Moving the litter box

Question
HI!  I moved last August. It is now December. I want to move my cat's litter box from a room I wish to use as a dining room to a partially finished laundry room downstairs. There is a door to the downstairs which I can keep open.  I tried moving the box for a couple of days and she would not use it.  She doesn't go downstairs very often - maybe when I am working down there. When I moved the box back to the original location she used it and everything was fine.  I'm afraid if I do move it, it might lead to mis-behaviors. I don't have another place on the main floor to put it either. Someone suggested that I lock her downstairs until she started using it. Any other suggestions?

Answer
Cats are incredible creatures of habit. She is slowly (because cats take their time) getting used to a new home, and now she can't understand why you want her to use the litterbox in the basement. This will take time, but in the end everyone will be happy (okay, she might not, but at least she'll have to compromise).

She needs to get used to the basement. Maybe to her it's creepy and smells funny (I have the willies with basements, which is why I refuse to live in a house with one, so I can empathize with her). Perhaps a second litterbox in the basement for starters, perhaps not to close to the appliances (or close to them, depends. Who really knows with a cat?). Make sure she knows where the litterbox is, and that it's for her(you may need to scoop out a 'sample' from the upstairs litterbox and put in the second one as a hint). Then slowly begin to remove the upstairs litterbox a few times a week, so she gets it into her head that there's a backup in the basement.  

And if you finally get the litterbox away from the upstairs area, replace the litterbox site with a piece of furnitire (don't use a plant; she'll use that as a litterbox), and spray some housebreaking deterrant around the area.

Cats can be trained to use another site for litter. It's just takes a bit of sneakiness and patience, but it can be done.

Good luck.