Litter Identification & Maintenance

[Anoxia]

Hello! I'm a new cat mom and I've had my kids for a little under two months; I've been following the site since I got them and what got me to finally make an account was a question about poop!

1. One of my babies got into her sister's bowl when I tried to introduce a new type of food (shredded as opposed to the usual pate), which led to a bit of diarrhea. I saw her poo and was able to recognize it that way, but when I scooped I was surprised it looked like her pee: an amorphous blob covered in litter. She only had diarrhea the one time and their pooping has been pretty regular, but ever since then, I've performed autopsies on clumps I suspected of being diarrhea; however, they all turned out be pee. Is there any other way I can tell when a blob is soft poops and not just pee?

2. I've read articles on litter box maintenance and there seems to be quite a range for maintenance based on litter type. I have two* 22 x 17 litter boxes that I fill up to 3 inches** with Dr. Elsey's clumping litter. When I first got them I did a full clean (empty, scrub, and replace) every two weeks (they are poop factories!!), and have transitioned to every three weeks, then every four. This uses up one 40 lb bag a month per box. Is this an okay schedule, or should I be doing something differently?

3. Out of curiosity, what litter box size do you use, how often do you do a full clean, and how many lbs of litter does it go through a month?

* The litter boxes are different types and I'll be getting a third after assessing them! I live in a small apartment so the two cover most of the space already (one is in their sanctuary room, the second is in the living room)!
** The brand recommends 4 inches, and I'll be working up to it when they get bigger!

Thank you!

 

[tabbytom]

Out of curiosity, what litter box size do you use, how often do you do a full clean, and how many lbs of litter does it go through a month?

and welcome to TCS!

As for litter box maintenance, different members here do it differently from each other. Some do a complete clean up once a week and some two weeks once and some four weeks once and some lapse even longer period.

Many here uses different kind of litter and they differ from each other and counts for the maintenance period.

I have only one cat and my boy uses clumping litter and his box is 28"x19.5"x9" box and litter filled up to 4".
I scoop his box daily and top up the discarded litter every week or so.
For full cleaning, I change the litter and litter box every quarterly. If I remember correctly, the box top up to 4" of litter uses around 90 lbs of litter. I soaked the box with mild detergent and then scrub the box, wipe and air dry.

My boy has 4 big litter boxes not including the smaller one when he was a tiny kitten, but only one box is used and I just rotate the boxes when I clean up.

The bigger the box the better and also the deeper the litter the better. With deep litter, pee won't soaked through all the way to the bottom as it makes cleaning harder as the pee tends to stick the bottom of the litter box.

Also with clay clumping litter, you'll find that after scooping for awhile, the clay litter becomes sandy and if these get stuck onto the bottom, it's harder to scrub them off and also it'll be more dusty. So regular maintenance is good both for cat and you. I wear a disposable mask while scooping the litter box.

 

[maggiedemi]

Do you have the litter deep enough and add a cup back in once a day after scooping? The pee should be clumping into a nice tight roundish ball. The poo usually looks like little logs.

I use Jumbo or Giant litterboxes and each one takes about 40 pounds of litter per month. I completely dump, scrub, refill with new litter once a month. I have two litterboxes for my two cats, I can't afford more than that.

 

[weebeasties]

Not to be too gross, but when one of ours has diarrhea, we can easily spot it. We use Tidy Cat litter and the pee forms in a tight ball. Diarrhea is usually more spread out and when you break the clump apart, you plainly see the poop.
As for the size of the box, my cats definitely prefer BIG boxes. We have 10 boxes in total (we have 8 cats). Of those 10 boxes, 8 are "large or jumbo" and 2 are "giant". The cats almost never use the smaller boxes and use the giant ones constantly. We scoop the boxes multiple times a day.
As for dumping, I used to do it once a week. Recently I have been trying to save a bit of money, so I am completely dumping and replacing every two weeks. As long as I put a little fresh litter in every day, that schedule seems to be working. The only exception is the litterbox in our bathroom. Even though it rarely gets used, the litter gets smelly quickly. The clumps don't stick together well. My theory is that the humidity from our daily showers cause this, so I am completely dumping and refilling that one weekly.
Hope this helps and welcome to TCS.

 

[artiemom]

I have one of those high sided x-large litter boxes. My guy is a high digger; and scatterer.

They way he digs: paw fingers completely stretched out while covering up; makes the litter stick in-between his toes.

I use Dr Elsey's Precious Pets Blue box. I do a complete dump and clean every 3 weeks weeks. If I let it go 4 weeks, it get nasty, really fast...

I always have an extra box of litter in the house, to add, as the time goes on.

I dump the litter, fill box with Blue Dawn, let it soak for a bit, dump the water, then re-fill with Dawn and scrub away, using a brush on the stuck on pieces, otherwise a handi-wipe, which I dispose of.
I give it a good rinse.
If I am able to, I will let it air dry.

 

[Anoxia]

Hello everyone, and thank you so much for sharing your experiences!

tabbytom I noticed the sandy bottom during my last cleaning and was not sure where it came from; thank you so much for letting me know! Thank you for the detailed information on how you clean it as well; I scrub right away and I'm surprised it didn't occur to me to let it soak first!

M maggiedemi Thank you for checking! I had been advised by a friend to keep the litter high enough that the pee lump won't touch the bottom, and that's how I've been determining when it's time to increase the litter baseline (of course, they still pee on the sides at times!) I marked the different inch lines in each box on all sides, and top off when it seems to go down by half an inch (timing variable based on which box they use)! Would it be better to top off more frequently?

weebeasties Not gross at all; I appreciate it!! Unfortunately it looks like Henri had another burst of diarrhea today and it matches what you described; it was more of the cow patty shape I had expected, it had a strong odor, and I was able to confirm it by smearing it in a transparent bag. I suppose because I was there when she had the first one and scooped it right away, it still retained its more oblong/pee-like shape? Thank you again for the description, it came just in time!

artiemom Haha, what fun! When I first brought Henri home she was incredibly excited about flinging litter everywhere, including having the litter ricochet off the box to land on her back so she could carry it with her! (My mother is so pleased that I've been cleaning the apartment more often. ) Thank you for the information about how you clean as well; I appreciate it!

 

[tabbytom]

I noticed the sandy bottom during my last cleaning and was not sure where it came from; thank you so much for letting me know! Thank you for the detailed information on how you clean it as well; I scrub right away and I'm surprised it didn't occur to me to let it soak first!

Some cats like to pee at the corners and some in the middle of the litter box. My boy pees only at the four corners and poop in the middle.

So every time I clear his pee clumps , I have to wipe off the litter that's stuck to the walls of the litter box. I use a non alcohol and non perfumed disposable towel and wipe it off.
I always make sure that my boy has a clean litter box.

 

[maggiedemi]

Would it be better to top off more frequently?

I do it once a day. I use one of those 1 cup measuring cups that you use for dry ingredients. So I add back 1 cup of litter per day after scooping in the morning.

 

[Anoxia]

tabbytom Haha, a cat that knows his style! When I first got them I was surprised to find my cats pooped in the same area of the box, but now I know where to look if I need a specific baby's fecal sample! Using wipes is a great idea; I recall cats don't like citrus so I'll also look into non-alcohol, non-scented ones; thank you!

M maggiedemi Aha! I did get one of those cups during my first vet visit; I had already invested in a food cup before I got my babies so I'm glad to find a use for it! Thank you for the suggestion!

 

[tabbytom]

Using wipes is a great idea; I recall cats don't like citrus so I'll also look into non-alcohol, non-scented ones;

I forgot to add to this, besides the wipes being non-scented and alcohol free, it is also Paraben and Soap free.

I wipe all parts of my boy's body with it. Head to tail.