deep enough from front to back, you can concentrate the litter in the back of the box, so they're not dragging poop out when they leave the box - they've already had plenty of space to drag it before they get out of the box. Ariel has always been 100% w/ her litterbox, & this has been frustrating for her, I should think. This approach has helped her a lot. The only thing we really worry about now is keeping her rear end clean, since it's harder for her to scoot her fat tush as effectively as before. A warm washcloth as soon as we notice she's a little dirty helps. If we don't notice it right away, we'll put her in the sink & just shampoo her tail, butt, & back feet. Maybe I'm anthropomorphizing here, but it really seems to make her a lot less edgy when she tries to settle down. She's not so worried about licking her butt so much. Just a thought ~ Lin, Ariel, Oberon, Max, Puck, & Ivan To email me back, take out everything from "K" to "2" [Posted in FML issue 5198]