I don't know your whole story, but I for one do not like crates. Mine have one, but it is always open, and they use for 'cage matches' (hehehehe)
When mine were young, they had their room which was a small spare room. They had toys, bed, food, water and I put up a baby gate at the door to keep them in.
Now potty. Mine have to be pee pad trained, b/c they are home alone for too long. I started with newspaper, but then they started to tear some of it and I guess from so many layers and wetness, I once saw a big hairy bug - GROSS!!!
Then I switched to pee pads. Well, this was good, until I started to come home and their entire room was covered in pee pad confetti.
Then I switched to the washable pee pads. These worked great, but they started to 'drag' them around the room. So I got the doggie litter pans (not the litter) just the boxes. I put the washable pee pads inside the boxes. This was the answer! A lot of people have a hard time training them to go in the box, but I do believe it does work, b/c if they are contained in a small area, like my spare room or your laundry room.
Now, once they matured a little more (a few months) I went back to the throw away pee pads, b/c even though the washable one do the job as well, I found that they don't dry very quickly, so the pad were always soaking wet and I had to wash feet everyday.
Mine are now 3 yrs. old. They have potty boxes upstairs in 'their room' and they have potty boxes downstairs in a designated spot. And now they have free run of downstairs when no one is home. They potty in their boxes.
They will also potty outside when we take them out and they have to go.
Now, you mention pineapple, I assume you have a poop eater? I can't give much advice b/c I have been battling this nasty behavior for 2.5 yrs now. When mine were young it was ALL the time. Now that they are 3 we do have a better schedule. Mine are fed 2x a day and for the most part they do poop right after they eat, so I am able to get it and flush it. They do so good for months and then something always happens and one of them won't poop before I leave for work, so I know that they must have some poop brunches here and there.
Best of Luck! |