Do You Dump The Litter?

[applemommy]

I just stumbled across a clumping litter on Petcos website and under the "maintaining the box" section it stated you should be dumping all the litter in the box every two weeks. I'm honestly shocked. I haven't dumped all the litter from the box - ever. I just clean them out once a day with a scooper. Should I start dumping out all the litter or is that just a way for cat litter companies to get you to buy more litter? Is it unhealthy to not dump out all the litter? How often do you do this?

 

[Kieka]

I completely change the litter and clean the box itself usually every 3-4 weeks. It varies a little, but basically when I notice stuff sticking to the bottom of the box itself more frequently. I've always figured that the rest of the litter does get a little contaminated by association, stuff that touches but doesn't stick to what I scoop out. Even though I use clumping litter, sometimes bits break off and fall apart so I can't scoop them out as readily too. Plus, the box itself gets dirty over time and should be cleaned to prevent bacteria from getting crazy.

 

[tabbytom]

Yes, litter box maintenance is important. Some members here change litter and wash out the box every week, some two weeks, some four weeks. I do it around 4-6 months initially. Now I do it more often like every 3 months or so.

Here’s a quite recent thread on it :- How Do You Clean The Actual Litter Box?

 

[Kat0121]

I just stumbled across a clumping litter on Petcos website and under the "maintaining the box" section it stated you should be dumping all the litter in the box every two weeks. I'm honestly shocked. I haven't dumped all the litter from the box - ever. I just clean them out once a day with a scooper. Should I start dumping out all the litter or is that just a way for cat litter companies to get you to buy more litter? Is it unhealthy to not dump out all the litter? How often do you do this?

Yeah you should. The frequency depends on how many boxes/cats you have. I usually do ours once a month. We have 2 cats and 5 boxes so I think that's a good frequency considering each box doesn't get THAT much use with only 2 of them. I did it more often when we had fewer boxes. I'd say no less than once a month though. I dump each one and clean them with Mrs Meyers Clean Day multisurface cleaner in the honeysuckle scent. I love that stuff. Then they all get dried, brought back in (I clean them outside) and refilled under Sophie's careful supervision. After I am done, each box gets inspected and then one lucky box is chosen for first use.

Honeysuckle Multi-Surface Concentrate | Mrs. Meyer's

 

[applemommy]

I've had this litterbox for a good 6-7 months so I'm definitely going to dump it all out now. I'm so glad I found out about this. My cats not a big digger usually he will do his business and leave it on top and I'll scoop it out so it honestly never occurred to me that I should be dumping it all out. Thanks guys! I'll check out that thread too.

 

[Draco]

Yea, its good idea to clean out the litter entirely every so often. not so much of the litter sticking to the box and the smell it harbors- especially for the bacteria urine and feces creates, it's unhealthy for the cats.

I clean mine every month (sooner if it's noticably stinky). Summer months I take it out with the hose and detergent to give it a good cleaning, otherwise I use antibacterial wipes and let dry fully before adding new litter.

 

[duckpond]

I dump and clean mine every two weeks. I could most likely get by with once a month, but i prefer to just fill mine up really good, scoop two or three times a day, and not top up the box with litter. So about every two weeks they start getting low on litter. I dump, wash the boxes and start over with clean litter. I dont use clay litter, so no pluming worries, i use dawn dish liquid and a scrubby, and wash with hot water in the spare shower. once every month or so i will soak with bleach water a bit. I always have a spare set of boxes on hand, that way i can let them air dry for a few weeks

Im guessing your avatar is you kitten? So very pretty!

 

[Minxxy]

I do every month. I use clumping litter. I wait for it to get low as possible then trash it . Wash the box with hot soapy water & a little bleach . Then refill with fresh litter?.

 

[betsygee]

Then they all get dried, brought back in (I clean them outside) and refilled under Sophie's careful supervision. After I am done, each box gets inspected and then one lucky box is chosen for first use.

 

[tabbytom]

My boy pees only at the four corners of the litter box. So while scooping, it’s only a little more messy in the corners and I use a scoop with smaller holes to scoop the smaller pieces and thereafter I wipe the corner of the box with a wet disposable towel. And he doesn’t poo in the corners so it’s easy to scoop the poo.

He uses only one box but I have 3 spare boxes for rotation

Get as big a box as you can. A kitten will quickly outgrow the box. A big box will have more space for them to turn around. Fill up with at least 3 inches of litter so that the pee don’t get stuck to the bottom of the litter box.

 

[Willowy]

The guy who invented clumping litter never dumped all the litter, for his cat's entire 16-year lifespan! I do hope he washed the box now and then, and replaced it at least once, though, lol. So if you're satisfied with the odor control and clumping quality, it obviously is an option.

I think, with careful scooping, you could get by with dumping it once every 3 months. If you want to wash the box without dumping the litter, you should have a spare box so one can be washed and one can be in use. Or I guess you could pour it into a bucket or cardboard box while you wash the litterbox out.

 

[applemommy]

I'm going to definitely buy a bigger litter box for my older guy. The one he has right now he can just barely turn around in and I imagine its quite a constrictive way to go potty For some reason he will only go into litter boxes that have a top on them so I'm on the hunt for a giant hooded litter box. Anyways thanks for the suggestions guys I will definitely make sure to clean them out at least once a month to make sure its clean and safe.

 

[Kat0121]

She is so funny. The boxes are in the cat room and she sits in the cat tree and watches me put the boxes back in their assigned spots, fill each one with fresh litter and then put the covers back on. As soon as I am done, the inspection begins. She goes from box to box checking the inside of each one before making her decision on which one will get her business. This happens every time without fail. She also likes to supervise me scooping the boxes but checks my work more thoroughly after a dump/clean/refill. I think she might let me keep my job.

 

[vyger]

Jackson Galaxy, the cat guy on "My cat from hell" actually doesn't recommend changing the entire box out. It is his opinion that having some traces of the cats scent left in the box is what they prefer.
I am actually glad he said that because that means I have an authority to back up my not dumping out the boxes all the time and I don't have to feel guilty about it. Because I don't, and for a lot of reasons. I can give you some of them, but people will most likely disagree with me.
Dumping out all the litter is expensive and wasteful. Maybe it's not so bad if you have only one cat. I have more than one. I have 5 litter boxes and two of them are giant sized ones. If I dumped them all at the same time and refilled them it would take two or three 40lb boxes of litter. That is a lot. Well for me it is.
This winter we had snow on the ground since November. That is everything frozen solid, no ground visible, some drifts of 3 feet and up and it never thawed. It has finally started melting now. We can actually see the ground but there is still a lot of snow. I clean litter boxes outside with a hose. Hose is frozen and buried, for 6 months now. I am not using snow to clean litter boxes. So it can wait till ---, well at this rate maybe summer.
I don't have a dumpster to throw stuff away in. I live in the country, don't have garbage pickup. I am one of the original recyclers in that there arn't any other options. I burn trash and shred paper and till it into the garden. Cans and bottles are all I take in to town to throw away. So what about used cat litter? That's a problem. So I put all the used stuff into 5 gallon buckets and find holes to fill on the property. Actually kind of funny in a way, my cats could probably find home just from being downwind. It does break down after a while and the grass grows up through it and the ground gets leveled in the process but I would never put the stuff in the garden. Around the trees in the shelter belt works though. But carrying buckets of used litter through snow drifts is no fun. I try and keep the volume down so yet another reason not to dump all the litter, it's to much work hauling it through the snow.
By the way, it really tests your sincerity and determination when you haul 5 gallon buckets of cat poop through a 30 below zero blizzard. Although you do find yourself questioning your sanity. And thoughts like "why can't they just go out in the snow" tend to run through you head.

 

[vyger]

By the way, remember the "directions" on the box are provided by the company that wants to sell you more and more and more of the stuff. Is it really a surprise they would say to change it at frequent intervals? A company that made and sold shampoo discovered that it almost doubled it's sales just by adding "rinse and repeat" to the directions. Now it's on all of them.

 

[susanm9006]

I do dump out and replace the litter about every six weeks. Even though you remove clumps, little bits of pee and poop break off and stay mixed in with the litter so over time the litter gets stinky even after cleaning. Usually you can smell when it needs replacement and I figure if I can smell it the cat sure can as well.

 

[sabrinah]

When I have Litter Care I dump it and scrub it every 4-6 weeks. When I don't have Litter Care (sad times) I do it every 2 weeks. I love that stuff so much I managed to make the trial sized bottle from the cat show last over 6 months!

 

[ailish]

I have never dumped a litter box. I have one cat, two boxes and I scoop twice a day. I keep the litter quite deep, which she likes, she's a digger. Waste has never made it to the bottom of the box. I'm not sure what I am doing differently, but the box has never emitted so much as a whiff of odor. To me dumping is a waste. The minute the cat uses the clean box it's like you never dumped it, so you get a couple minutes/hours of pristine litter. I use Fresh Step Unscented and find it perfect for my needs. And hers. This said, I have a very neat, small cat who so far as good litterbox manners, for which I take no credit, Mama Cat did a very good job.

 

[Candybee]

I dump the whole box maybe 4-5 times a year. I don't do it until the litter starts to get a funky smell. I use clumping litter which does a really great job of absorbing scent. I also have one of those extra large litter boxes so dumping it out and refilling takes an entire 20 lb container. Besides, my cat is a small 6 lb cat using a humongous litter box. It takes her a full week to fill up a small garbage bag of pee clumps and poop. I have a small metal top trash can next to her box. So when I clean out clumps and poop it goes into the trash can and the top closes so no smell. Plus having the trash can right there makes it so much easier to clean 2-3 times a day if needed.

 

[happilyretired]

I have one cat. I wash the box thoroughly every week (dump the litter in a second box when cleaning the first). I've always used clumping litter but my previous brand would get 'used' looking, and I'd replace it completely each month. But for the past year, I've been using World's Best, and with scooping thoroughly daily and washing the box weekly, I have not noticed any reason to change the litter completely.