Let's Talk Litter Scoops!

[sivyaleah]

I'm in need of a better litter scoop, I know there must be one out there!
Here's the problem. My husband is the main litter box attendant in our house. But, next week we welcome a kitten to our home and I've promised that for now, I'll help out with litter box cleaning because the kitten will not be using our resident cats boxes for quite some time as she'll be in a "safe" room for at minimum several days (if all goes well) or longer (if not).

Plus, to be honest, he isn't as fastidious about cleaning the boxes as the kitten will be used to - she's coming from a very reputable breeder who I'm sure is very good about cleaning - way better than my better half is (being truthful here). So, I really need to pitch in to be sure the kitten has accommodations she's used to LOL. We don't want any accidents occurring or at least, not due to an unclean toilet area.

So, that leads me to the issue at hand. The scoop we have, although the highest rated one everywhere, is awful for me personally. It's way too heavy, I find everything sticks to it, and it isn't ergonomic in my hands. I'm short, small hands, and have some problems due to age and my knees kind of stink so the longer it takes me to scoop, the worse it is physically for me. And this scoop is a hardship. I just can't believe there isn't a better one out there.

So, anyone find one that is: lightweight, easy to clean (or have tips on cleaning?), has good spacing so that it picks up both urine and feces clumps equally well and can cut through potential blocks of urine (not a problem now, but was in the past when our boy was alive who had kidney disease - goodness it was like chopping through concrete at times). Maybe comes with it's own holder like a toilet bowl brush does?

 

[LTS3]

There's a thread with some suggestions: Anyone Can Recommend A Litter Scooper That Has Really Small Holes?

I use a metal skimmer and use an old plastic take out container as a holder. The skimmer works well on diabetic cat sugary pee clumps. A scrub with a stiff bristled brush and soapy water is enough to clean it.

 

[sivyaleah]

There's a thread with some suggestions: Anyone Can Recommend A Litter Scooper That Has Really Small Holes?

I use a metal skimmer and use an old plastic take out container as a holder. The skimmer works well on diabetic cat sugary pee clumps. A scrub with a stiff bristled brush and soapy water is enough to clean it.

Yep, I actually found that thread earlier. Was considering that method.

 

[maggie101]

I have used this for years. It works great and easy to clean with the wipes.

 

[JamesCalifornia]

They make aluminium scoops. Strong & lightweight

 

[sivyaleah]

I have used this for years. It works great and easy to clean with the wipes.View attachment 297735

That's the one we have, that I find difficult to use. IDK what it is about it for me, but it's just not easy for me to handle

 

[tabbytom]

This is my arsenal for scooping my boy's litter box.

I have a short stool to sit so that I scoop without squatting.

I used to use the brown scoop on top right hand corner to scoop his pee clumps and it sort of scoop pretty well but it scoop a lot of clean litter together with the clumps and I find it a waste so I stopped using that.

I then use the large blue scoop to do it but sometimes the pee clumps breaks into smaller pieces while scooping and falls off the holes and leaves lots of the broken pieces around as the holes are bigger and it's hard to scoop the smaller ones and they get mixed up with the clean litter that's around it.

The smaller blue scoop does ok with small bits but still pick up quite a bit of clean litter.


Now I use a large wooden spatula and dig around the pee clump and then loosen it and I'll use a spoon or the smaller blue scoop to scoop out the chunks carefully without scooping out too much clean litter and scoop out the smaller ones with a spoon. This way I have a much cleaner litter box and not waste too much clean litter and I don't have to top up the litter that often as I change his litter box every 3 months and dispose off all litter and then filling with new ones in a new litter box.

I only use the big blue scoop to scoop out his poo. All pee clumps and poo are sealed in a plastic bag for disposal.

I scoop his litterbox everyday and after all scooping, I'll wipe the scoops off with a wet disposable tissue and spray Isopropyl Alcohol on them before placing them back to the box.

 

[sivyaleah]

First, thanks for all the suggestions thus far.

I now have a new issue. I found out that the litter the kitten is using is something I'm not familiar with at all and, that apparently will require different methods of cleaning than I'm accustomed to.

She is using Feline Pine. The breeder said once the kitten has full reign of our home and has found the resident cats litter boxes, and is using them regularly we can dispense with the Feline Pine but, until that happens to avoid potential accidents/issues we should continue using the litter she's used to - which obviously makes sense.

However, I've looked at several videos online and well, not thrilled with this option at all. But I have no choice in the matter for at least a few weeks I guess.

It seems to me the scooper needs to have smaller openings so that the pellets do not fall through it. Am I correct on this?

Also, now that I'm aware of this do I need a different type of litter box so that I can easily get the sawdust removed? Again, being I have some knee issues I'm a bit concerned. It seems the poop will be easy to get out of it (yay to that) but not so sure about the urine soaked pellets? And, the box is going to be kept in a mid-size playpen with her which means I'll have to be bending over to retrieve it to clean it, or bend to clean it while in the pen.

 

[darg]

Search Amazon for "straining spoon" and/or "skimmer spoon". Dozens of options with different styles, handles and hole sizes.

 

[IronHippo]

Sivyaleah, other way around--the holes in the scoop would be big enough to let intact pellets fall through as you pick up solid matter. We use Feline Pine for our three now and I am a big fan, especially in comparison to the awful clay litter my husband was using. Although we do have the sifting box setup, if you don't plan on using pine permanently a normal cat litter box is fine--the main benefit of a sifter box is that the pine pellets last longer because the pellets disintegrate on contact with urine, turn to sawdust, and is sifted down to the lower level and away from the intact pellets. However, people do use pine in normal litter boxes; they just end up with sawdust mixed in with the whole pellets and more pellets disintegrating due to more contact with urine.

You also may not even need the scoop for the pellets, especially if pine use is a temporary situation. As long as you're not dealing with diarrhea, just use a designated set of metal tongs to pick up the poop and flush it! Easy peasy!

 

[sivyaleah]

Sivyaleah, other way around--the holes in the scoop would be big enough to let intact pellets fall through as you pick up solid matter. We use Feline Pine for our three now and I am a big fan, especially in comparison to the awful clay litter my husband was using. Although we do have the sifting box setup, if you don't plan on using pine permanently a normal cat litter box is fine--the main benefit of a sifter box is that the pine pellets last longer because the pellets disintegrate on contact with urine, turn to sawdust, and is sifted down to the lower level and away from the intact pellets. However, people do use pine in normal litter boxes; they just end up with sawdust mixed in with the whole pellets and more pellets disintegrating due to more contact with urine.

You also may not even need the scoop for the pellets, especially if pine use is a temporary situation. As long as you're not dealing with diarrhea, just use a designated set of metal tongs to pick up the poop and flush it! Easy peasy!

IronHippo Seriously? Wow, ok that sounds incredibly easy to deal with then. It is just temporary - we expect her to eventually shift over to the other litter boxes once she's not cooped up on the safe room. No toilet will be nearby so I'll just use a bag, but no big deal I guess. I'm a bit concerned about the smell of the pine myself - I'm not a fan of that scent but for a few weeks I can deal with it. I certainly don't want to do anything to change her routine at the start of her living with us - trying to keep it all as close to status quo for her as possible.

 

[Sidewinder]

I have used this for years. It works great and easy to clean with the wipes.View attachment 297735

I use two scoops similar to this one, only the handles are black and the metal slots might be a tad different, but the scoops are much stronger than any plastic scoop I used in the past... I know, because I broke a few of those plastic scoops, whereas I've yet to break one of these metal ones. The handles on my scoops are rubber, I think, I'll take a pic or two when I get home and post 'em up tomorrow.

 

[IndyJones]

Those fancy metal scoops put my plastic one to shame. I just have a very old van nes blue plastic pooper scoop that looks more grey than blue now. I know they make a scoop for dog waste that you can use standing up that looks like a scoop with a broomstick attached to it maybe something like that might work if you have problems bending over.

For kittens non clumping litter is actually better since they may try to eat it and clumping can cause a blockage if eaten.

 

[sivyaleah]

Those fancy metal scoops put my plastic one to shame. I just have a very old van nes blue plastic pooper scoop that looks more grey than blue now. I know they make a scoop for dog waste that you can use standing up that looks like a scoop with a broomstick attached to it maybe something like that might work if you have problems bending over.

For kittens non clumping litter is actually better since they may try to eat it and clumping can cause a blockage if eaten.

Yep, I'm aware of the issue of them eating litter sometimes, although I'd think by 4 months they would have learned not to - but maybe not. No matter, by the time she's out and about and really has free reign around the house she'll be closer to 5 months. Surely by then clumping litter shouldn't be an issue? I'm reading it's ok to let them start using it at 4 months.

 

[IronHippo]

IronHippo Seriously? Wow, ok that sounds incredibly easy to deal with then. It is just temporary - we expect her to eventually shift over to the other litter boxes once she's not cooped up on the safe room. No toilet will be nearby so I'll just use a bag, but no big deal I guess. I'm a bit concerned about the smell of the pine myself - I'm not a fan of that scent but for a few weeks I can deal with it. I certainly don't want to do anything to change her routine at the start of her living with us - trying to keep it all as close to status quo for her as possible.

Yes super easy! I actually only use the scoop to stir the box to sift the sawdust pee pile down and to scoop poop. Pine is flushable unlike clay so we can just flush their poop without worrying about pipe blockages. Personally I don't mind the smell of pine, but if it helps Feline Pine's smell is very subtle, at least to my nose. It covers up pee smell pretty well...just not poop smell if unburied, but I'm not sure what does!

Since you're going to use a normal cat box, you can also use the time she's secluded to transition her over to the litter the rest of the household uses--I think you'd just replace some amount of the pine with the normal litter slowly over time until all you've got us the normal litter. Maybe give it a couple weeks before doing this to make sure she's settled in and old enough that she isn't going to try to eat litter clumps!

 

[Sidewinder]

I took some pics of one litter scoop, couldn't find any trademark or name on it though, which is weird... not even a country of origin. I thought that was required by law, but maybe it met the requirement by having it on the label or packaging, and I tossed all that when I bought the scoops. Anyway, here's the scoop, both are identical, they are quite sturdy compared to plastic scoops... if I remember correctly, I bought them at the Petco store in Show Low, AZ. They've served me well so far, I'll probably be in my grave before I need to buy another, LOL.



P.S. I actually had a serviceable plastic litter scoop when I saw these scoops, but the metal looked so sturdy that I instantly resolved to buy 'em, and I'm glad I did. CHEERS!!!

 

[danteshuman]

I love the lightweight scoop and holder I got from chewy! That said daily cleaning, going after the little bits , not using the round Buddha dome anymore & the right litter help a ton! I use tidy cats unscented lightweight litter & here is my current litter set up. When rarely the litter sticks to the scoop I use a Clorox wipe!