Litterbox war

[Groves]

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?

[aturnis]

Get this. Hooks to the toilet, flushes all your cats waste. No cleaning necessary.



http://www.robotshop.com/en/petnovat...box-tabby.html

[DRU]

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.

[DRU]

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).

[Jiu Jitsu Jon]

Originally Posted by Cochise

Yeah, but will he flush? It would really irritate me if he was always forgetting to flush.

There are a lot of people out there using public restrooms that don't flush. I think the average cat is smarter than some of the general populace.

[mikeyis4dcats.]

when we had a cat we used the Tidy Cats Breeze system, by far the best.
http://www.petco.com/product/106008/...32LTOoYqDw_wcB

[Pablo]

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.

[Iowanian]

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.

[Graystoke]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

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.

Ya this is the only solution. I have three cats. All outdoors. Great mousers.
Plus they love to fish. They catch Crappies all by them selves.

[Iowanian]

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.

[ptlyon]

Originally Posted by Graystoke

Ya this is the only solution. I have three cats. All outdoors. Great mousers.
Plus they love to fish. They catch Crappies all by them selves.

Awesome. Do they clean them for you too I hope?

[Graystoke]

Originally Posted by ptlyon

Awesome. Do they clean them for you too I hope?

That would be sweet! But no. They are fishing fools! When the Crappies spawn, and are close to shore, then they hunt.
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.

[sd4chiefs]

Originally Posted by Frosty

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.

You are a genius. But have you thought about putting a lid on the top to hold in the smell.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by sd4chiefs

You are a genius. But have you thought about putting a lid on the top to hold in the smell.

That completely defeats the point though. You don't want to hold in the smell, as that's what makes the cat shit elsewhere. The #1 reason why a cat doesn't shit in its litterbox is because the smell is too strong. Felines have a much much better sense of smell than humans. And their urine has a high concentration of ammonia. It's why they bury their shit. If you can smell cat piss at all, then it's 50 times stronger for the cats. Litterboxes that are completely covered require even more frequent cleaning to reduce the smell enough to get the cats in there.

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by sd4chiefs

You are a genius. But have you thought about putting a lid on the top to hold in the smell.

Thought about it but thought being dark and covered may deter the cats from using it. Besides, being able to see it reminds me when it's time to change it.

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.

[bevischief]

Originally Posted by Graystoke

That would be sweet! But no. They are fishing fools! When the Crappies spawn, and are close to shore, then they hunt.
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.