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Litter box rules: Poor potty habits often owner’s fault, not cat’s
By Pet Connection Staff
May 12, 2009
Cats are clean. Everyone knows that. So why do so many of them have trouble using the litter box? From Gina Spadafori and Dr. Marty Becker in this week’s Pet Connection newspaper feature:
The No. 1 behavior problem reported to veterinarians when it comes to cats? Missing the litter box, by far.
But don’t blame the cat.
If your cat is hit or miss where the litter box is concerned, chances are the choices you’ve made factor into the problem. After all, your cat really isn’t asking for anything more than you would when it comes to a bathroom. All that’s required for most cats is that the bathroom be clean, quiet and offer no surprises.
That sounds simple, but the failure to use a litter box sends countless cats outside or to shelters every year. Before you even consider such a drastic step, you need to try to work things out with your cat if you have a litter box problem.
Find out how to beat the litter box blues here.
Looking for an interesting and unusual pet? Gina has a suggestion:
Healthy, well-socialized rats can make lively, entertaining pets. And they’re easy to train to do tricks.
Still, many people would never consider these as pets because rats have a bad reputation. But healthy pet rats are not street rats. With basic husbandry and an easy-clean housing setup, they are clean and friendly.
If you’re open-minded enough to own a rat, check out the Rat and Mouse Club of America’s Web site. The site packs in a great deal of good information, with plenty of reasons to keep a rat (or more than one, because they get lonely), as well as all the tips you need to care for these pets properly.
Rats are recommended for older children rather than preschoolers, and be sure as with all pets that children practice good hygiene habits with their pets, including frequent hand-washing.
Dr. Marty Becker and Gina have some tips on how to know when it’s time to head for the veterinary ER:
Knowing what’s a true veterinary emergency and what’s not can save you hundreds of dollars, since emergency clinics — like human emergency care — can be quite expensive.
It’s always a good time to review when a pet needs to see a veterinarian. Anything is worth at least a phone call if you’re not sure what’s wrong. And some things require immediate attention by a veterinarian.
Plus: The Red Sox pitcher who really loves his dog; agility training for an active older dog; why we love our dogs. All this and more, in our Pet Connection newspaper feature, which you can read right here.
You can also see it exactly the way we send it to our client newspapers here. (PDF)
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When people tell me they scoop their cat’s litterbox every couple of days, I always recommend that they not flush their toilet for seveal days and see how they like it.
That being said, there is a way to beat the weekly whole box cleaning routine. But it only works if you are fastidious about the scooping and box wiping activities (and use clumping litter).
This link has great information on types of boxes, litters, etc.
http://www.catinfo.org/litterbox.htm
The best part is that it shows you how to beat the weekly whole box cleaning routine. But it only works if you are fastidious about the scooping and box wiping activities.
Scroll down to the “cleaning the litterbox” section and click on video.
I scoop 3 xs a day, clean anything that adheres to the box, and use a Litter Lifter scoop to make sure I get everything out.
(http://www.litter-lifter.com/)
I clean the whole box once every 6 weeks, and there is no odor, no nothing, but a box that is as clean at the end of 6 weeks as it was on day 1.
Comment by 2CatMom — May 12, 2009 @ 8:52 am
Your Rat and Mouse club link is wrong- it’s http://www.rmca.org/ not the other way round :)
Rats make fantastic pets. I had them for years before I was able to have dogs, and they were a hoot. Some significant and common health problems (upper respiratory stuff especially) and finding a good vet can be difficult, but they are so worth it. Funny, affectionate little critters, rats. I miss mine, but don’t have the time for them right now.
Comment by katie — May 12, 2009 @ 9:57 am
The Tidy Cat “Breeze” system is by far the cleanest box I have ever used. It is also the least cumbersome to supply. A side benefit is one ever needs a urine sample - just omit the absorbent pad and use the plain pan for collection!
Comment by Janet Boss — May 12, 2009 @ 10:00 am
We have 2 of the Breeze system, and they are the cleanest boxes ever because the cats won’t use them, LOL. We’re back to good old scooping litter and regular litterboxes and setting the Breeze boxes out in our yard sale this spring.
Comment by Raven's Mom — May 12, 2009 @ 10:12 am
The Litter Lifter scoop is one of the best tips I’ve ever gotten off this site. It’s not the cheapest scoop on the pegboard wall, but when you see how quickly, smoothly, and perfectly it works, you realize they have a reason for asking more for it than your run-of-the-mill scoop.
Comment by The OTHER Pat — May 12, 2009 @ 10:44 am
My daughter has 2 rats who will be moving back in soon with her..I am anxious to see how my new kitties (rescues as I lost Smudge and Jessica last year) will adapt.. The kitties are terrified of my goldens, Jack and Lucy. I remember my daughter’s first two rats, Anthrax and Heroin Bob, (they were both white and she was 19)would entertain my late pup Harry for hours…we called it Rat-TV.In fact they passed within weeks of losing Harry last year..He would sit on her bed for what seemed like hours just watching them…and of course he was terrified of them too.. Having been terrifed of rodents myself for years, I find it comical I now smile at the thought of them….of course my daughter calls them “fancy rats” whatever that means!!
Comment by Carol V — May 12, 2009 @ 2:26 pm
Yea, the Litter Lifter!! :O) I once bought one for my husband’s secretary as a gift “just because”… she was so happy I didn’t hear the end of it for months.
You wouldn’t think it would be that difficult to get people to part with $7-8, but it really is one of the hardest products to explain to folks. However, once purchased and used, most refuse to ever go back to the sift-and-shuffle method.
Also, I’ve mentioned it here before, but what we’ve found as the “ultimate” litter box are a pair of plastic kiddie pools ($17 each off-season) in the basement. They’re about 12” deep and about 6’ across.
Both are filled about 6-7” deep with Feline Fresh clumping pine litter (flushable, all natural!) and the cats LOVE them. Best of all, it’s truly not a big deal when we delay a few days between cleanings.
What it came down to was that the cat’s behaviour was not going to change - they were going to continue use the box several times a day and require clean litter each time - and our behaviour was going to be difficult to modify, even though urine on the rug is a pretty good negative reinforcer for a human. lol
The pools solved ALL the problems. Of course, our basement isn’t used for much other than doing laundry and storage, so we aren’t bothered by the presence of the pools. Others’ situations may vary… ;O)
Comment by Kim — May 12, 2009 @ 2:56 pm
I LOVE that idea. Clara e Ilario have three boxes in the garage. I think I’m going to try to add the kiddie pool.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — May 12, 2009 @ 3:17 pm
I’ve read that if you use biodegradable litter, it can be worm composted. Has anyone here tried that?
Comment by Eucritta — May 12, 2009 @ 4:39 pm
Gina, that’s actually how we came about the idea. We were fostering for a cat rescue that got overwhelmed, and in addition to our own six cats… well, needless to say we had about a dozen litter boxes. Half a dozen lined up in the upstairs hallway, half a dozen in the basement, and a few more scattered around the house in odd places for “odd kitties.”
Once the fosters left, we liked that the extra litter boxes gave us more flexibility (say, if we got home and were just TOO tired to scoop another poop…) but hated having so many boxes strewn about the house.
My boss actually suggested the pools - jokingly. I did one better and picked up two. We will NEVER go back to boxes. Did I mention that litter doesn’t stick to the bottom, there are no corners to scrape nasties out of of, and no reason for the cats to pee right down the side of the box because they have so much extra room to dig around? Oh… I should have… cause that’s the best part. ;O)
Quick tip - even if you’re only going to use one, purchase two. This allows you to clean out one while the other is in use. I just store the extra pool (in our case, a third) underneath one of the full ones. Also, the pine litter is MUCH lighter than clay and WAY easier to work with when you’re dealing with such large quantities. Take into account as well that filling the pool(s) initially takes a LOT of litter and is quite costly.
All in all - *totally* worth it. :O)
Comment by Kim — May 12, 2009 @ 8:32 pm
Pools that large can be tricky to scoop if you have a short reach or back issues.
Lessons learned the hard way, starting with the 4’ wide garden beds that would have been a lot easier to deal with if they were 3’ wide.
Comment by H. Houlahan — May 13, 2009 @ 5:48 am
Gotcha covered there too, Heather. :O)
This is what I was using before we switched to the litter lifter:
https://www.shanestack.com/shop/index.php?page=shop-flypage-2453
Our store was able to order one in for me from their distributor.
I’m 5’4”, so the reach is a bit wide, but the pine litter helps there as well… because it’s so lightweight, there’s less strain on your shoulders/lower back while your sifting.
I have been known to use the rake even now to drag sections towards me to go through with the lifter… but it’s rarely necessary as the cats rarely use the very center of the pools.
Comment by Kim — May 13, 2009 @ 9:07 am