I am starting to believe that many people do not take the task of litterbox cleaning very seriously. Then, I am afraid, when inappropriate elimination problems arise, the cat is usually out of there.
Case in point. A friend of mine recently put down her 8 year old cat for peeing in the house (mostly the newly finished basement). She said they "tried everything" to get her to stop including a vet visit. Well, during the basement remodel I was over her house and she had put the litterpan in the kitchen temporarily. It was a small covered box that was full of poop. Definately more than a day or two days worth. It just makes me wonder how often she actually scooped.
Then we were over our neighbors. They too have a small covered litterpan for their cat. My daughter was playing in the basement and opened a door to the furnace room. Cat poop on the floor. My neighbor assumes that the cat must have gotten stuck in that room at some point. Now this is the neighbor that leaves her kitty home for a whole week alone without anyone checking on it or scooping (according to her the cat doesn't care if his box is clean or not). She is also the type that will give the cat the boot if he messes up.
Lastly, my dear cousin who said that she knows when she needs to scoop by the smell -- usually every four days or so. I very nicely told her don't ask for trouble -- scoop everyday. Would you like to step through your own waste when using the toilet? Would you like to use a toilet that hasn't been flushed in four days??
These three experiences tell me that many people don't understand that this simple step (daily scooping) is really essential to your cats well-being. Most people will say "of course I keep it clean" but you have to wonder what that means.
One other example is my SIL who cleans houses. The litterbox at one house just smells like urine even when scooped. She says it looks as though the box is about 10 years old and never gets completely emptied and washed (or better yet replaced). She did nicely suggest to the owners that a new box ($5) would probably really help with odors.
Just a rant.
Case in point. A friend of mine recently put down her 8 year old cat for peeing in the house (mostly the newly finished basement). She said they "tried everything" to get her to stop including a vet visit. Well, during the basement remodel I was over her house and she had put the litterpan in the kitchen temporarily. It was a small covered box that was full of poop. Definately more than a day or two days worth. It just makes me wonder how often she actually scooped.
Then we were over our neighbors. They too have a small covered litterpan for their cat. My daughter was playing in the basement and opened a door to the furnace room. Cat poop on the floor. My neighbor assumes that the cat must have gotten stuck in that room at some point. Now this is the neighbor that leaves her kitty home for a whole week alone without anyone checking on it or scooping (according to her the cat doesn't care if his box is clean or not). She is also the type that will give the cat the boot if he messes up.
Lastly, my dear cousin who said that she knows when she needs to scoop by the smell -- usually every four days or so. I very nicely told her don't ask for trouble -- scoop everyday. Would you like to step through your own waste when using the toilet? Would you like to use a toilet that hasn't been flushed in four days??
These three experiences tell me that many people don't understand that this simple step (daily scooping) is really essential to your cats well-being. Most people will say "of course I keep it clean" but you have to wonder what that means.
One other example is my SIL who cleans houses. The litterbox at one house just smells like urine even when scooped. She says it looks as though the box is about 10 years old and never gets completely emptied and washed (or better yet replaced). She did nicely suggest to the owners that a new box ($5) would probably really help with odors.
Just a rant.