Top 10 Litter Box Tips
What are you doing RIGHT and what are you doing WRONG? Does your cat enjoy using the litter box? Does your litter box have a strong smell? This list will help you, your cat, and your home.
#1. Use Unscented Litter Cats have an incredible sense of smell and do not like scented litter. The smell of scented litter may deter a cat from using the litter box as often as you and the cat would like. This might cause the cat to urinate elsewhere or hold it in longer than they should which can create bladder or kidney issues.
#2. Use a Sturdy Scooper Big metal scoopers are best. Another option, if you have weak wrists, is a big plastic scooper with wide slots that allows most of the litter to drop right through so it's not too heavy; but that may leave behind fragmented pieces - in which case a cheap little bendy scooper with small holes can be used to gather those remains.
#3. Scoop Deep Go all the way to the floor of the litter box to get up as much waste as possible every time you scoop. It only takes one extra minute to do a thorough job. And when you're done the cat might come over to use it again. Great! Let him/her finish and scoop again.
#4. Scoop Often A minimum of 3 times each day. 1) when you get up in the morning 2) when you get home from work 3) before you go to bed. If you're home during the day, scoop when you see the box has been used.
#5. Smooth the Surface Use the scoop to smooth the kitty litter into a flat surface. That allows you to look at the box at anytime and tell if the cat has used it since you last scooped.
#6. Conceal the Waste Those thin shopping bags from WalMart are perfect for this. Put the waste in, twirl the bag while holding the handles, then fold that closed and put your big scoop on top. You want the smells in the bag not in the house! Set next to box and use multiple times until it's at least half full then twist and tie, put outside with garbage, and get a new bag.
#7. Keep Box Away from Food & Water It might be convenient for you to put your cats food and water in the same room as their litter box, but that's a big no no as far as the cat is concerned. Would you eat your meals next to an open toilet? Again: Cats have a keen sense of smell and are more sensitive to such nauseating circumstances.
#8. CLEAN the Box If your cat had diarrhea, or it's been a couple of months since you have cleaned the box, then when the kitty litter is low, dump out the remainder, take the box outside, hose it down, get dish soap and an old sponge, and clean that box as unto the Lord! Dry it, and refill half way.
#9. Keep the Box 1/4 to 1/2 Full You don't want the box to get so low that you can see the plastic underneath. And you don't want it so full that the cat is getting too much litter outside of the box. Keep litter bag next to the box to add when needed.
#10. Use BIG Litter Boxes Buy the bigger box. You can get too small but you can not get too big. Higher walls are better too. Enclosed can make scooping more difficult, this tends to encourage less scooping which is never better for the cat.
A Little Extra info: We use Dr. Elsey's Unscented Cat Litter as well as Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract. The Cat Attract is primarily if/when a cat is inclined to urinate outside of the box. It is very useful for training purposes.