The present disclosure provides a method for evaluating the appeal of a litter or the litter box environment to a cat and also provides a behavioral diagnostic method for assessing risk of urinary health issues. The methods involve the use of the duration of the elimination sequence to diagnose if the cat has a healthy (enriched environment) or unhealthy (standard environment) elimination behavior. The duration can be measured by an apparatus that determines the time of residence of an animal in a litter pan (i.e., the difference between time of entrance and time of exit from the pan). The apparatus can determine the time of residence of the animal in the litter pan using one or more of a motion detection device attached to the litter pan, an accelerometer attached to the litter pan, or a weight scale balance under the litter pan.