Litterbox war
I had all manner of dogs and cats growing up.
I wasn't put in charge of them, didn't know the incredible mess they made. fast forward to adulthood. For my wife who has been ill for over a decade, I gladly keep a few indoor cats. Now, I'm not excited about the lack of progress in cat litter & litterbox technology. We can put a man on the moon...yadda yadda yadda. I seek the vast accumulated knowledge of the planet. We buy the clumping litter from Sam's. Is THAT as good as it gets?! Hoochie-mamma, I might go with animatronic cat substitutes for as long as I can get away with it. Pour forth the wisdom of the ages. What do you buy? Where? I'd prefer magical stuff, but I'll settle for "works awesome". Would love "no stink & easy to deal with". Dream on? |
Go back to the clay stuff. It'll make appreciate what you currently buy.
And no, I don't have a better solution. |
Get rid of all pets. Problem solved
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Either antifreeze or feed them raw beef. After a month leave only enough for 1 cat. They will fight each other to death until there is only 1 cat to deal with. Not sure what to do with the last cat though.
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You're gonna have to clarify what your complaints are if you're actually wanting someone to recommend something better.
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you completely sure it's the cats?
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If that doesn't work, you could always go with a self-cleaning litter box. LitterMaid is the name brand, but there are some others on Amazon with good reviews. |
Had the same problem. Put the cat outside, problem solved
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If it has recently gotten worse one or more of your cats may have an infection somewhere in the urinary process that is making the urine stronger smelling than normal.
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I always considered it an honor to clean my cats' litter boxes. It was the least I could do for them.
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This is the stuff I use
http://www.amazon.com/Precious-Cat-P.../dp/B0009X29WK That doesnt have a scent, but they make one that does have a scent. I switched to this just because I got tired of all the dust that came with Tidy Cat litter. |
Cats are terrible pets.....take 'em out back and shoot 'em
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Litter box - toilet traing - outside! Problem solved. |
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I use this too and recommend it. |
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We had a problem with our cats and the litterbox. Our male liked to perch on the edge and would get pee outside the box. The cats didn't like any of the covered litterboxes (too small) so I made my own set up to contain stray cat pee and litter.
http://i61.tinypic.com/20obbq.jpg http://i61.tinypic.com/of7c78.jpg The gray tub is the largest one WalMart sells and the white tub is the largest of the 5" tall tubs they sell. It fits inside the gray tub perfectly. The screen is just made with some scrap 2x2s and some metal mesh (watch for sharp edges). This really works to contain the mess. I've considered cutting the lid for the gray tub in two and putting half of it over the litterbox since they sometimes jump straight from the litterbox to the toilet but I haven't gotten around to it yet. We just use the plain clay clumping litter. We buy it from the feed store for about $11 for 50 lbs. |
The worst litter box offenders are rabbits. If you've ever had one who was trained to use the litter box.
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http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000QS...&robot_redir=1
Best stuff because you can just flush it down your toilet. Its natural and won't clog your pipes, just scoop and flush. |
If you want to get real fancy get a liter robot.http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WCoUI_21vdI
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Make them outdoor cats so they can shit in the neighbors' flower garden. They'll bring you mice and rabbits and stuff too.
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Get a dog. House train it.
Winning |
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Get this. Hooks to the toilet, flushes all your cats waste. No cleaning necessary.
http://www.robotshop.com/media/catal...-box-tabby.jpg http://www.robotshop.com/en/petnovat...box-tabby.html |
I second the Fresh Step. I've been using it for years with two cats. They both like it (which is the most important thing, and there are some litters cats don't like.)
I have an attached garage and I put a cat door on the door from from the garage into the house, so the cats can get in and out of the garage as they please. I have the litter box out there, so the smell is never in the house at all. As for the smell, I too used to go 2 - 3 days (sometimes longer) before changing the litter. This only things makes things worse for you and the cats, though, and eventually they will start to tell you they don't like it by pissing all over the house, which you definitely do not want. Finally, after a few years, I learned that I just need to clean the box a lot more often. As of the past year or so, I've been cleaning it out every single time I feed them. That has now just become part of the feeding routine. While they eat I clean the box so it's ready when they're done. Not only does this keep them going to the box and using it consistently, but it also takes about 20 seconds (2 or 3 quick scoops) to have it clean and ready to go. It doesn't smell, either, because the litter does a great job of absorbing it when there isn't much in the box. When you let it sit 2 or 3 days you end up with clumped up goo that you can't easily scoop, and then it can take you 5 - 10 min or longer to get that thing back in order, and it's not pleasant of course. So again, just commit to doing it more often. Make it part of the feeding routine or some specific time every single day (multiple times per day is even better) that you'll make sure to clean it and it'll be better for all involved. |
Those robo-litter boxes are pretty sweet, and some of them actually do work very well...if your cat will allow it.
I have 2 cats. One couldn't care less about that thing moving around and making noise when he hops out of it. The other one is a very skittish cat in general, and he used it once and never went near it again, which of course is not a good thing. So that's up to the cat. If the cat is curious and open to new toys and wants to be involved with things happening in the house then one would probably work very well, but you'll still want to empty its tray every day. If the cat is scared easily then it may not work so well and you don't want to start a habit of bad experiences for the cat in the area that you have the box(es). |
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when we had a cat we used the Tidy Cats Breeze system, by far the best.
http://www.petco.com/product/106008/...32LTOoYqDw_wcB |
I have one cat. I use the Fresh Step Multi-Cat litter and probably clean the box out every three days or so.
Seems to do the trick. And my cat is on some prescription food that makes her shit hard as concrete, so there's never any splatter or weird poo in her box. |
I have developed the best solution.
I call it "keep the damn cats in the barn and your garage and house won't smell like cat shit" solution. |
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Plus they love to fish. They catch Crappies all by them selves. |
I let my kids keep a few kittens in the garage for a week and it smelled like a bag of dirty assholes and they were immediately evicted. Two weeks later, with the litter box gone it still smells like cat piss. Now those ditch tigers are getting fat on cicadas and living the American cat dream with the barn obstacle course.
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They also like hanging at the boat dock picking up a fishing rides with strangers. I will be mowing my lawn and a boat will go by with one of my cats on board and I will by like WTF these cats have the life. |
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If kept clean, it doesn't smell except right after they've used it. You do have to pull out the white tray occasionally and clean out the litter that falls around the side (maybe 2 -3 times a year). ETA: Fish types faster than I do. |
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"Hey cat - git down there and fetch me some crappie for dinner. Now git!"
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Actually, they bury to cover up their scent because you're the dominant animal, your domain (no matter how you perceive their attitude). A cat that doesn't bury is doing it to mark territory. |
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http://m.livescience.com/33147-why-d...heir-poop.html Quote:
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http://www.wildlife-removal.com/imag...oonpetdoor.jpg |
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Yep. I also had a dog that liked to drag things outside that belonged inside. |
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No way. Then you have a needy, slobbery animal that's high maintenance, AND you have to clean up its poop. F that. |
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Dogs are an incredible pain in the ass.
The wife insisted we get a puppy. So now we have a puppy; and while adorable and most certainly destined to be a great little buddy for a decade plus, he's annoying the ever-loving shit out of me at the moment. The cat was so much easier. Just way, way, way easier. |
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This was an outdoor dog whose "dog house" was my garage. He had free reign of the back yard and garage. He was also 120-pound Great Pyr, so if he wanted something outside that didn't quite fit through the dog door, he was large enough and strong enough to generally make it happen. |
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This is really not hard. If you have indoor cats, getting the clumping litter and making sure you have enough litter boxes all helps, but you MUST scoop it at least every 2 or 3 days. Every day is better, but you can not let it go past a few days unless you are on some long vacation.
There is no shortcut, if you don't want your house to smell, then you must keep that cat box clean. This goes right up there with needing to feed them every day and make sure they have water as a mandatory requirement for indoor cats. If you fail to clean the litter box often enough, then your house will smell like cat ass, and there's no way to prevent that other than just getting used to keeping it clean. |
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I'd be willing to pick up the raccoon pieces if I got to watch what happened to it if one did try coming inside, though. |
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I had for a few months a lab/German Shepherd, but she simply would not leave the old cat alone (had the cat for 11 years before the dog came along... We were more attached to her than the dog, so we found the dog a nice home with some friends that had a couple kids). Dog before that was a 120-pound Great Pyrenees. |
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I get the whole cat people/dog people thing, although I happen to like both. What I don't get is people seriously thinking that the other choice is somehow a bad one. Dogs are more people oriented than cats, and they can require a little more effort if you choose the wrong type for your living circumstances. Other than that, though, both will piss and shit all over the place if you don't set up an acceptable alternative. Both will trash the house if you don't teach them not to. Both will piss you off at one point or another. There's not really a right or wrong choice. |
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I'm not against dogs, but I do prefer cats. And actually, the GP didn't slobber much, mainly right after he'd eat or drink. He didn't even lick your hand. On topic, I don't know what litter we use - wife changed it because it tracks less, but I hate the smell of the litter even brand new. Her suggested compromise: she can continue to get that litter, but she has to clean the box. I'm taking that as a win. And she scoops daily, full change out about once a week. |
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I'm OK with it. Cats are way closer to my personality. I don't need an animal to need me all the time. I like that cats have moods. Sometimes they're pissed off, a sometimes they want attention. Sometimes they're ornery, sometimes playful. Dogs are always happy, always want attention. I like that I have to earn a cat's trust and love. |
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jeez this off season sucks
Talking about cat shit? |
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Telling someone they're not manly because they prefer a cat over a dog is ignorant. A dog and cat the exact same size and weight, 9 times out of 10 the cat would destroy the dog in a fight. My girl's pit/border collie won't **** with her Maine Coon, he learned his lesson the hard way...that was an expensive vet bill. |
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Cat People Are Smarter Than Dog People, New Study Shows For me, I'd love to have a dog, but it'd have to come with a full-time dog sitter. I can leave my cats alone for 2-3 days at a time, and they're just fine. I do too many long weekends away to deal with a dog, even though I'd love to have one for the personality. |
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Nevermind..... that's the self-selected college study. It's a complete sham. |
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