How often do you clean the litter box?

[lamiatron]

You are so right about that, my brothers wife came home with a kitten that she "bought" in a pet store, strike number #1. My brother and one of his sons are allergic to cats, strike #2. When I finally got a chance to go visit and meet the kitten, who was cute as a button, she had the liter box under the kitchen table,
strike #3. The liter box was over flowing with poop, strike #4. And the minute you walked into their house the smell of liter, urine and poop almost knocked you over, strike #5.

This second wife of his had been unemployed for almost a year and a half, she can't care for her 2 girls so she added a poor kitten to the mix. Well after the kitten I could no longer keep my mouth shut. So now it's 6 months me and my brother haven't spoken. I could go up to strike #100 with his wife; but unfortunately I have to admit, we are the exception and not the norm. I have 7 cats, and if I think I smell something, out comes the bucket brigade.

I have been doing some research on my own to find a better liter, since my Swheat Scoop is now way too dusty any more. My new poor black kitten comes up from the liter box with a white face and head because she loves to dig and bury, so my mind is made up, Swheat Scoops got to go. Thanks for your comment and insight.

i used to have the same issue with my kitty! also a black cat, going into the litter box and coming out a different color.

I used to use WBCL, assuming a natural litter would be dust free but it was not. It was even worse, creating what i could only describe as brown and orange SOOT. poor girl. i had issues with eliminating outside of the box while using WBCL, so i don't think she herself didnt like it much. 

I went back to clay. I am using Nature's Miracle Intense Defense clumping clay litter. AMAZING. I can't stop raving about this litter. Clumps instantly. Hard clumps, unscented, VERY MINIMAL dust and tracking. amazing odor control. I love it. I also have been mixing with it recently (about 3 days now) with Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat unscented clumping litter. Also great. Although the clumping ability is not as great as the nature's miracle brand, it is virtually dust free. the dust is my #1 concern. 

Tracking with both litters are very minimal. I've learned, after using numerous litters, and litter types and brands, you can't get rid of tracking. 

 

[Kat0121]

The box is an Omega Paw Roll n Clean. I use World's Best litter- multi cat clumping. The reviews I read said this works best with that particular box and so far so good. I am a flusher also. I roll it at least once a day and it is due for a cleaning this weekend. They have been using it just over a week now.

 

[hazmat]

Two cats use the Catgenie.

But the third was a year long fight to find something she would use. Experiment after experiment finally yielded results.

4 dishpans side by side without any litter. She poops or pees and I dump the pan into the toilet and spray with cleaner and 

wipe with toilet paper. Takes 4 pans instead of one because she will not use if dirty and I cant be there 24/7 to dump.

 

[lamiatron]

 
Two cats use the Catgenie.

But the third was a year long fight to find something she would use. Experiment after experiment finally yielded results.

4 dishpans side by side without any litter. She poops or pees and I dump the pan into the toilet and spray with cleaner and 

wipe with toilet paper. Takes 4 pans instead of one because she will not use if dirty and I cant be there 24/7 to dump.

WOW. Props to you for having to deal with that. 

I thought it was instinctual for kitties to bury their waste...but i guess not all kitties.

 

[jin xiong lor]

1. What kind of box or boxes you have.

I live in a rather small apartment so I can only have two hooded litter boxes for three cats. 1 is an X-Large blue hooded litter box. The other is just a Large white hooded litter box.

2. What type of litter do you use (please mention clumping or non-clumping, crystals or other).

I use Petco's Brand Crystal Litter + I use the Petco's Brand Scented Powder on top of it.

3. How often do you scoop?

Minimum of 2x or 3x daily.

4. How often do you have a total change of litter and/or cleaning of the entire box?

I have to change every two weeks. One 30Ib bag of Petco Crystal Litter lasts me about 1.5 month to 2 months. I have three young cats/kittens so they use the litter box quite often.

I use a the litter pan bag linings and all my cats dont stand when they go, so I rarely have to clean the entire litter box. From time to time, all I have to do is wipe off the sides inside. I rarely wipe the outsides but I do from time to time.

This is how my litter boxes look like.

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But I cover the litter boxes with what I made. I do not like to see the litter boxes especially in a small apartment.

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These are my three kittens (:

Sun in the Front.

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Ocean waking up!

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Moon looking at a laser pointer!

View media item 205341

 

[peachybkk]

1. What kind of box or boxes you have. -  A baby bath tub that got a high edge Then the litter will be less splash out of the box when my cats do their fetching in the box... Anyway.. poorly that the high edge box made my kittens think. it a place to play hide and seek -*-

2. What type of litter do you use (please mention clumping or non-clumping, crystals or other). - a clumping one

3. How often do you scoop? - Twice a day or when my lady order me to clear the box for her. She will call me then walk to the litter box , looking in the box then turn back from the box. That's mean. The toilet is too dirty I can not stand to use it clean it up for me please.

4. How often do you have a total change of litter and/or cleaning of the entire box?- approximately once a month. 

 

[teddytimble]

Hello  Anne

I scoop the poop and pee regularly in the daytime so that my cats tray is nearly always clean.  I use granules, they seem to clump the pee.  I clean the whole tray once a week and then steam clean it.

My cats tray is quite a large one, I find them better and so does she I think!

 

[straycats2]

We clean our litter boxes everyday. We have 2 cats now, and 2 litter boxes. We use the clumping litter, and just scoop and add new litter as needed, and then thoroughly dump & clean about once a month. This seems to work quite well, and there is never a "CAT" smell.

 

[konstargirl]

1. What kind of box or boxes you have.
   
     I only have a plan square littler box for my cat.

2. What type of litter do you use (please mention clumping or non-clumping, crystals or other).

      I normally use fresh step litter because I like the text and smell of the litter whenever I put new litter in.    

3. How often do you scoop?

    I only clean the litter box on a weekly bases or til the litter gets too dirty. LOL I know I'm bad. I should lean it like everyday..

4. How often do you have a total change of litter and/or cleaning of the entire box?

    Once a month. Hehehe

 

[autumnrose74]

 
I'm researching for a new article about the frequency in which people actually clean the cat box. If you could please reply with the following - 

1. What kind of box or boxes you have.

2. What type of litter do you use (please mention clumping or non-clumping, crystals or other).

3. How often do you scoop?

4. How often do you have a total change of litter and/or cleaning of the entire box?

Thank you! 

1 - I use a 30-gallon storage tote with the door cut in the side. Uncovered. Unfortunately I was cheap and got the Sterilite box, which is very hard to cut, and cracks easily when it is being cut. Also, the cut edges are razor-sharp, so they are all covered in duct tape. Next time I will use Rubbermaid. I also use the Litter Genie.

2 - I use Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract litter, which is a clumping litter.

3 - I scoop whenever I see little footprint-shaped dents in the top surface of the litter, or a mound where a certain kitty has buried something.  I only have one cat, who is fine with doing pee and poop in the same box, so that is even more incentive to keep the box clean.

4 - I keep the litter level to at least 3.5" so the waste never hits the bottom of the box. Thankfully Shelly is not interested in archeology or mining. I wipe down the inside of the box with water/white vinegar several times a week.

 

[sweetpea24]

Wow I am a total slob compared to all of you!

I use a Rubbermaid high sided litter box for two cats.

The litter I use is Odour Buster. It's supposed to last 7 days without scooping. Yeah it doesn't but it is the best at killing the odour and not dusty. Not cheap though.

I scoop once every other day....yikes!

I clean the box with hot water and dishwashing soap once a month. I don't use bleach because it's bad for the environment and cat pee mixed with bleach makes mustard gas!

 

[luv2cats]

I have two cats and use large storage boxes for their litter boxes.  They have high sides, plenty of room to move around and the cats love them.  I scoop a couple times a day and always add a few sprinkles of baking soda for odor control just in case.  Until recently I have used Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat Litter which has exceptional clumping and good odor control but can be dusty.  I've just changed to Dr. Elsey's crystal Respiratory & Relief litter because of dust and a cat who has allergies.  I don't totally clean out the boxes, wash, scrub, etc. I wipe down the inside occasionally with an antiseptic wipe.  As the litter gets depleted I add litter to it, my litter is about one inch deep.

 

[lucentstreak]

1. What kind of box or boxes you have.

I use a covered litterbox with a scoop container in front. It's one of those Japanese ones we have around here.

2. What type of litter do you use (please mention clumping or non-clumping, crystals or other).

Clumping litter made out of peach kernals that are flushable and I guess bio-degradable.

3. How often do you scoop?

Once a day in the morning

4. How often do you have a total change of litter and/or cleaning of the entire box?

Every fortnight. It's more of the ease of use since I take apart the whole box to empty out the litter as well. Also, Hugo likes going on the sides more than the middle.

 

[42cattier]

Jumbo open litter box, largest.

~5" (12 cm) of no scent clumping litter.

If wall gets soiled, box gets washed and disinfected (see video of Dr Lisa Pierson for it).

Scooped 2x a day, at least.

Litter Locker II helps keep odour in check.

Litter is completely changed when cat starts smell it before using litter box, once a month maybe.

 

[feline pushover]

I was told years ago by a vet that clumping litter, while easier to find and remove from the box, can get stuck in the anal canal and clump there, thus causing the anal ducts to require cleaning...or worse.  So, we have never used it, as even if the problem is rare, we don't want to take the chance.  We have for 40 years used Fresh Step regular clay litter (they make a scoopable) because of the clorophyll and charcoal that deordorize.  We have never had anyone be able to tell we have cats except to all the cat toys around.  I always clean at three times a day.  That's morning before I leave for work, as soon as I get home from work, and before bed.  When I am home all day, I check whenever I pass one of the litter boxes and clean if it has been used.  After cleaning, I always smooth the litter on top, so it is easy to see if someone has been in the box or not, and you can just pass it if still smoothed.

I keep plastic bags hanging in a sack near each box, to put the dirty litter in, tie up the top, and just throw in the garbage bin.  It's also a good way to recycle all those plastic grocery bags we get.  I use a rake for the feces, which saves the good litter, and a scoop to get the urine soaked litter, and only have to actually empty totally and wash about once a month.

 

[kitty kisser]

I have 2 large open top regular litter boxes for 2 cats. We live in a trailer and that's all I have space for in the hall way. We use a variety of clumping litter but right now it's tidy cats lightweight . I preferrer using worlds best but it's expensive and the kids don't think it covers odor as well as tidy cats. I scoop once a day with a plastic pink arm and hammer brand scooper from petsense. I clean the litter boxes out totally replacing all litter about twice a month. I clean the litter box outside in the yard with a garden hose dawn and bleach. My house smells very nice when we walk through the front door thanks to scentsy.

 

[angels mommy]

Every two weeks. I dump it all & wash it out. Its easy for me to just put it in the tub & spray it down w/ a vinegar , lemon juice & water mixture I make for cleaning.

I let it set for 10-15 minutes, then rinse it out w/ the hand held shower on high to sort of pressure wash it. 

I scoop after each time he uses it, so 2-3 times a day. 

@Kitty kisser, I use a corn litter that has natural pine scent in it (which is great, because we used to use feline pine before having to switch to clumping).

The worlds best is a little pricey, but this one I found is just under $6.00 for a 10 oz. bag. I buy it at Walmart. I only have one cat, but it seems to work pretty good as far as odor. It's called Fresh Results, Natural corn cob litter. The bag is lavender & blue w/ a white kitty on it. 

The old Epsom salt container works as a "poopy pale." I put the bags of poop in there, until I take out the trash! I put a couple of dryer sheets in there for odor.

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• angels mommy
• May 5, 2014

This is the big under the bed storage box we use, because Angel is a long 15 lb. boy! 

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• angels mommy
• Dec 19, 2012

 

[padfootandmoony]

I have a 66qt Rubbermaid box for my one small cat that I have made into a wonderful top loading because she kicks and tracks litter all over the bathroom before this box!

I use Tidy Cats 24/7 performance but I also use the other types if the scent isn't too strong because of the price. Clumping 

I scoop once or twice a day dependent on if the box has been used before morning or before bed. With one cat with not smelly poop and decent odor cover, the box stays pretty odorless during the day when I can't get to it and the smells of the litter dissipate within a day or so. 

I have had my cat for almost 3 months and she is my first. I actually haven't cully cleaned the box out yet but we did change the actual box to a new clean one so. The litter hasn't been switched out yet but will be done soon. I keep the litter 3-4 inches deep as she loves to dig and top it off once a week or as needed when scooping. 

 

[raksha]

I'm researching for a new article about the frequency in which people actually clean the cat box. If you could please reply with the following - 

Before answering your questions, I feel the need to express that I live in an apartment with one cat, a Russian Blue male, that I've nicknamed "Pickypants".

1. What kind of box or boxes you have?

I have two large litter boxes, with one always available and filled. The second is for when I clean out the first ( I fill it, set it out, and then begin cleaning the dirty box)

2. What type of litter do you use (please mention clumping or non-clumping, crystals or other)?

I use Blue Buffalo Quick Clump Multi Cat, because it was recommended for a big kitty who produces big poops.

3. How often do you scoop?

Usually, I scoop about five to ten minutes after I hear fuzzy britches scratching around in his box. Not more than twice a day, since he came off of his probiotic supplement (whole other can of worms, literally).

4. How often do you have a total change of litter and/or cleaning of the entire box?

Honestly, I don't know if I'm doing this right. He's my first ever cat, and Blue Buffalo holds up extremely well with odor control. Right now, I've been cleaning the whole thing out every three weeks, or if I start to barely smell odor (cuz I know kitty can smell better than I can!)

I also use a litter additive called "Littermint" from the website wayofcats.com (I also get my good catnip from there as well).

That said, does anyone have any suggestions for improvement on my cleaning schedule?

V/r,

Raksha

 

[laura h]

I scoop three times daily. I ad a scoop now and then. Then every week, When Comet isn't around. He has an issue with me collecting his poop.,

I make sure hes not around, and change the litter and wash out the tray.                              9