Confusing instructions as to when to change the litter box
By suspenseful
@suspenseful (40193)
Canada
March 11, 2012 9:04am CST
I am confused as to when to change the littler box. Now I get the clumping kind, and take out the clumps at least twice a day or when Kitty does her business. But then when I read the package or go online and look up a cat care site, I get two different rules. First there is the take out the clumps, add more litter to fill it up to 3- 4 inches (my cat kicks a lot by the way) and then empty out the old litter once a month. Trouble with this? Is if you filled up the litter on the 29th or 28th day, then you are also throwing that new littler away as well.
The other one is to just take out the mess every day and empty the littler once a week Now with most packages just selling enough to fill a litter box, and even though I do get the store brand and on sale, that can be a bit of a cost.
So what method is best?
1 person likes this
7 responses
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
12 Mar 12
I scrub it out once a month that is reasonable, but cannot see dumping it once a week. One really has to read the whole post instead of just part of it. It is that I get conflicting information and the litter I use is the clumping kind not the non-clumping kind that is made for people who are made of money. I am not.
1 person likes this
@loved1 (5328)
• United States
20 Mar 12
We use an enclosed litter box for our cats. It looks a bit like a kennel but the top half comes off so it is easy to clean. Our cats like to kick up the litter and make a mess too so we put the entire enclosed litter box into a large square drain pan that we found at an automotive store. They can kick up litter to their hearts' content but it just goes in the pan instead of all over the floor. We usually get the scoopable litter and scoop the clumps out daily. I find that adding just a bit of new litter every other day is sufficient. We also use baking soda sprinkled in with the litter to help control odor. Every two to three weeks the litter is changed completely. I hope some of these tips help you. Good luck!
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
4 Apr 12
They do. The cat goes out at nght so there is not that much litter to clean up. It is worse in the winter because it is too cold. even though there is a place under the wheelchair ramp where the cat can hide. I was thinking of buying one of those as seen on tv cat litter box cleaners, but we use the clumping litter and those little box mesh cleaners are not designed for that. I o think once a month is good for a good cleanup as long as you take off the clumps every time you see them.
1 person likes this
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
13 Mar 12
I use Arm & Hammer Double Duty Litter and I almost never empty the litter box (once in 6 months). I keep the litter deep enough so that my cat's pee and poop never reach the bottom of the litter pan. I tilt the pan twice a day and the pee rolls in an nice roundish ball which I scoop out and the poop also rolls in a nice little packet also easy to scoop out. I find that since I changed to a covered pan my kitty happily covers everything without spilling a drop.
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
15 Mar 12
That is the kind I use now. It was on sale and I got two containers. Also unlike the others, it is not just categorized into one cat, cat in an apartment, multi cats, etc. just in case that orange cat outside was not fixed, or there is another male cat roaming in our neighbourhood. I did not know about the rolling to one side. It would save me a lot of time digging into the litter with the scooper.
1 person likes this
@chrystaltears (3392)
• United States
14 Mar 12
My cat is trained and let's me know when she wants to go so I can let her out, so I have o need for litter. My daughter, however, cleans the litter everyday when she gets home from work and doesn't bother to add litter until the litter has just gotten to low for them to use it and cover it up well. She also has one of those dome type litter boxes where if they kick the litter, I mean when they kick the litter, it stays inside the dome. The actually have to get out of the dome section to get in the little tunnel to walk out of the box. Hope this helped in some way or other.
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
15 Mar 12
I would like for our cat tp go out, but our city has an ordinance for all cats to be indoors even if they have been fixed. Well guess what? WE have a lot of roaming cats around and even those who have indoor cats do let them out in the yard. Also not many of us can afford to build high end fences with chicken wire faced down from the top. I think that the city put the law in as a cash cow, thinking everyone here is made of money. By the way they also have cameras at crossroads, charge if there is too many alarms even if there is a disabled person inside and when you both go on a trip, he forget something so the spouse calls a friend who did have th code, etc. Happened to me. But that is another story of what it was like when my husband was dying.
Where can you get the dome type litter boxes? I live in Canada by the way.
1 person likes this
@timetravel (1425)
• United States
12 Mar 12
One of my two cats is very fussy, and the rule of thumb is always one more litter box than number of cats - one cat, two litter boxes, two cats, three boxes. So we have three litter boxes - two upstairs; one downstairs. The best one is the one with high sides that I got from Amazon when we got our second cat. He loves to kick it up - the litter - high, and it keeps it from going on the floor. For the box with lower sides, for our older cat, I have a litter mat underneath. When the mat gets litter on it, I just push the box aside, pick up the mat and sort of fold it, and let the excess litter pour back in the litter box.
I scoop every few hours because sometimes they both insist on using only one litter box, and if I don't scoop often enough it gets quite stinky and full. The best clumping litter I've found is called Cat's Pride - it's a sandier texture and the only one recommended by the humane society. But it's not sold nearby so I can only get it every now and then. Otherwise, it's Tidy Cats clumping litter. I thoroughly clean each litter box once a month - even if I've added another inch of litter the previous night - because the box itself gets gooky after a time. I used to use a liner - plastic - but they got expensive and they always got torn up and the litter got through on the box anyway. So now I don't bother with liners.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
15 Mar 12
Replacing it once a week is just a way to make people buy more cat litter when they do not need to. I keep the litter box on the other side of the kitchen away from the food, well the kitchen floor is linoleum and it is easy to clean, whereas a carpet, that would mean getting out the vacuum and of course, I can afford to take out the carpet and put in hardwood floors.
1 person likes this
@timetravel (1425)
• United States
13 Mar 12
hahaha...they usually advise not to keep the litter box near the food, but I've seen it done before - as long as the cat isn't bothered by conflicting smells there shouldn't be a problem. I sweep up litter off our hardwood floors and dump it back in the box, too. Like you, I couldn't afford to scrub out and replace all the litter once a week - but once a month is just as good - unless the cat has been ill and really stinks up the box. But that should be very rarely. What I like about CAt's Pride is it's less "pebble-ey" in texture than the other clumping litters, so it doesn't hurt our floors the same.
2 people like this
@mrbytes (37)
• Denmark
11 Mar 12
Well it depends on the quality of the litter, I take the dirty out and fill by need, but I buy some premium mark, this is also good as it takes the smell very much as well.
But if I were to choose a method of the two I would suggest option 2, you can always add a little litter so it is not too little in the box...
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
12 Mar 12
I figure that unless the cat does not want to go, to just take out the clamps and the poopee stuff and fill it up to keep it at the level. For our cat, that is not that much as she really likes to kick. Then once a month I will give the littler box a good washing over after getting rid of the old litter and then putting n a complete fresh batch.
Sure wish there was a "when the litter turns yellow, dump it."
1 person likes this
@Nadinest1 (2016)
• Canada
11 Mar 12
Is there a BEST method? Probably do what is best for you. I empty the clumps once/week....that might be a long time. I always check on the 'dumping' day to see if more cat litter is needed.
I never completely empty all the cat litter and add all new litter. That is wasteful, IMHO.
I bought a litter box that has high sides, so the littler doesn't go all over the floor.
I hope this help, but it's just my opinion.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
12 Mar 12
I take the clamps out all the time, she is kind of fussy. And it is not my cat, and the sides are just normal. Howeber to get one of those put under the box things seems ratter to cost a bit more and with having to buy cat food, and littler is an extra expense.
