How Often Should We Clean The Litter Box?

[Sammiches]

I have been wondering about litter box maintenance. Currently I have a 45 gallon storage bin that has been converted into a litter box (complete with air filtration). It contains close to 40lbs of litter (Dr. Elsey's RR) and is used by a single cat. I only scoop it out every few days or so. Roughly once a month I dump the bin and clean it with alcohol/vinegar and then water and light dish soap. It seems like I have been doing things wrong.

How is that litter type? I'm planning on switching because the Arm and Hammer Microguard is getting expensive and produces a "fresh" smell that's a bit too strong for my sense of smell.

Also how old is your cat? Mines seems to have up to 8~10 clumps that range from small to large. By large I mean the size of a 8 oz steak large which could be two potty sessions that clumped up together but that also means she's peeing more as well. She only poops once or twice a day though but she pees a lot. So I can't imagine scooping it out once every few day or so.

My cat is 10 months old so I'm trying to figure out if this is just a kitty phase.

 

[ileen]

I only have one cat who uses a litterbox - the other 2 use my toilet! Usually a queue first thing in the morning.

Please take a video of this & post it here. Bonus points if either of them reads the paper while doing their business.

I scoop every other day; if I'm on a M-W-F schedule I sometimes wait a third day if it's a very rainy Sunday & I'm not going out. My friend completely cleaned the box for me when I was away last April, but back then I was using regular Arm & Hammer litter (yellow box). Now I use A&H Clump & Seal for multi-cats (black box) even though I only have one cat. There is no odor to human noses and scooping is very simple. If Luciano had loose stool or hit the sides of the box, I'd think about cleaning the whole thing out, but he doesn't. I add some litter about every other scooping, when it seems like it's less than about 3" in the box.

 

[tarasgirl06]

How is that litter type? I'm planning on switching because the Arm and Hammer Microguard is getting expensive and produces a "fresh" smell that's a bit too strong for my sense of smell.

Also how old is your cat? Mines seems to have up to 8~10 clumps that range from small to large. By large I mean the size of a 8 oz steak large which could be two potty sessions that clumped up together but that also means she's peeing more as well. She only poops once or twice a day though but she pees a lot. So I can't imagine scooping it out once every few day or so.

My cat is 10 months old so I'm trying to figure out if this is just a kitty phase.

Just jumping in to say that cats are the cleanest beings and they like their environment clean, just as many people do. I scoop boxes 5 times a day minimum. It's not that difficult and not unpleasant. And, that way you can tell if anything is wrong i.e. urinary tract issues, which need an immediate vet appointment. I would NEVER only scoop a litterbox every few days!

 

[ileen]

How many litter boxes do you have? How many cats? With only one cat, he doesn't even use the litter box five times a day.

That being said, I'm not the world's best housekeeper. I'm sure you clean your own bathroom more often than I clean mine.

 

[tarasgirl06]

How many litter boxes do you have? How many cats? With only one cat, he doesn't even use the litter box five times a day.

That being said, I'm not the world's best housekeeper. I'm sure you clean your own bathroom more often than I clean mine.

Not sure to whom you're addressing this one, ileen ; we currently have 7 boxes for 3 cats. That's only because we've lost many of the family and I've kept the boxes.

 

[foxxycat]

I only scoop once a day in the morning. 2 cats. 3 boxes. the older one only goes once every 12 to 15 hours-always been like this. Honeybee every 8 to 10 hours. Honeybee plays musical chairs with the cat boxes-she always uses all 3, pumps only uses the one in the hallway and she's on pred so her clumps are much bigger-that's how I know whos it is. I sometimes scoop at night but usually not since there's nothing in the boxes. My elderly Floey was just like pumps, once every 12 hours but she peed outside only. Rarely used the cat box unless we are on vacation. Pumps is outside all day in the spring to fall but she won't piddle outside-she comes in to do her business then goes back outside.

I dump litter when it's getting nasty. one box is only dumped once every 3 months as that one is not used more than 3 times a week, the main one in hall once a month-Honeybee has her own box in the master bath but she doesn't use that one daily either..so that gets changed out less often.

I only use Cats pride unscented light weight litter for my arthritic kitty. I would not use fabreeze or any smelly chemicals added to cat litter. Cat's sense of smell is 6 times ours=they don't need perfumes/fake smelly stuff. Just plain clean clay litter.

I use bath liquid soap to disinfect=not too smelly and any soap kills bacteria due to the PH of it. So it doesn't really matter which soap you use-the base ph of 14 will kill bacteria. or acid which is vinegar as well. vinegar/baking soda is also a good alternative and doesn't leave a smell. vinegar dissolves easily in water-so a rinse of vinegar then air dry the cat box you will be fine.

If the box is bad I use dawn dish detergent. I like to wash them outside as I won't dump cat litter water down the plumbing-I fill inside-use an old brush to loosen the dirt-carry outside dump water then repeat until it's nice and clean-usually 2 changes of water is sufficient.

I use the hottest water I can stand as that helps break off cat litter clumps on side of walls-let it sit with soap in it for half an hour-then dump and clean. air dry and dump clean litter halfway up.

 

[CommonCatOwner]

How is that litter type? I'm planning on switching because the Arm and Hammer Microguard is getting expensive and produces a "fresh" smell that's a bit too strong for my sense of smell.

Also how old is your cat? Mines seems to have up to 8~10 clumps that range from small to large. By large I mean the size of a 8 oz steak large which could be two potty sessions that clumped up together but that also means she's peeing more as well. She only poops once or twice a day though but she pees a lot. So I can't imagine scooping it out once every few day or so.

My cat is 10 months old so I'm trying to figure out if this is just a kitty phase.

I have found the Dr. Elsey's RR to work well and be almost entirely dust free. There are some negative reviews stating that it is dusty but the stuff I have used doesn't seem to have any dust at all. In terms of odor control it does a great job though I do have other odor control implements in place. It clumps fine as well. My cat is almost 2 years old. When he was younger he would use the litter box a lot more and leave giant clumps from urine. Close to the size of a grapefruit it seemed. Though I was using Precious Cat Ultra most of the time then.

Just jumping in to say that cats are the cleanest beings and they like their environment clean, just as many people do. I scoop boxes 5 times a day minimum. It's not that difficult and not unpleasant. And, that way you can tell if anything is wrong i.e. urinary tract issues, which need an immediate vet appointment. I would NEVER only scoop a litterbox every few days!

Having only one cat it would be pointless to scoop 5 times a day. Even after a few days there is still plenty of litter and room available. I have found it a little ridiculous to have this litter box setup though and plan on setting one up that is smaller and cleaning more often.

 

[jcat]

Just jumping in to say that cats are the cleanest beings and they like their environment clean, just as many people do. I scoop boxes 5 times a day minimum. It's not that difficult and not unpleasant. And, that way you can tell if anything is wrong i.e. urinary tract issues, which need an immediate vet appointment. I would NEVER only scoop a litterbox every few days!

We only have one cat (that uses the toilet whenever one of us forgets to close the lid), and the absolute minimum number of times I check is 3x a day on the very rare occasions when we're gone most of the day. Usually I check 5x and find something to scoop 3 of those times. He's got a huge box, too, with several inches of litter in it.

The litter boxes at the shelter - also jumbo ones, with at least one per cat - are scooped a minimum of twice a day.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I have found the Dr. Elsey's RR to work well and be almost entirely dust free. There are some negative reviews stating that it is dusty but the stuff I have used doesn't seem to have any dust at all. In terms of odor control it does a great job though I do have other odor control implements in place. It clumps fine as well. My cat is almost 2 years old. When he was younger he would use the litter box a lot more and leave giant clumps from urine. Close to the size of a grapefruit it seemed. Though I was using Precious Cat Ultra most of the time then.



Having only one cat it would be pointless to scoop 5 times a day. Even after a few days there is still plenty of litter and room available. I have found it a little ridiculous to have this litter box setup though and plan on setting one up that is smaller and cleaning more often.

Of course we each have our own routines, but whether one cat or 10, I would always want to ensure that the boxes are scooped, for their comfort and the general hygiene of the environment.

 

[CommonCatOwner]

Of course we each have our own routines, but whether one cat or 10, I would always want to ensure that the boxes are scooped, for their comfort and the general hygiene of the environment.

You are correct. I will begin adjusting my routine.

 

[tarasgirl06]

You are correct. I will begin adjusting my routine.

There's no one way that's right but for your cat's sake and your own, I thank you!