Changing clumping litter -- how often?

[meow meow]

In another thread I read repeatedly that people dump their clumping litter once a week. This seems like such a waste. The box I was looking at (don't remember the brand -- says to scoop daily and change completely once a month). Doesn't that sound more reasonable at least for a single cat household??

When we had a cat a long time again and used regular non-clumping litter we changed it once a week. I thought the purpose of clumping litter is don't have to do a complete change as often and can add to the litter in the pan when it is low. Please educate me on this!

 

[urbantigers]

I don't change my clumping litter more than once a month (if that). I suppose it partly depends on how well it clumps. If you're getting all the soiled litter out there's no need, imo, esp as new litter is being added regularly to top it up. I do clean the tray out more often but when I do that I just put the unused litter into a large bag then return it to the clean tray.

 

[chibby]

Originally Posted by urbantigers

I don't change my clumping litter more than once a month (if that). I suppose it partly depends on how well it clumps. If you're getting all the soiled litter out there's no need, imo, esp as new litter is being added regularly to top it up. I do clean the tray out more often but when I do that I just put the unused litter into a large bag then return it to the clean tray.

Me neither. I scoop once or every other day (only have 1 cat).

1. once a month I make sure I've scooped out all the clumps.
2. Set aside remaining litter in a separate plastic bag.
3. Soak box and scooper in bleach (very important) and hot H2O (optional).
4. Rinse and dry.
5. return unused litter in box - you can mix in new litter if necessary.

I agree with Urban - depends how well your litter clumps.

 

[nerelda]

I also have only one cat and scoop out once or every other day.

I completely change the litter (and clean the box well) every 2 weeks. I won't risk leaving any bacteria in there that could possibly make him sick.

 

[ryanjay]

22 cats-5 to young to use scoop yet) I clean my boxes out every 2 weeks or so-After 3 weeks the "Fresh" smell is gone and so is the abilty to clump. I do the bleach water cleaning also. When I had 3 cats I used to change box every month and a half or so-never smelled bad and always clumped up. RJ whos wondering how many buckets before I can get teh fresh step compmny to deliver to my house lmao!!!!

 

[sophiec]

We have 4 cats in the house. Three are mine and one is for my mother. We have 2 litter boxes in the house and 1 on the enclosed patio. I know the rule of thumb is one litter box for each cat plus one extra, but we just don't have the room. I scoop everhthing out of the boxes twice a day everyday. Once a month, I dump all the litter, clean the box with dish washing detergent and water, then soak it in a mixture of bleach and water. After rinsing, I let it dry out in the sun before refilling. I alternate my cleanings though. I don't do all three on the same day. One Sunday, I clean one box. Second Sunday, I clean a second box. Third Sunday, I clean the third box. Fourth Sunday, I get a break. :-)

Sophie

 

[blue ash]

meow meow:
In my small box I scoop it every 2 days, and change it about once a week.
In my LitterMaid (Automated Litterbox) I clean and change it about once a month.

 

[booktigger]

When I used clumping litter (and may change back, it was lovely not having to fully empty 3 trays every other day), I only changed weekly cos of cleaning the tray - it never occured to me to put it in a bag and put it back!! Now I know that, I will certainly try it!!

 

[krissie]

Huh. I just change it when it starts looking suspect--when there are quite a few little irretrievable clumps lingering. This takes at least a month, but my litter clumps like a dream.

 

[abigail]

one cat, she has three litter boxes. Use WBCL multicat. I scoop once or twice a day and I change it every six to eight weeks. i keep it very deep and the urine clumps rarely hit the bottom of the litter pan. I renew litter as the level drops.

when I change it all I clean the boxes with a water bleach solution, dry them and add new.

 

[sarathan]

I also use WBCL and we have one box for two cats. I also keep the litter pretty deep so urine/poop doesn't hit the bottom very often. Anyway, I'm not sure how often I'll be changing the entire box. We've had our kittens for about 3 weeks and I'm not even close to changing it. If there's poop or something on the box itself, I just wipe it off with a cleansing wipe.

 

[cearbhaill]

Three cats, four boxes. Scoop twice a day and dump boxes in rotation, one each week. So each box is completely dumped once a month.

 

[semiferal]

I say when it gets to the point where the litter smells a little even after you've scooped. You can tell when it's past its prime. If the box itself is dirty (e.g. poop on the side), I'll change the whole thing if the litter is kind of old but if it's still fresh then I'll dump the litter into a clean litterbox and scrub the old one.