THE LITTER BOX EXPERIENCE
LB – litter box
LBE – litter box experience
Intro
You and I have chosen to bring a cat(s) into our home as a pet & companion. Great. Therefore it is incumbent upon us to provide an acceptable & high quality litter box experience (LBE). We need to become informed about: box type (LB), litter type, box location, box maintenance, and more.
We need to be willing to provide good & acceptable LB maintenance. No one particularly likes to scoop & to change a LB, but it must be done – and it must be well and in appropriate fashion. It is not rocket science. It just requires a little understanding, a bit of effort, and a will to care well for our cat.
We need to understand that a poor and low quality litter box experience can bring about 3 potential problems:
- urinary tract disease
- cat stool and/or urine deposited elsewhere in our home (and then we blame the cat!)
- an unhappy cat
#1: Urologic (Urinary Tract) Disease
When the LB is not clean (dirty LB), the cat often holds in his/her urine. Cat urine is particularly
concentrated, and it often contains crystals – of varying types & often high concentrations.
The more urine is held in, the more concentrated it becomes in consistency and crystal structure.
Not good.
Holding in urine (urine stasis) can promote urine changes which can lead to bladder inflammations/infections, and even kidney problems.
You may have heard of cats (mainly males) getting ‘blocked’. ‘Blocked cats’ = urethral obstruction. This is a common, severe, & life threatening medical emergency whereby male cats form a ‘gooey’ substance (often the consistence of gritty toothpaste) in the urinary bladder, and this substance gets stuck/lodged in the tiny/thin urethra (tube leading from bladder to outside world). The cat in unable to pass urine, and untreated, he will die.
It has been my experience that good LB maintenance decreases the likelihood that the blocked cat situation will occur/develop. This is because the cat who urinates more frequently in a clean LB is less likely to hold in the urine, thus preventing urine stasis.
#2: Inappropriate Elimination (Cat Stool/Urine Outside of LB)
Bad situation. No cat owner is particularly fond of this. But the problem usually is not difficult nor complicated. In the majority of cases (but not all), inappropriate elimination is caused by a dirty LB (poor LBE). Simple problem (usually). Simple solution (usually).
At other times, inappropriate elimination occurs when the LB is placed in a location unacceptable to the cat (most common is LB in basement or else no LB on floor where cat is).
Again – pretty simple solution.
But these ‘simple solutions’ require a little thought & some subsequent effort on our part.
Finally, sometimes cats urinate and/or defecate elsewhere in the home for reasons other than the above. We call this the behavioral group. For this group, you will need help from your veterinarian.
#3: Unhappy Cat
I just cannot imagine that any cat could be happy when his/her LB is dirty and/or be happy when there is no LB reasonably close to use. A poor/bad LBE.
It is true that all the ladies in my life like (no, they actually insist upon) a clean bathroom. OK. Makes sense. As well, all the cats that I know also prefer a clean bathroom. Also OK. Also makes sense. Clean LB. Good LBE. Can you blame them?
Litter Boxes (LB)
We like big litter boxes. Because we think cats like big litter boxes. Our hospital boxes are a nice size – 22” L, 15” H, & 6 ½” H. They are plastic, inexpensive, & easy to find/purchase at most big pet stores.
We prefer that all boxes in the home be same size, configuration, & color.
- Open Box:
- Pros
- owner can see, observe, & evaluate the quality, nature, normalness or abnormality of
the stool & urine - easier to empty, clean, & change
- owner can see, observe, & evaluate the quality, nature, normalness or abnormality of
- Cons
- owners can see stool & urine in the box – not everyone is thrilled with this
- some dogs love to eat cat stool (oh, yes they do) – hence open boxes can pose a problem
here
- Pros
- Closed Box:
- Pros
- owner does not have to see stool & urine (not all owners enjoy this sight)
- because some dogs like (love) to eat cat stool, this box keeps them out (for the most part)
- Cons
- more difficult to empty, clean, & change
- more difficult to affix litter box liner to inside of box
- Pros
In the hospital we have chosen to cut down one long side (repeat, the long side – not the short side of box) of every hospital litter box. We do this because it is easier for the cat to get into and out of the litter box. This is especially important for cats who are: old, fat, have joint/back/musculoskeletal problem, and/or who are ill.
Ninety year old people have some difficulty accessing the bathroom. The same is true for our geriatric feline companions.
Cutting down the one side really makes a bigger difference that you might expect. Also, this is not so easy to do – need some tools. It works well with open boxes, but it does not work well with closed boxes.
Litter Box Location
You might not think this matters, but it very often matters (a whole lot) to your feline friend.
Our preference is ‘in your face’. That is, we think it is important that the box (s) is located close to where you are and where your cat is. And yes, of course, this varies/depend on the configuration o the home. But we still like ‘in your face’.
our preferred lob locations:
- at least one box per floor
- kitchen (or at least adjoined/nearby family room)
- master bedroom/bath
locations to avoid:
- secluded out of the way places
- laundry rooms
- stair landings
- basements (all basements, but especially basements) – ask us why
Number of Litter Boxes
Again (and in this entire section), these views are not written in stone. They are just our recommendations base on our experience.
We think you need at least one LB per floor. Most homes only need one box per floor. However, the number (not less than one) can vary according to a number of factors.
The number of cats in a home also influences the number of boxes.
Cats do not like to travel to another floor in order to use the bathroom. Think about it.
Note – not OK to have additional boxes just for reason of decreased cleaning frequency
Litter Box Liners
These are plastic half bags which are manufactured specifically to fit into a litter box. The intent of course is to prevent fluids & solids from soiling the litter box – hence less work for the owner in washing & cleaning the LB. They work reasonably well.
Sometimes cat claws tear into the litter liners, causing the litter liners to work less than well.
To save money you may find that a plastic garbage bag works reasonably well as a litter liner substitute. The bag typically used is the ‘tall kitchen bag’ – generic, usually white, and 13 gallon size. It may be a bit more difficult to affix this bag to your litter box, but it often works reasonably well. You may find that you will need to use some tape to make this bag fit into/onto your LB.
Cat Litter
There are a number of issues to consider here and cat owners need to become reasonably knowledgeable about some of this.
There are 2 types of cat litter: conventional (non-clumping) & clumping.
Almost all (90-95%) of the cat litter in the world (both conventional & clumping) is made of absorbent clay. This clay is mined from the earth and processed to form cat litter. But any product that is able to absorb moisture can be used to make cat litter. These other products include, but are not limited to: newspaper, paper, wood (pine & cedar chips), grain (wheat), citrus (orange peels), & peanut shells.
In terms of quality control, manufactures of cat litter are concerned with 3 issues: odor,
‘tracking’, & dust. ‘Tracking’ refers to the tendency of some litter to stick to the cat’s paws, and ‘track’ on the carpet/floor when the cat leaves the litter box. ‘Tracking’ is the major drawback of clumping litter.
Quality Control Issue For Owners Include:
- consider name brand product (better quality assurance)
- select ‘dust free’ (no one wants a face full of dust when changing the litter)
- no ‘odor eaters’ (might be good for you, but cats don’t like this stuff) (and besides, if you need this stuff, then somebody isn’t doing a good job with the litter box)
Clumping (Clumpable, Scoopable) Litter
Clumping litter came onto the scene in the mid-1980s, and it is used increasingly today. It accounts for somewhere between 30-40% of all litter used today. It is designed so that the litter clumps together when wet, and it forms a solid mass separate from the other litter in the box. Then this clumped, solid mass can be scoped out separately, and disposed of without changing the contents of the rest of the box.
Its key attraction to cat owners is that this litter & its use decrease the total time owners spend cleaning the litter box.
Clumping Litter System
- scoop box 2-3 times daily
- scoop morning & night –absolute minimum
- (more frequent scoopings even better)
- use the scoop provided or from pet store
- (or visit kitchen store for large soup ladle )
- (or visit kitchen store for large soup ladle )
- empty & wash entire box
- once weekly –absolute minimum
- (twice weekly preferred - or more often if you can)
- wash box with each box change
- fill box with approx. 2-3” of litter
The above presumes you have one cat. If you have additional cats, then you must adjust the above frequencies, using good judgment.
Conventional Litter (usually called clay litter)
This litter system requires a bit more work on the part of the cat owner. This is the reason that clumping litter was developed. With conventional litter, the entire contents of the litter box is discarded each time the box is cleaned.
This is a very nice LBE. We think conventional litter boxes tend to be cleaner than clumping litter boxes. This system often works well when there has been a problem with cat soiling in the house.
Conventional Litter (called clay litter) System
The Countryside System (60 seconds – beginning to end)
Preparation:
- obtain 10 gallon pail w/ top (Rubbermaid = best & holds 50lb litter)
- open new bag of litter & empty entire bag into 10 gallon pail
- discard empty litter bag
- discard empty litter bag
- use cat litter liners (tall kitchen garbage bags = OK & cheaper)
Box Change:
- change 2-3 times daily
- morning & night = absolute minimum (3 times = even better)
- change entire box – lift/remove plastic liner full of dirty litter, tie liner/bag in knot, & dispose
- retrieve new/clean litter from 10 gallon pail (never from opened bag of litter - messy, cumbersome, time consuming)
- fill box with approx. 1-1 ½” of litter
Hints & Secrets:
- easiest to use litter liners
- 10 gallon pail a must
- whole trick is, at each & every box change, to remove new/clean litter from 10 gallon pail & not from an open bag of litter
- quick & easy – yes, only 60 seconds from beginning to end!
The above presumes you have one cat. If you have additional cats, then you must adjust the above frequencies, using good judgment.
FINAL NOTE
It is essential for you to provide a good & clean LBE for your cat in order to prevent
medical problems, house soiling, & to keep your cat happy.
Either of the 2 litters and changing systems can work well for you.
But you must be be diligent.
DISCLOSURE
This entire section on The Litter Box Experience reflects our views & opinions, based on our experience here. These views & recommendations are not inviolate veterinary dogma. But they have worked well for us.