Do you like this story?

The poop on the scoop: What am I missing?

By Gina Spadafori

June 17, 2007

Share on Facebook Tweet this Google Buzz Digg It Share on technorati Stumble upon it Add to delicious

The last time I had a cat, he was a roamer. Cali adopted us, and he came and went as he pleased. Where he “went, “I have no idea, but I’m assuming it involved the neighbors’ flowerbeds.

That was more than 20 years ago, and the gap between cats can be mostly explained by 16 years with a lovely dog who nonetheless could not be trusted around cats, and then mere procrastination on my part in getting one after he died. (You know, procrastination, like what I’m doing now instead of finishing the book.)

Things have changed a lot in the last couple of decades where caring for cats is concerned. Which is why Miss Clara is an indoor cat with access to a contained outdoor play area (which she shares with Velocity The Rabbit, a/k/a VTR). And which is why she has a litter box. (And so does Velocity, but his is different.*) Keeping a cat indoors — with lots of activities, of course — is safer for them and more considerate of the neighbors. So there was never any doubt in my mind when Clara arrived how she’d be spending her life.

I write a lot about cool pet products — and even, of course, about pet-friendly vehicles — which is why the UPS guy is always dropping off one thing or another for me to review. (I donate them to the animal-welfare groups for use or fund-raising when I’m done, unless the testing destroys the product.)

The amount of effort gone into creating a better litter box has interested me for years. New litter gadgets are always the attention-getters at the pet-industry trade shows. So it wasn’t long after Clara arrived that I had any number of litter boxes to choose from, including some very attractive automatic ones.

A lot of the roll-around or other kinds of manual sifters just seemed too much bother. And the first automatic I tried … well … a couple days ago, I put it in the trash (sorry landfill: Here it comes).

The small stuff: It spilled litter over the edges, even though I filled it to the “fill line” mark. It never got all the clumps and broke up others. When the rake dumped the clumps, sometimes some stuck to the rake and had to be removed by hand. And then there was the idea of having to buy litter bin liners for life, since the size wasn’t anything standard.

The big stuff: After just a few weeks of service, the rake arm jammed up and broke off. If I’d bought it, of course, I’d had returned it. But since it was a tester, I tossed it.

Friday afternoon, I filled a large and simple litter box with a good-quality unscented clumping litter (not shown in the picture). I put a small step-can designed to use plastic grocery bags as a liner next to the box, and put a good litter scoop next to the step can. The whole operation is in the tiny spare bathroom, which the dogs cannot get into because of a string with a snap on it that allows to door to remain open enough for her but not the dogs.

I now scoop twice a day, the litter stays in the box and Miss Clara uses her box without fail. It takes me less than five minutes a day to scoop (including washing my hands), and every third day I walk the clump-filled bag out to the trash and then put a clean plastic grocery bag in the step-bin.

So … what am I missing here? What is so overwhelmingly difficult about scooping the litter box that we’re all desperate for a magic way to have it done without us being much involved? And I say that as a lazy person who loves gadgets, especially of the electronic variety. If there really was an advantage to a gadget for this, I’d be all over it. I just don’t see the advantage. Do you?

Any of you use any of these varied newfangled litter set-ups? Tell me what you use and why you like it better. Honestly, I’m curious. I still have more products to test, and I wonder if maybe I’m better off just donating them new in their packaging to the animal groups and sticking with my simple litter pan, step can with plastic grocery bag liners and scoop.

***

*Litter boxes and rabbits. Yes! Rabbits will use litter boxes. Some of them are quite fastidious about it, in fact. But you don’t use regular cat litter. Get a big litter box, fill with a couple inches of pressed pellets made of recycled paper (or pressed wood pellets, such as you’d get for a wood stove) and top with several inches of fresh grass hay. (Rabbits like to eat while they poop. Kind of like reading in the bathroom, I guess.)

You don’t scoop a rabbit’s box. Instead, you toss the whole contents of the litter box — paper pellets, hay and rabbit poop/pee — into the compost pile every couple of days, scrub the box and refill. Rabbit box contents will eventually turn into the loveliest, richest compost. (I have so much I give it away on Craigslist.)

You can compost the waste of herbivores — rabbits and chickens — but not of carnivores. (Because of disease concerns with the latter.) Well, before someone jumps on me, let me say you can compost carnivore waste, but you can’t use it in anything but flowerbeds (no veggie gardens) and you have to be very careful that your separate compost pile got hot enough to kill all the nasties. (Better alternative: A digester pit, which is basically what the classic Doggie Dooley is. You’re not going to be using the compost, but at least the waste is no going to the landfill.)

By the way: Dogs are almost as crazy for rabbit poop as they are for cat poop. But at least the former (if they get any) doesn’t make their breath stink.

Filed under: animals: pets — Gina Spadafori @ 11:00 am

44 Comments »

  1. I bought my sister a Litter Robot a few years back because she is a total slacker in the litter cleaning department and then lamented about how the cat would go outside the box…

    I couldn’t retrain the humans (though I tried for all I was worth), so I had to settle for the automated litter box for the cat’s sake.

    It has served them well lo this many a year and while I object to automated litter boxes on principle, in this case, it was in the cat’s best interest.

    Comment by Mikken — June 17, 2007 @ 11:13 am

  2. I had a couple of those robot litterboxes, partly because my diabetic cat used to flood the litterbox a lot, which would make it objectionable to the other cats while I was at the office. (Picture sad little faces and bracing paws on the plastic rims so they could balance above the box and poop like little acrobats.)

    Sadly, it didn’t help that much, partly because I also had a male cat who would pee right up against the robot arm, clogging the system. It didn’t break off; instead it would make horrible groaning noises for what seemed like a very long time before subsiding. I stopped using it.

    I imagine it would work okay if you had a super-prissy single cat who wouldn’t even LOOK at a dirty box.

    Now that I no longer have the diabetic kitty :( I’ve switched to super-cheapo litter. She objected to anything but clumping, but no one else seems to care.

    Comment by Katherine — June 17, 2007 @ 11:59 am

  3. Simple litter boxes with clay, 99% dust free, does it for my cats. Do not want to inhale dust when I pour from the bag, hence the reason for clay.

    Never got into more complicated ones, and we are fine with the ease of emptying simple litter boxes.

    Have to leave a few kitty litter boxes around because one of my cats is diabetic.

    Comment by Evelyn — June 17, 2007 @ 12:57 pm

  4. I’ve got the Van Ness sifting cat pan:

    http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st......2_45952219

    and it works pretty well, but clumps still build up under the sifting screen every week or so.

    With two bad knees, bending over to scoop can be kind of painful. Unfortunately, my cat likes to aim her pee right at the metal tines of the Litter Maid automatic box I bought, so I have to scrape off the buildup every couple of days or so.

    Maybe I just need to put the box on something that raises it up so that I don’t have to lean over to scoop (assuming she’ll still use it that way!)

    Comment by The OTHER Pat — June 17, 2007 @ 1:26 pm

  5. Yes, what Evelyn said about dust. I’m asthmatic, so the clumping was kind of a sacrifice I made for my cat.

    Comment by Katherine — June 17, 2007 @ 1:30 pm

  6. My cat kicked litter all over the place, just her way. Once she got big enough I bought CleverCat, and we have never gone back. It is basically a 30-40 gallon rubbermaid-like bin with a top on it. The top has a round hole in it. She loves it, she can look around and have privacy all at the same time. And we have a lot less litter scattered around (some still comes off of her feet!). I scoop twice a day and change the whole kit and kaboodle about every five days. They make a liner, but a 39 gallon trash bag works just fine.

    Comment by Shawn — June 17, 2007 @ 1:31 pm

  7. I don’t have a cat anymore but I am sure interested in the new gadgets that hook up to the plumbing. No bags, no scoops, no clay litter. I like this idea because you aren’t filling landfills with unbiodegradeble plastic and I’ve heard horror stories of cats and intestinal issues because of litter ingredients. Not to mention the clay dust and most kitty litter product dust cannot be good for anyone’s lungs.

    Cheryl

    Comment by cheryl — June 17, 2007 @ 1:32 pm

  8. Oh forgot to mention - didn’t someone come out with a flushable kitty litter?

    Cheryl

    Comment by cheryl — June 17, 2007 @ 1:33 pm

  9. The clumping litter “horror stories” are urban legends that trace to a single story based on an anecdote in a now-defunct magazine.

    Although: Clumping litter can be a problem for DOGS, some of whom will eat anything. If enough poop and clumping litter is ingested, and a dog may need surgery to remove the resulting mass. And to be safe, clumping litter probably isn’t a good idea for tiny kittens, who may try to eat some.

    But as for most cats … no problem with the stuff. In fact, it’s opposite: Cats actually seem to prefer clumping litter, perhaps because the box stays cleaner.

    As for the CatGenie toilet that hooks into the septic system, well … it’s pretty cool. I’ve seen it at the trade shows, and written about it a couple of times.

    But be aware there is controversy that it may be contributing to the deaths of otters along the California coast (because of toxoplasmosis). The manufacturer say no, it’s more a problem with run-off from outdoor and feral cats, but the controversy remains unresolved.

    As for flushable litter: I have to go back to the words of my favorite plumber regarding anything “flushable”: “Don’t put anything into the toilet you haven’t eaten first.” Or you’ll be calling a plumber to bail you out.

    Comment by Gina Spadafori — June 17, 2007 @ 1:43 pm

  10. In my travels I do see a lot of mechanical and fancy litter box inventions…… at garage sales. I have to assume they were not accepted/appreciated by the cats involved in the experiment.

    Comment by elizabeth R. — June 17, 2007 @ 2:33 pm

  11. no dust, no clump, no clay. Recyled newspaper litter is my choice for kitties and me. since i have multiple cats, i just put enough in a couple of boxes for 24hrs. Dump the whole thing daily and repeat. I don’t find myself using much, if any, more than if I filled to required, scooped and added a bit more. I think I’ll stick to this until cats have evoled enough to do it themselves, then they can chose their method ;)

    i don’t get the big issue with cleaning the boxes either (even when I was a scooper!), but then again, I also don’t see the big deal about picking up after my dog on the street/park/yard! Do these same people have a problem with changing diapers?

    Comment by straybaby — June 17, 2007 @ 2:39 pm

  12. I found that for us ( my 2 indoor cats and I) a litter box material of pressed sawdust in pellet form works the best, along with a manual scoop. There is minimal dust from the pressed sawdust pellets. Once they get wet, they become sawdust again, making it easy to scoop, and they are extremely absorbent and smell like pine sawdust! I buy 2 20 lb bags, one for the upstairs box and one for the downstairs, and with scooping, I only change the pellets completely every 10 days or so. Buckybeast has claimed the upstairs box as his, and Kali-Ma the downstairs, so the whole arrangement works well.
    No, I don’t flush the “gleanings”. They go in a carton to the regional waste disposal place. I get cartons from my raw meat supplier every month and this is a good way to recycle them. As a child, growing up on an island with no running water and electricity back in the 1950’s, my dad used to set many a carton adrift( weighted with a few rocks) to “feed” the lobsters, a bottom dwelling scavenger, so using a carton versus a plastic bag comes naturally.

    Comment by Deb — June 17, 2007 @ 2:48 pm

  13. I tried the clumping clay litter and it was still a bit dusty even though it said dust free. The whole bathroom had a coating of dust.
    We use Sweatscoop in a plain jumbo litter pan. It’s wheat based, clumps too, and there is hardly any dust. It smells like flour when you clean up the clumps which is not unpleasant. You can flush it but like Gina says, I wouldn’t do it. Plumbers cost more than a quick trip to the garbage outside.

    Comment by Sindy — June 17, 2007 @ 2:50 pm

  14. I have two Littermaid automatic litter boxes. They work just great if you remember that they are a)litter boxes (you still need the same number as if you had the regular kind), and b)mechanical devices. All mechanical devices require some attention and maintenance. I pay them some attention every day—including still doing a small amount of scooping.

    That said, I have more consistently clean boxes with less work, AND I’m using less litter.

    But if I had different cats, and especially if I were starting over with a kitten, I’d try ditching the clumping litter in favor of something more environmentally friendly, pine or Swheat or even Yesterday’s News (although I’ve tried that last with other cats in the past,and never found one that really liked it.)

    Comment by Lis — June 17, 2007 @ 2:56 pm

  15. Does anybody have any concerns about the wheat based litter (like where it comes from and/or if it has melamine or cyanuric acid or tylenol in it? or if that’s even a problem worth worrying about?) Not looking to stir up trouble, but I’ve been a little reluctant to go the wheat litter route just because of all the recent bad rep with respect to wheat and wondering what may have happened to all those remaining stocks of contaminated wheat gluten/flour. My dog occasionally expresses interest in the contents of the litter box so I want to be careful here.

    Comment by elizabeth R. — June 17, 2007 @ 3:36 pm

  16. I have five cats, and I just use clumping litter in a bunch of rubbermaid bins. The sides are nice and high so the cats kick less out (I have one cat who just loves to dig. And dig. And dig some more woohoo!) and I can fill them pretty deep.

    Comment by elegy — June 17, 2007 @ 5:05 pm

  17. I’ve used “World’s Best Cat Litter” for 2-3 years and am quite happy with it — it is made from corn-based ingredients, seems to have much less dust than clay (hence no allergy problems), is supposed to be flushable (but I agree with Gina’s plumber and haven’t ever tried flushing it). It is clumping litter, seems to last a long time, and smells a bit sweet till you get used to it. According to their website: “… does not contain any of the suspected ingredients from the Chinese
    supplier identified in the recall.” My cats do prefer the tan version to the yellow product.

    Comment by shadepuppy — June 17, 2007 @ 5:28 pm

  18. No need to worry about the wheat litter and CYA - Swheat Scoop is made from processed wheat with no added glutens and according to their website, the wheat comes from the Great Plains area of the U.S. I’ve been using it since it came out and it works great. Believe it or not, it truly is flushable, you just have to break up the clumps with the edge of the scooper before you flush. I had been flushing it until just recently when the issue of the otters came up - the box now even has a sticker on it for California consumers asking them not to flush it.

    Also, clay litter is mined and not biodegradable, which is a double whammy in terms of environmental impact. I’d recommend going with a non-clay litter if you can.

    Comment by Susan — June 17, 2007 @ 5:55 pm

  19. On the wheat and corn litters . . .

    check the GMO factor no matter what brand.

    All we need are our kitties diggin’ n’ peein’ in some Round Up Ready® litter . . .

    has anyone done much research on reg basic clay litter and it’s effects on cat’s health? I quit using it back when I started sculpting. It suddenly seemed like a bad idea . . .

    Comment by straybaby — June 17, 2007 @ 6:25 pm

  20. I have a lot of cats, so we have a few litter boxes around. I buy the big ones and take the top off. My cats don’t like the top on. But as for litter, I use the pine pellets that go in horse stalls. I can’t find the wood stove pellets, I guess you use for your bunny? A lot of people use that for their cats. The same thing you are using for the bunny. and yes, sometimes, especially kittens can get the clumping litter in their paws and lick it off. It will then plug them up, sometimes it has killed kittens. I worked for a vet, once, and this has happend. So you could use the same thing with the bunny and the cat if you wanted.

    Comment by Trudy Jackson — June 17, 2007 @ 6:51 pm

  21. What does everyone think of the clay litter? I used it once for a lot of cats and it got so i couldn’t breathe. I asked the Dr. Of course, He said it wasn’t the litter.

    Comment by Trudy Jackson — June 17, 2007 @ 6:53 pm

  22. One of my cats has cronic diarrhea. I spend a lot of time scooping since he has a big appetite and he is a big cat. I use Sweatscoop, it does the job OK. I can’t talk to many people about my pet’s problem or about the amount of time I spend taking care of him - people don’t like to talk about diarrhea.

    Comment by MFEMFEM — June 17, 2007 @ 7:37 pm

  23. My two cats come from a “free range” shelter - no cages. With a zillion cats running around, no matter how hard the volunteers tried, there were always dirty boxes to be cleaned. Sometimes lots of very dirty boxes.

    When I brought the cats home I had a new box with the same brand litter they used at the shelter (but clumping). I let the cats out of their carriers in the bathroom so they would see the box. The little female came out first. She ran to the box looked in, scrapped a few times (I swear she nodded as if to say ‘OK’) and ran down the hall. The big male walked up to the box scratched the litter jumped in, rolled in it, shook it off and ran down the hall making strange noises. I now know that he makes these crowing noises when he is particularly happy.

    If cats could talk they would have said “alright, a clean litter box only two of us have to share.”

    Because of space contraints the box is smaller than I would like for two cats. I scoop 2-3 times a day but it always seemed to smell and I was changing it every week or so.

    Then while reading about cat nutrition (pre-recall), I came across a video by Dr. Lisa Pierson on the catinfo.org website on how to keep your litter box clean. I use her method along with a special scoop that gets all the small bits out (from litter-lifter.com)and refill as needed.

    I know, I know, I sound like a commercial, but now I change the litter only once a month - and it doesn’t even really need it then. It really doesn’t. There is never any smell, never any icky stuff in the box, and my cats are happy, which means I’m happy.

    Comment by Andrea 2CatMom — June 17, 2007 @ 8:38 pm

  24. A good rule of thumb is to have one litter box per cat plus one more. I have multi kitties and use a variety of boxes. One robut box, several boxes purchased from pet stores, a large box you used to be able to buy at automotive stores for changing oil and plastic storage boxes. Each kitty does have its preference. I must lead a very boring life when I find it “interesting” to see who does what where.

    Comment by elliott — June 17, 2007 @ 9:13 pm

  25. BTW = the robut box is the most demanding.

    Comment by elliott — June 17, 2007 @ 9:15 pm

  26. I have one strictly indoor cat and she is a heavy urinator - goes a lot at one time. Someone gave me a littermaid box - that should of been the first clue, giving it away - and I used clumping litter. The clumps were so huge that the machine would get stuck and it just never worked right. So much for that gadget. I tried the pine litter and oh my, after one urination, p u ! That stuff smelled bad. I now use Tidy Cat Crystals (multi-cat) and can almost go a month before changing out litter with regular scooping. I have found this type the best as far as my nose is concerned. Now, the problem of the cat digging to China, (oops, that just came out!), the idea of an earlier post to use a deeper box is something I’m going to try as litter is slung everywhere once my cat is done.

    Comment by Deanna — June 17, 2007 @ 10:14 pm

  27. My cat is a digger too, especially when I change out the box with new litter! He can kick it 6 or 7 feet from the box. It’s hilarious to watch. Once it gets a little funky, after a few days, not so much digging :)

    Comment by Susan — June 17, 2007 @ 10:22 pm

  28. ps. I just have one indoor cat and use a plain large box. We tried the fancy ones but he doesn’t like them. I generally find simpler is better.

    Comment by Susan — June 17, 2007 @ 10:24 pm

  29. I have never bought a bag of litter in my life. 42 years ago, when I got my first kitten, my vet told me not to use the clay litter (the only kind available back then) because the dust could cause respiratory problems for the cat. He recommended using newspaper as litter. I have two large, covered boxes and I line each with a white, kitchen size plastic bag which I cut along one side and then fit in the box. I put two sections of newspaper on the bottom and then shred another section on top of that. I change the boxes once a day. I just pick up the whole bag, tie it off, and put it in the trash. There is no odor at all. I was told that carbon in the ink absorbs the odor and that must be true. My cats over the years have all accepted this litter without a problem. Since I have to pay for my newspapers already, my only expense is the bags and I buy the largest, cheapest box I can find. BTW, the cats seem to know the difference between newspaper in the litter box and newspaper left lying on the living room floor. They have never peed on the paper that is not in the box, although they like to take a nap on it! This same vet also told me to never feed dry food to the cat as it could cause kidney problems, so I have always fed wet food. He was a very wise man. In 42 years, my cats have never had any ill effects from using the newspaper litter, and I have never had a cat have a kidney problem or UTI. I’m sure that the litter they sell these days is better than 42 years ago, but since this has worked so well for me all this time, I have never been tempted to change.

    Comment by Mandycat — June 18, 2007 @ 12:38 am

  30. I use the World’s Best Cat Litter, natural corn also but have not flushed even though it says you can. I did not think about the GMO factor. Yikes! It says it is especially safe for infant kittens in case they eat it but right now that doesn’t make me feel assured. I am going to call the company about this.

    I also wanted to mention one thing about the litter that is pictured. That is some variation of or the actual product “Litter Pearls” It is really an incredible litter. It has no odor at all. It absorbs and evaporates urine and there is no urine odor at all. No scooping is necessary except for stool. You can change it once a month and there is no odor. The problem though is that you cannot tell how much or little your cat is urinating. So if there is an problem with your cat that shows itself by excessive or decreased urination, unless you see your cat go or not go in the litter you will not know there is a problem because the urine is gone. I used this with my cat for five years and really loved it but I also believe it contributed to some extent to my not realizing early on that there was a big problem looming before her death on March 4, 2007.

    Comment by Garyn — June 18, 2007 @ 6:29 am

  31. Comment by Garyn — June 18, 2007 @ 6:29 am

    i tried the pictured style litter once outta curiosity when it first came out. i had little rolly things on the wood floors throughout the apt (thanks to a kitten!) it was SO never again! lol!~

    i also wasn’t sure if it was safe. something seemed wrong about it. no specific reason, just me being me!

    Comment by straybaby — June 18, 2007 @ 7:35 am

  32. I use Dr Kelsey’s Precious Cat. It is IMO the best I’ve used.

    When I ran out, I put another brand in 2 of the litter boxes, but not the 3rd.

    Miss Kitty stood charging the other 2 for access to the Precious Cat box - (She knew they were broke and it was all hers)

    Comment by Ann H — June 18, 2007 @ 7:38 am

  33. I used the clear pellets pictured above as well, and my cats hated it. That’s when they started peeing outside the box. We only use really fine, clumping litter now and it seems to work okay for everybody.

    Comment by Bettie — June 18, 2007 @ 9:12 am

  34. I keep the litterbox in the bathroom, and scoop it out anytime I got into the bathroom for any reason. After scooping, I always rake the surface smooth with the scoop. That way, I can easily tell by looking if there has been any digging since I last cleaned it.

    Because I do it this way, the box rarely has more than one or two buried treasures in it. I find it much easier to do it this way, never letting it get dirty in the first place, than doing less frequent, bigger, cleanings. There is never any odor at all.

    Very frequent cleanings like this prevent waste from being churned through the litter, and the litter lasts much longer and stays much cleaner.

    Sometimes, if the urine clumps are too fresh, I leave them for the next cleaning, giving them time to clump properly and not crumble (I use World’s Best Cat Litter). If the urine hasn’t clumped fully, the lumps look damp and dark, and they are very soft. When they’re fully clumped, they look dry. If you crumble a urine clump, most of the small pieces will pass through the scoop and the litter will not stay as clean.

    One thing to consider with any litter is that cats will end up ingesting small quantities of it, no matter what. They’re going to get a little litter and dust on themselves, especially in the fur of their feet, and they’re eventually going to lick it off.

    Comment by Paul — June 18, 2007 @ 11:18 am

  35. One of my three cats is extremely fussy about litter and boxes, and after considerable experimentation, we’ve finally gotten everything to her liking. I wouldn’t dream of trying one of the automatic ones with her (although I’ll look into the Cat Genie when they become more widely available). But I’ve also heard that the mechanical scoop startles the cats, and that the Litter Maid and its ilk aren’t very durable.

    Besides, I find that cleaning the boxes is really no big deal for me, so I’ve never felt the need to switch from the old-school methods. I use Cat Attract litter (amazing stuff) in the boxes that the fussy cat uses, and World’s Best in the third box, which all the cats use. Like Andrea 2CatMom, I follow Dr. Lisa Pierson’s cleaning method, which hasn’t really added to the workload and seems to make a difference to the cats.

    Comment by Amy — June 18, 2007 @ 11:32 am

  36. I don’t like traditional or clumping litter. I’m extra worried about clumping litter clumping INSIDE the cats after they clean themselves of the litter dust.

    I live on a small farm, so my cats are indoor/outdoor cats, but some do prefer to do bathroom duty in the house, (in a litter box!).

    The horses, bunnies, and cats all use the same pelletized bedding for litter. All of my baby bunnies are raised in the house and the mom teaches them to use the box!

    I have used regular pine shavings, and now the pellets for years with the cats, and have never had any problems. The pine seems to eliminate any smells, and it’s so cheap, rather than cleaning the box excessively, I just dump it all out every couple of days and replace with entirely new. No more ‘treasure hunts’.

    -Diana

    Comment by Diana — June 18, 2007 @ 12:22 pm

  37. Gina, could you show us a picture of your “string with a snap on it” that keeps the door open for the cat, but not for the dog? I’d love to be able to set something like that up for Lindsey to keep Pepper out of his area!

    When I lived in more “normal” housing (currently in 100+ year old house where the bathroom was retrofitted into a tiny space in the back of the house), I always kept the litter box in the bathroom and just scooped after I’d done my business. I flushed the poop and put the clumps in a plastic bag in the wastebasket that I loosely twisted the top of so there wasn’t any smell. The cats were always happy because the litter box was always clean. Guests never cared because the litter box didn’t smell and after all, it was a bathroom — who cared if everyone in the house was using it. It was also nice because if cats were unhappy, they pooped in the bathtub — easy to see if something was wrong and very, very easy to clean up after.

    Since our bathroom is too small for a litterbox, I now have Gina’s system for Lindsey in the mudroom extension of the kitchen.

    Since scoopable litter has come out, all my cats have preferred it. My Persians couldn’t stand the smell of the pine litter, so I never bought it again. No cat has ever liked Yesterday’s News (smell?) or the crystals (feel?).

    Now that Pepper is older, she doesn’t try to eat Lindsey’s litter anymore, but when she was a puppy, this was a real problem. Now, we mostly have to keep her out of Lindsey’s food (he’s a nibbler, so we have to keep his food dish high so that he can jump to it, but Pepper can’t). Would really love to see Gina’s system for giving Clara some privacy!

    Comment by Dorene — June 18, 2007 @ 12:53 pm

  38. I really like the flushable, clumping litter made of corn cobs. It clumps really well, is not dusty, doesn’t stink, no perfume, and I do flush it, even though my house is 101 years old, and I’m sure the plumbing is older than old. I did have a small problem with flushing in December, but it doesn’t have to be flushed. It composts too. Arm and Hammer is one brand, World’s Greatest Cat Litter is another, there are several others. You have to mix it til the cats are used to it. One downside—it does track alittle worse than some, it also sweeps up well.

    Comment by Kathy — June 18, 2007 @ 1:17 pm

  39. Forgot to add—-on the outside of my bathroom door I have installed a chain lock so the cats can go in but dogs can’t. What with grandkids, well it doesn’t always get locked, I don’t worry as much with the corn cob litter as I would with clay, or the “crystals” in the photo, still don’t like it but don’t feel like the litter itself could hurt the dogs more than the “cat box candy bars” they love so much.

    Comment by Kathy — June 18, 2007 @ 1:23 pm

  40. My older cat developed a distinct dislike for the litter crystals, both because the crystals’ original shape was uncomfortable for her to walk on, and because the crystals made a hissing noise when she urinated. (This caused panic, and eventually, she found other places to pee.) My younger cat won’t use anything but the crystals, go figure.

    I use World’s Best Cat litter in a box for the older cat, and I have flushed it. Everyone’s plumbing differs, and your mileage may vary. I did this for a short time while a foster kitten was under isolation, to keep from having to carry it through the house, on which trip I inevitably fall over and spill litter every where if I’m thinking about being careful.

    I once read Gossip on an automated litter box forum/discussion from an article link and users there stated that automatic litter boxes lifespans depended on the type of litter you used. World’s Best Cat litter (or a similar clumping non-clay litter type) was recommended for the Litter Robot and others. Of course, those folks may have just been desperate not to scoop.

    I just use a sift pan and scoop, I like being able to drag everything outside, scrub, and then sun bake for awhile, when I completely change the litter in a box.

    Comment by Rebecca — June 18, 2007 @ 1:25 pm

  41. I use World’s Best Cat Litter and a litter locker. The litter locker is an expensive diaper-genie type thing that locks the cat poop away in a way that prevents any smell escaping. The garbage truck comes once a week, and on that day I change the litter locker bag. My small apartment has absolutely no litter box odor! My system is a bit expensive, but the lack of smell is totally worth it.

    My cats are good in the box. I have those covered ones with no doors on them. Everyone seems happy.

    Comment by Val — June 18, 2007 @ 4:24 pm

  42. Comment by Dorene — June 18, 2007 @ 12:53 pm

    “Gina, could you show us a picture of your “string with a snap on it” that keeps the door open for the cat, but not for the dog? I’d love to be able to set something like that up for Lindsey to keep Pepper out of his area!”

    I used to do a variation on this with a long hook and eye arrangement something like this:

    http://ec1.images-amazon.com/i.....SS500_.gif

    You should be able to find extra long hook-and-eyes at any home improvement store.

    Comment by Kathy — June 18, 2007 @ 1:23 pm

    “’cat box candy bars’ they love so much.”

    Funny! A friend of mine called it “Kitty Roca”! VBG!

    Comment by The OTHER Pat — June 18, 2007 @ 5:55 pm

  43. I tried the wheat stuff and hated it. That stuff is like concrete when it gets wet. I have three litter boxes for two cats, use unscented clumping clay litter. They don’t have any accidents that I’ve noticed.

    Comment by Diane — June 18, 2007 @ 6:04 pm

  44. The ballots are in. EverClean Unscented Low Track wins again! I began using this litter, on the advice of a great Maine Coon breeder, in “97. Clorox bought EC at least 5 yrs ago, and has “reformulated” several times since then, but the cats simply prefer it to all the other litters I’ve tried. My current attempt to con them involves SwheatScoop buried under EC. Last attempt was with Worlds Best - obviously not in their world. As far as they are concerned crystls are for feng shui!

    Maybe big kitties simply like “heavy” litter. One of our Maines used to mound pea gravel to place his “logs” on every day. He was the official boss of our feral colony and placed his mark to keep all intruders out. And it worked!

    The Feb ‘07 issue of Catnip (Tufts U) rated litter pans, scoops and litter. Bottom line - cats prefer BIG pans (duh), we like BIG scoopers (although I prefer metal to plastic) and two litters I have not tried and don’t plan to - Cat Attract (“tracks quite a bit and very dusty”) and Citra-Max. Cats hate the smell of citrus; they got one brave cat to try it once - he refused to ever go back! Probably smells like skunk does to us.

    And we think they are finicky about food?!

    Comment by PM Hill — June 19, 2007 @ 1:20 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Leave a comment


Syndication

Recent Comments

Categories

Recent Posts