Litter box dispute - help us decide!

[Aviatrix]

Okay, so we need your help settling a litter box dispute! My husband and I just bought a new house and would love to get a cat but there's one thing holding us up: we can't agree on where to put the litter box!

Hubby is completely turned off by 'seeing' the box and wants to put it in the basement. The previous owners had a cat and one corner of the cement floor in our basement smells like cat pee. We've tried our damnedest to clean it and there is now a carpet over the floor, but if you get close, it still faintly smells like cat pee. My husband thinks that's the best place to put a litter box since it 'already smells like cat' and is out of sight. I worry that the odor will prompt the new cat to pee on the floor instead of the litter box to mark territory. I also prefer that the cat spends its time on the main floor of the house and think that if its litter is in the basement it will want to spend its time there. Oh, and we would need to cut a 'kitty door' so the cat could get down there in the first place. (Have no idea if the cat would even go through it!)

One main floor option would be the mudroom/laundry room; however, that would mean leaving a sliding french door open a crack so that kitty could get in and out (a heating concern in the winter). The other concern is that since the mudroom is one of our main entrances, it might encourage kitty to escape when the door opens and we want an indoor cat.

Neither choice seems clear. Help us decide!!

What do you think? Will a new cat pee in a spot that smells like pee from another cat? Is it best to keep the cat away from that area altogether? Any creative solutions??

Help is appreciated!