Your thoughts on litterboxes.

[quakerboy]

Best one? Worst one? Anyone have a self cleaning that actually works?

[DS1]

1. I've never ever read a positive review of self-cleaning litter boxes

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. I have taught my cats to take little shovels

and scoop out their own litter box.



















Right.

[quakerboy]

6. That is awesome

How long did it take?

[Xipe Totec]

3. My thoughts don't fit in small boxes nt

[LeftyMom]

4. The only opinion that matters is that of your cat.

The best litterbox is the one your cat will reliably use, ideally without making a mess of the surrounding area.

[jobycom]

41. The truest statement ever made on DU.

"The only opinion that matters is that of your cat." My cats completely agree.

[fizzgig]

5. my dad has two of these and loves them

http://www.catsplay.com/simplyclean.php3

they work really well and i wish i could afford one

[Sanity Claws]

14. I wish my cats could fit in it

It says suitable for cats up to 12 lbs. Both of my boys are bigger than that.

[fizzgig]

17. he's got two who are bigger than 12 lbs and they use it just fine

i guess it might depend on just how much bigger they are, but one of the cats is around 17 pounds or so

[SacredCow]

7. Best one?

The neighbor's flower bed.

:hide:

[MorningGlow]

11. Dude

I've got a bone to pick with you about one of your cat's deposits that burned a hole in my bed of sweet william (and stank up the joint--right by my front door--as well). :grr:

[SacredCow]

12. actually, I jest... I don't have a cat for exactly the litter box reason...

I can NOT stand that smell. I like cats and all, but no matter how clean a litter box is, I can smell it from a mile away.

[MorningGlow]

19. Oho yeah, like I believe that

Nice try, bucko--pretending you don't have a cat by leaving it outside all the time, letting it do its bidness in other people's yards, and getting its nourishment by making the neighborhood devoid of any critters even vaguely reminiscent of rodentia...
:rofl:

Okay, so it's not you, but that's the way some people treat their cats in our neighborhood. I have NEVER seen so many outdoor cats and have never NOT seen any rodents--not like this. We have an old house, and our basement has more holes than swiss cheese, but we never see a mouse anywhere--indoors or out. I'd appreciate it, except that also means there are no chipmunks and hardly any squirrels...and of course the end product in my flower beds...

[SacredCow]

20. My old neighborhood had a lot of stray or outdoor cats...

not at all where I am now, though. Which is good, as my dog would be going bonkers all the time.

[MorningGlow]

23. I've never lived in a neighborhood with this many outdoor cats

It's a compliment to the peacefulness of the neighborhood, I guess, but it takes quite a bit of getting used to. Our three indoor cats have NOT gotten used to it, even after being here nearly two years. Our alpha male especially still has issues, which means repeated peeing on the front door, on the (thank the gods leather) couch next to the tall front windows, on the (thank the gods washable) lace curtains, because, you know--territory issues. Yeah right, cat, THAT'LL teach those darned outdoor cats who's boss around here. (Sigh--no point in telling him they can't smell what he's dishing out--he'll do it anyway out out sheer frustration at seeing a cat within a hundred paces of HIS territory.)

Of course, this leaves the litter boxes remarkably clean... :eyes:

[zanne]

31. I had a neighbor who complained to me about my three cats.

He said they were pooping on his lawn. This is the same guy who used to take his dog for a walk, let it poop on my lawn, and walk away without picking it up. I told him that, when my cats poop, it's fertilizer.

[quakerboy]

8. Some time ago

I saw or heard some description of what seemed to be a really cool self cleaning concept. It had some sort of nondegradeable litter, and a connection to the toilet, and it washed, and recycled the litter, while flushing away the waste. Anyone ever seen or heard of this?

[Critters2]

18. Cat Genie. I see commercials all the time.

Frankly, I don't find scooping litter all that difficult a chore. But if people want to spend the money, who am I to judge.

http://www.catgenie.com/

[SoxFan]

9. The type of litter is more important

As long as the box is big enough (an issue in multi cat households), the type of box isn't going to make much difference, short of buying an overpriced high tech thingamadoodle.

I suggest using this stuff:

[quakerboy]

10. Why that type?

[SoxFan]

26. Smells better and easier to clean up

It's made out of cedar shavings, so there is a good, natural scent. It doesn't amplify the ammonia smell the way the clay stuff does. Also, it doesn't fuse itself to the side and bottom of the box, which seems to be a problem with clay, especially when your cat is a lean, mean, peeing machine.

[quakerboy]

38. I have heard from various

(IE I cant remember where specificaly) sources who told me that the cedar wood has certain propertys that can be unhealthy for the pets using it?

[MsTryska]

13. I had to make one.

My cat is big and fat, and for the longest he wanted to pee standing up like a big boy.


So i got one of those large roughneck storage containers, and a dremel tool and sawed an opening in it, and now I have gigantic covered litterboxes with handles!


i used to use a littermaid - but it kinda freaked the cats and the self-scooping feature was kinda nasty. I actually prefer scooping once a day manually.

[Lars39]

15. We made one of those, too.

Cheap solution and nothing like it to contain everything.

[MsTryska]

21. Exactly.

i think inch for inch he may have more bathroom square footage than me.

[Lars39]

34. lol. Me, too. :^)

[1]

16. i guess i have a self cleaning litterbox, because i clean it myself...

i have a "tidy cat" covered box, with the big lift up lid. my kitty does deserve her privacy, you know...

olive is the tiniest of kitties. adult, but she probably weighs 6-7lbs (i have seen some pictures here and my little olive looks like a baby kitten compared to the size of others.)

the amazing part is that some days when i scoop out that litter, it must equal her bodyweight. i know the clumping litter adds to the mass, but my god, olive has an amazing digestive process.

and she only pees in one spot. she only poops in another spot. olive is meticulous about making sure it is buried. she will scratch around in there for 5 minutes to ensure all evidence is buried, i guess so that i will never find out she actually does that. she is such a lady.

i feed olive twice a day and clean the box at the same time. two small meals, and two small minutes to scoop the box. i keep an empty "tidy cat" plastic pail next to the litterbox and put the evidence in those plastic bags from the grocery store, inside of the pail. no muss, no fuss, no smell. once a week when i drive into town i deposit the bags from the pail into a wastebasket at the gas station when i am filling up my truck.

i'd prefer to dispose of this on my own property and let natural composting do its thing, but my dogs apparently find this material some kind of "treat." ugh and ewww.

i don't know if this helps. it's just my story...

[Flaxbee]

22. I have seven cats, and eight litterboxes. I scoop twice daily -

once in the morning, and once at night. And I have never, ever had any of the kids pee or poo elsewhere. It really is pretty easy to get into a routine; it takes me about 2 minutes twice a day. Pop the urine scoops into a special trash can (with bag, of course) and flush the poo. Once a week, take the accumulated urine scoops to the dump.

I have a big, big male cat and I bought an under-bed storage plastic box for him that is about twice as big as the 'standard' sized box (sans lid, obviously). Actually, two of the girls are part Maine coon and pretty big as well, so I have four standard sized boxes, and four humongous boxes.

All downstairs in the basement/garage/utility area.

[LostinVA]

24. We use one that has a covered top with a hole

It's harder for the dog to go digging for treasure.

[yellowdogintexas]

25. we have four cats and currently five boxes but it might as well be 4

because the silly beasties won't use the new one I bought the"Breeze" it seemed like such a good concept. They won't use it. Glad I only bought one as a trial item. http://www.breezeforcats.com/?CMP=ILC-BRZ-TC-BrzLink&HQS=TCHome+Sml&D=289529&T=4511481

This system interested me because it has no dust.

Meanwhile the other 4 boxes are sifting boxes and they have advantages and disadvantages. I have to dump and start from scratch on the litter this week because after a while, it just won't deodorize just from emptying the clumps and poo.

Now my cats seem to want to pee in two of the boxes and poop in the other two. Strangest thing I ever saw.

I have been using a wheat based litter that I like rather well.

Ultimately, it is the actual litter that makes the difference as much as the container it is in

[unpossibles]

27. mixed

I'm trying to talk my wife into the idea of letting me install a toilet for the cats in our basement. No, they aren't toilet trained yet, but I think I could do it, but don't want them using the human toilet.

[Dangerously Amused]

32. I toilet trained my cats using this thing, or something like it:

http://www.petdiscounters.com/Litter-Kwitter-Cat-Toilet-Training-System-p7040.html?gclid=CNHztLuE6JQCFRILIgod_Bo3SQ

It worked well, except it's a little embarrassing if you have guests over and you forget to run in and flush before they use the bathroom. Or if the kitty uses it while guests are there and you don't catch it in time. That's the reason I stopped using it and went back to a standard litter box. But if you have a "spare" toilet in the basement, that shouldn't be a problem.

[auntAgonist]

28. I'd rather use the toilet

:)

I wish I had a bidet too.



seriously though.
I'd like to know if the automated ones work well. We have 3 cats. We use regular litter. They don't like the clumping kind. :shrug:

Uncovered boxes here too.

aA

[quakerboy]

39. really?

the whole bidet concept seems somewhat creepy to me.

[Rambis]

29. Thee best cat litter ever

http://www.worldsbestcatlitter.com/Products/WBCL/default.aspx

No smell from the urine and no perfume smell at all and it is made out of corn- the plant was producing feed but one of the engineers was using it for cat litter because it was so absorbent. Now they have switched the operation to full time cat litter production.

[hamsterjill]

36. And most importantly...

It's FLUSHABLE!!!!! Love this stuff!

[Rambis]

37. never flushed it but

just to foreign somehow? good stuff though-
Cheers!

[Arkansas Granny]

30. My thoughts aren't as important as the cat's thoughts.

As it is right now, I live in a quiet neighborhood and have a fenced yard that my cat never leaves so I have installed a pet door for her use so she can be in indoor/outdoor cat. She prefers to do her business outside so I haven't needed a litter box for her in years.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

33. i like using a deep one wiht crystal litter

crystal litter is the best

[quakerboy]

40. why?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

43. because you only need to clear out the litter once a month. otherwise you just remove poop

also low/no dust and doesnt smell

[MsTryska]

35. incidentally - the good thing about scooping their poop

is it keeps you up to date on their health.

scooping has let me know about dehydration, possible UTIs, constipation, food allergies, etc.

[RedShoes]

42. I wish I knew someone who's used this...

http://www.catgenie.com/?R=cf

I think my kitteh, who just had a litter on 4-26 is preggers again (I really hope not. I've really been keeping her in until everyone's old enough to get fixed.)