New litter to prevent wet bum after peeing in litter box

[Leo1986]

Does anyone have any suggestions for a litter that could absorb the pee faster? I’m having a problem with my 4 month old male kitten. I don’t exactly know how it happens, but he sometimes has a wet bum coming out of the litter box. He then comes right to me in bed and leaves stains on bed sheets. He also realizes this and starts sniffing and pawing on the sheet and duvet cover as if he is digging around the urine spot or trying to cover it. It freaks me out when he does this because I am afraid he might think my bed is a good place to pee.

I was using Naturally Fresh walnut based litter before, which had a lot of fines that would stick to his bum and made the stains gooey dark brown resembling poop. I’ve changed the litter to World’s Best Cat Litter. It doesn’t stick nearly as much, but the wet spot issue has not changed. It just went from dark poop-like wet stains to yellow-ish wet stains.

I now have a towel by my bed and every morning he jumps on my bed I make him sit on the towel first or I just wipe him. But I can’t catch him every time. I don’t think it happens every time he pees. Maybe when he has a full bladder. I was thinking to switch to a conventional clay based litter. Do those work better for cats who pee very close to the litter? I think my cat squats very close to the litter when he urinates ad he doesn’t seem to dig a hole first.

 

[Jem]

What about crystal litter? It doesn't really absorb faster but I find the pee also doesn't "stay on top" in a puddle while waiting for it to absorb so he won't end up sitting in it while he pees...especially depending on the size of the crystals you use.

 

[Leo1986]

What about crystal litter? It doesn't really absorb faster but I find the pee also doesn't "stay on top" in a puddle while waiting for it to absorb so he won't end up sitting in it while he pees...especially depending on the size of the crystals you use.

Thanks. My preference is not to use crystals because they need their own type of litter box and pee pad, and I feel like that kind of change may make it worse for him. I’ve also heard crystal litter is dusty.

 

[Jem]

Thanks. My preference is not to use crystals because they need their own type of litter box and pee pad, and I feel like that kind of change may make it worse for him. I’ve also heard crystal litter is dusty.

The crystal litter we used to use didn't need a special box or pad. The crystal litter we used came in a bag, and you just put it in a regular litter box. You scoop out the poop and stir the crystal litter so the urine gets absorbed/distributed evenly throughout....important if you have a cat that always pees in the same corner... After a few weeks, you dump the whole thing and put fresh stuff in. And from what I remember it wasn't dustier than other litters...not saying you should try it anyway if you don't want to, but just wanted to let you know.

 

[Leo1986]

The crystal litter we used to use didn't need a special box or pad. The crystal litter we used came in a bag, and you just put it in a regular litter box. You scoop out the poop and stir the crystal litter so the urine gets absorbed/distributed evenly throughout....important if you have a cat that always pees in the same corner... After a few weeks, you dump the whole thing and put fresh stuff in. And from what I remember it wasn't dustier than other litters...not saying you should try it anyway if you don't want to, but just wanted to let you know.

Thanks for the clarification. I didn’t know how crystal litters worked.

 

[Jem]

I wonder if any pellet type litter would be OK for you. Pine, grass etc.
With clumping litters the pee puddles, not good if kitty sits in it. But with a pellet type, it doesn't puddle because it can trickle thru the larger bits. It does mean a different approach to cleaning it, but it's not bad.
For a pine pellet litter for example, when it becomes wet with urine, it turns into a sawdust type consistency, and falls to the bottom of the box and you then just sift the good litter and toss the "pee dust". You can get a special litter box for sifting, but you could easily make your own too.

 

[Leo1986]

I wonder if any pellet type litter would be OK for you. Pine, grass etc.
With clumping litters the pee puddles, not good if kitty sits in it. But with a pellet type, it doesn't puddle because it can trickle thru the larger bits. It does mean a different approach to cleaning it, but it's not bad.
For a pine pellet litter for example, when it becomes wet with urine, it turns into a sawdust type consistency, and falls to the bottom of the box and you then just sift the good litter and toss the "pee dust". You can get a special litter box for sifting, but you could easily make your own too.

Thanks for your reply. Do you have any recommendations for pellet litter? I believe the wet bum issue with my cat is worse after about a 5-6 days of having the litter in the box. I wonder if the natural litters I've used become less absorbent and more powdery with use. I imagine pellet litter would be harder to maintain since the litter turns into dust and might make my problem worse, unless I make sure all the dust is removed between litter box visits.

Soheil

 

[Leo1986]

Just wanted to thank you for your recommendation. I’ve been using crystal litter for over a week now, and I haven’t had the wet bum issue so far. I tried wood pellets first, but my cat didn’t seem to like them and wouldn’t use then. The transition to crystal took some time too, but he’s now using it.

The crystal litter we used to use didn't need a special box or pad. The crystal litter we used came in a bag, and you just put it in a regular litter box. You scoop out the poop and stir the crystal litter so the urine gets absorbed/distributed evenly throughout....important if you have a cat that always pees in the same corner... After a few weeks, you dump the whole thing and put fresh stuff in. And from what I remember it wasn't dustier than other litters...not saying you should try it anyway if you don't want to, but just wanted to let you know.

 

[Jem]

Glad to hear it's working out for you and kitty.

 

[CGOmom3]

Hey, not sure if you’ll see this, but wondering if using the crystal litter solved your cat’s wet bum issue? I’m going through the same with my 4 year old neutered male cat. I use Worlds Best and have since forever, but lately he’s been getting pee all over himself when he pees.

 

[Leo1986]

Yes, crystal litter solved my problem right away. I have been using PetSafe crystal litter from Amazon. If you think the issue is because the litter you are using doesn’t absorb urine fast enough, give crystal litter a try. You’d need to transition your cat slowly though because the texture is different and your cat may not want to use it right away. I think pellet litter, which was suggested above, should work as well. Pellet is much cheaper too. Crystal is easier to handle though. You just need to scoop the poop, give it a good mix, and then replace the entire litter every 3 weeks or so.

Hey, not sure if you’ll see this, but wondering if using the crystal litter solved your cat’s wet bum issue? I’m going through the same with my 4 year old neutered male cat. I use Worlds Best and have since forever, but lately he’s been getting pee all over himself when he pees.