For cat people: question about litter boxes

[EllenL]

A somewhat indelicate question----but how often do you change the litter i your cat(s) box? We scoop out every night and have been changing it completely once a month. But we forgot to do it at the beginning of the month. We've now remembered it and could do it, but it seems very clean since we scoop out everyday. We just retired and have the time to change it monthly, but wouldn't mind saving the money on litter and just changing it every other month. We just have one cat and never miss a day scooping out, so we don't think it smells. What do y'all do?

[badunnin]

Do you have scoopable or traditional litter?

[SheRa]

we typically do it 2x/week (clumping, odor absorbing litter) and do a total change w/ new liner about 1x/month.

a kind of related question - wy can't you buy those HUGE bags of litter (like at wholesale clubs) that clump? and how do people deal with NON-clumping litter? it'd drive me nuts!!

[FruitsAlive]

Wow, I wish I could say I was that dilligent. I use Feline Pine litter for my two boys and it has been a miracle. I have trouble scooping out daily because of the nature of that kind of 'litter'. The soiled stuff becomes powder and the useful stuff is too big to sift out of the other deposits. I put about two inches in and dump the box on trash day. It is miraculously never malodorous.
To answer your question though, (I digress), with one cat and your admirable scooping habits, I would say that changing every other month is fine. Maybe adding a little extra litter in the middle of the month could help stretch out the change time, but, if it doesn't smell I wouldn't worry.

[badunnin]

we typically do it 2x/week (clumping, odor absorbing litter) and do a total change w/ new liner about 1x/month.

a kind of related question - wy can't you buy those HUGE bags of litter (like at wholesale clubs) that clump? and how do people deal with NON-clumping litter? it'd drive me nuts!!

I don't do clumping cat litter - I have 2 cats, and I'd be scooping constantly. As it is, I scoop solids once every few days, and change the whole box once a week (every Monday - garbage day is Tuesday!). I use liners, so I just pull the liner out, dump it, and re-line and fill. Easy-peasy. I tend to go away for a few days at a time, leaving the cats, so I don't have to worry about it filling up with little clumps.

[FruitsAlive]

Has anyone else stopped using liners? My boys rip them to shreds in seconds, so I stopped using them.

[SheRa]

oh, i also add a little fresh litter whenever i clean it.

[Robyn1007]

Yeah, I don't use liners, they get ripped to shreds and aren't helpful with even one tear. I scoop every few days, change every few weeks. I don't have odor issues and my guy is amazingly patient with me. I know some cats absolutely hate a soiled litter box so I think I'm lucky there.

[aggie94]

We just have one cat, but she's very finicky and will start marking around the house if her litter box routine gets upset at all. So we always make sure it's clean and that we never change the type of litter. We use clumping litter, and we scoop twice a day. We top it off with fresh litter every month or so, and we usually do a full change about every two months or so.

[Middydd]

I don't do clumping cat litter - I have 2 cats, and I'd be scooping constantly. As it is, I scoop solids once every few days, and change the whole box once a week (every Monday - garbage day is Tuesday!). I use liners, so I just pull the liner out, dump it, and re-line and fill. Easy-peasy. I tend to go away for a few days at a time, leaving the cats, so I don't have to worry about it filling up with little clumps.

Our routine for two cats is exactly the same. Our cats must be careful diggers because they never tear the liner.

[KimK]

Ditto SheRa, but we don't use a liner.

Slight hijack.........

The question I have about cat litter pans is how you deal with a cat who projectile urinates straight back? I have had my female kitty 14 years and haven't been able to solve this problem. We have a cover on the pan, so when she pees straight back it hits the cover wall and runs down the side. When that urine runs down to where the cover meets the pan, it leaks out, runs down the side and hits the floor. But without the cover, the urine flies out of the box.

So far, I've resolved this by putting lots of newspaper under the pan, and cleaning it daily to eliminate smell (visitors never smell a thing), but what would really help is a cover that opens at the top for cleaning and doesn't have that seam where the cover meets the pan. Has anyone seen such a thing?

Thanks!

[MNGirlTX]

Okay - I've never used non-clumping litter, so please forgive my possible stupidity...what happens to the urine if it doesn't clump? Does that litter just sort of "dry", so all you have to scoop is the feces?

Lori

[badunnin]

Okay - I've never used non-clumping litter, so please forgive my possible stupidity...what happens to the urine if it doesn't clump? Does that litter just sort of "dry", so all you have to scoop is the feces?

Lori

The urine goes to the bottom if it's non-clumping.

[MNGirlTX]

Ditto SheRa, but we don't use a liner.

Slight hijack.........

The question I have about cat litter pans is how you deal with a cat who projectile urinates straight back? I have had my female kitty 14 years and haven't been able to solve this problem. We have a cover on the pan, so when she pees straight back it hits the cover wall and runs down the side. When that urine runs down to where the cover meets the pan, it leaks out, runs down the side and hits the floor. But without the cover, the urine flies out of the box.

So far, I've resolved this by putting lots of newspaper under the pan, and cleaning it daily to eliminate smell (visitors never smell a thing), but what would really help is a cover that opens at the top for cleaning and doesn't have that seam where the cover meets the pan. Has anyone seen such a thing?

Thanks!
Kim - What about this?
Top entry cat box (http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444180 7400&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302033737&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023690&bmUID=1155140245896&itemNo=16&Nao=12&In=Cat&N=2033737&Ne=2)

[KimK]

MNGirlTX,

Thank you so much! I had looked a while back for something like this, but haven't checked lately. I'll definitely be giving this a try, especially because they offer a 30 day trial. My only question is if my aging cat will adapt to it - it might become more difficult to use as she gets older. Otherwise, I bet it'll work great! :)

Thanks again,
Kim

[Meganator]

MNGirlTX,

Thank you so much! I had looked a while back for something like this, but haven't checked lately. I'll definitely be giving this a try, especially because they offer a 30 day trial. My only question is if my aging cat will adapt to it - it might become more difficult to use as she gets older. Otherwise, I bet it'll work great! :)

Thanks again,
Kim

If your cat can't manage the top-entry, maybe you could create something similar from one of those big Rubbermaid tubs, only cut an entry in the side - not too high that she can't get in it, but high enough that if her rear is facing the opening, everything will still stay inside. Just a thought.

[KimK]

That's another good idea, Meganator. I'll have to peruse the Rubbermaid aisle next time I'm at the store. If anyone else is looking at this, I did a little research and found them at Amazon for $24 something. It got mostly good reviews. The people who like them really seem to like them.

[mcgeiger]

The "correct" :rolleyes: answer for litter to prevent litterbox problems:

fine grain litter (this usually means clumping), unscented
scooped daily
changed weekly-monthly
one per cat
one on every floor
usually not the covered ones
in a location without loud scary noises
in a location where they can't be "surprised" by other cats/dogs/toddlers

That said, we have 3 boxes; 1 covered, 1 uncovered, and 1 littermaid. They get scooped 4x/week, and changed once every three months.
It really depends on how fastidious your cats are...

As for the horizantal urination, have you asked your vet about spraying (although uncommon, it is not unheard of for females to mark); and is this full quantities or just some; and does she ALWAYS do this, or just sometimes?

[Meganator]

I tried the clumping litter once, but I felt like I was living at the beach. How do you keep the grains from sticking to your cat's feet and tracking them all over the house? Currently, our litter box is in the garage, so that would be less of a problem, but we (kitty and me) are happy with the non-clumping anyway.

[SheRa]

I tried the clumping litter once, but I felt like I was living at the beach. How do you keep the grains from sticking to your cat's feet and tracking them all over the house? Currently, our litter box is in the garage, so that would be less of a problem, but we (kitty and me) are happy with the non-clumping anyway.

we have a bath mat under ours, and she seems to be pretty good about shaking off her "beach sand" :D

[MNGirlTX]

MNGirlTX,

Thank you so much! I had looked a while back for something like this, but haven't checked lately. I'll definitely be giving this a try, especially because they offer a 30 day trial. My only question is if my aging cat will adapt to it - it might become more difficult to use as she gets older. Otherwise, I bet it'll work great! :)

Thanks again,
Kim

No problem! I'm pretty sure my cats would look at me like I was crazy if I brought that thing into the house, so good luck!!

[KimK]

mcgeiger,

Regarding the horizontal urination, my cat has ALWAYS done this. I remember the first time I saw her do it as a new kitten and it surprised me because every other cat I had known squatted. I don't think it's spraying, because this is the way she goes every time that I have seen her "go" - not that I hang out to watch her, but the way that litterbox wall gets dirty so fast, she has GOT to be urinating that way all the time. And it's full quantities, not smaller amounts like if she were spraying.

Thanks,
Kim

[EllenL]

Thanks for all the replies. I did think it was okay to maybe do it every other month, but wanted to make sure I wasn't being a bad cat mom!

[mbrogier]

I have 3 cats and two cat boxes. My two original cats have always used one large covered box, and my new cat was supposed to use the new box. They all use both boxes.

We scoop both boxes every day or two. We completely change the boxes every week. Macavity hates to have a dirty box, and he will whine about it if his box is dirty. If I waited a month, Macavity would be peeing in my closet, and I know that I would be able to smell the boxes.

[Terri_A]

I am apparently the worst cat owner on earth. We scoop the cat box every 4 days or so. He doesn't seem to care and he goes outside quite a bit, so even that often there's not much there. I do change the whole litter box about every 10-14 days though. I will say that I use Tidy Cats and it never stinks. That was my biggest fear about DD wanting a cat. We only have one bathroom, so that's where the litter box is and I didn't want it to smell...and thankfully it never does.

You may all now whip me for my bad cat keeping.

[FruitsAlive]

This string reminds me of my favorite sidebar from The Onion...http://www.theonion.com/content/node/34954
That said, I don't think you're a bad cat parent at all, Terri. I'm sure we've all let it slide one time or another. I moved the litterbox out to the garage so I would remember to dump it weekly if not sift more often. Does anyone else use Feline Pine? I switched because it smelled so much better, but, it sounds like other litters have come a long way. I used to use Arm & Hammer because it worked the best for my big boys, but my Mr.T has some weezing problems and I worried about the dust.
Speaking of, does anyone else's cat weeze? I've taken him to the vet and none of them can find anything wrong...not even asthma. He's been that way since he was a little squeak.

[VictoriaL]

No, Terri, I must be the worst cat mom on earth! I have never completely changed the litter box since we started using clumping litter many years ago. I mean, what is "done" in the litter box is clumped and removed, right? Why dump the unclumped stuff out and add more?

I scoop every day, and add more litter every 4 or 5 days. But totally clean out the box? Never. I think it's a waste. And I am a bit, um fastidious about things being clean and non-smelly.

[mbrogier]

I am apparently the worst cat owner on earth. We scoop the cat box every 4 days or so. He doesn't seem to care and he goes outside quite a bit, so even that often there's not much there. I do change the whole litter box about every 10-14 days though. I will say that I use Tidy Cats and it never stinks. That was my biggest fear about DD wanting a cat. We only have one bathroom, so that's where the litter box is and I didn't want it to smell...and thankfully it never does.

You may all now whip me for my bad cat keeping.

I'm not seeing how you're being a bad cat owner. I wouldn't change my litter as frequently if I didn't have such a finicky cat or three cats. When I had one cat, I scooped the box two or three times a week and changed the box completely once a month.

Changing the entire box helps by cleaning out the very bottom where the pee goes and collects. That may not be an issue with some cats, but with having 3, some of the litter doesn't clump but because it's by the urine soaked litter it turns darker and smells. My finicky cat doesn't like a dirty box.

[rebadiva]

...and get the self-cleaning litter box from Littermaid (http://www.littermaid.com). I paid abot 90 bucks for mine at Target a few years ago, and I LOVE IT! If you do get one, buy the permanent litter recepticle (search for "Slide and Toss") for it off eBay...you'll save in the long run AND it holds more than the desposible ones.

Trust me, this thing is awesome!

[honeygirl1971]

re liners--mcgeiger can correct me, but I was told once that a lot of cats like to feel the "bottom" of the litter box, and so will not be satisfied until they have shredded the liner. We never use liners.

Before I was pg, I scooped the box every day, but didn't change all the litter very often (every few months). My (one) cat is very clean, and we never had any issues or smell. DH is on litter box duty now, though, and I have to nag and nag him to scoop it out. :rolleyes:

[mbrogier]

...and get the self-cleaning litter box from Littermaid (http://www.littermaid.com). I paid abot 90 bucks for mine at Target a few years ago, and I LOVE IT! If you do get one, buy the permanent litter recepticle (search for "Slide and Toss") for it off eBay...you'll save in the long run AND it holds more than the desposible ones.

Trust me, this thing is awesome!

I have one in the basement, just sitting there. One of my cats pees a lot, and the littermaid can't handle that much lumping at one time. It was a great idea, and if you have one cat that doesn't pee as much as mine does, then it's a good investment. My cats also didn't like the noise of the motor. They like to spend a lot of time afterwards building "sandcastles" or something in there. :rolleyes: It's just like a cat to not like a $125 litterbox.

[Meganator]

...They like to spend a lot of time afterwards building "sandcastles" or something in there. :rolleyes:


:D My cat is the opposite - sometimes, she literally leaps out of the box and runs away.

[FruitsAlive]

:D My cat is the opposite - sometimes, she literally leaps out of the box and runs away.

For some reason, this reminds me of my childhood dog who, when audibly passing gas, would desperately try to run from his back end in horror.

[Meganator]

For some reason, this reminds me of my childhood dog who, when audibly passing gas, would desperately try to run from his back end in horror.


LOL! :D


On an unrelated note, I only just realized that the pink stick-out-tongue icon is a stick-out-tongue icon. I thought it was sort of "silly grin" icon. I'm afraid I have been sticking out my virtual tongue at people completely out of context.