Monitoring Litter Use, Parasites, Possibly Super Crazy Cat Person Idea, Input Please

[monkeymind]

3 cats & 3 litter boxes. I can't clean them so husband does but he doesn't pay attention to amounts & textures despite it being so important to monitoring cat health.

Short term ques, vet wants a stool sample of 1 to check 4 parasites. If the cat does have them will we treat all 3 cats? (Hub theory is no need 2 separate cats to ensure the right cats stool bc of this)

Long term, nutty idea. How do people monitor with multiple cats & boxes of they can't clean boxes? When I could do boxes it kept me aware of normal or not litter habits. Since hub doesn't do this thought of cheap motion cameras aimed at boxes to check for straining etc. I wanted something like petcube for fun which made me think of cheap household security motion activated 4 health. Feels embarrassing to share this idea but figured here would be the safest least judgmental place
Thoughts,input, recommendations?

 

[orange&white]

You are wanting a stool sample from one particular cat, right?

I read that you can feed one cat beet puree, and it will turn that cat's stool dark a day or two later (depending how often they poop), so that you can tell which poop belongs to a specific cat. The other cats' poop will be normal colored.

If one has worms they probably all need to be treated as a precaution. Or you could forego testing and give them all a routine worming. Wormers are relatively safe.

 

[maggiedemi]

I don't think it's a nutty idea at all. I've always wished I had a camera to see which cat is doing what in the litter box. As for de-worming you can just have a set time to do all the cats, some do it every 6 months, some do it every 3 months.

 

[DreamerRose]

Take a stool sample that looks promising. Chances are that if one cat has parasites, they all do. So you will have to treat them all. One of my cats had loose stools, and I though for sure she had parasites, but the vet checked and the lab came back clear.

I don't think you need a camera to monitor them. Just have the vet check a sample once or twice a year.