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| The Inside Scoop On Cat Litter |
The Inside "Scoop" On Cat Litter
Cats have a tendency to be picky about their potty protocol, so unless you really would like to have to deal with a constant mess in the home, tending to your cat’s litter box that measures right up to their standards is going to be extremely important. Some of the suggestions below should essentially prevent your kitty from doing business outside of their litter box.
The typical rule of thumb is usually one litter box per each individual cat in your house, plus maybe one extra. This way, they will not be discouraged from going in the litter box when it happens to be currently occupied.
It is really not at all possible to assign an individual litter box for each of the cats inside your home, because cats might just use any of the litter boxes that are not occupied at the time. What this means is that a cat might periodically reject the idea of using a litter box just after a different cat has been using it. In this particular event, you will now want to keep every litter box very clean, you may also consider adding extra litter boxes. However, at this point it will be the best option not to put all of the litter boxes in one area together because your cats will now look at them as one giant box, and sabotaging and/or attacking another cat can be a possibility here. Read also: Solving the Cat Litter Box issues.
Litter boxes w/cover
Certain people will ultimately prefer to supply their cats with a box that has a cover. While covered litter boxes can provide privacy and minimize the amount of stray specks of litter that fly out right from the box when your cat buries their droppings, there can be a few potential downsides to this. An “out of the way” litter box is pretty simple to totally forget about, which might lead to a filthy box that has trapped odors inside (which is actually a lot less probable to be accommodating to the cat). Litter boxes with covers on them can also be tough for bigger cats to spin around and adjust themselves in, and might lead to easier “takeover” from other cats during an exit.
To sum it up, if your cat does not prefer a litter box with a cover on it, they obviously will not use it. In order to identify what style of box that your cat has a preference for, you might want to make it easier on the both of you by providing both kinds of litter boxes in the beginning.
Litter boxes that clean themselves
There happens to be a quite a large display of boxes on the market that do offer automation and convenience in cleansing your cat’s litter box. Take precaution: a few of these types of features might deter a cat from desiring to use their box, so if the kitty is familiar with an “original” type of litter box, it is always better to stick with what they prefer. Read also: How cat ownership can benefit humans.
Selecting types of litter
There are many unique kinds of cat litter currently in stores. The most “crowd-pleasing” types are conventional clay litter,cat litter that clumps, silica-based, crystal gel cat litter and biodegradable/plant-based cat litter.
Many cats have a distinct preference for “fine-grained” types of cat litters, essentially because the finer grains have a much softer “sandy” feel. The newer types of clumping and scoop-able type litter have grains that are finer than conventional litter made of clay, and are mainly more popular because of the simple fact that they suppress the pungent stench. Although dust free, higher quality cat litters made of clay are adequately smaller-grained and will more than likely be accepted by your cat.
Once you discover a type of litter that the cat prefers, stick with that option. Swapping out different types of cat litters continuously could easily result in your cat not wanting to use the box.
If the cat has beforehand been a mainly outdoor type cat and happens to have a preference for dirt, you can then help them avoid the plants inside your home by putting moderately-sized stones/rocks on the very top of the soil inside the plant pots. You can then also swirl in some plant soil inside with their normal litter to help invite them into the box. A cat who dismisses just about every type of run-of-the-mill litters might just be ultimately very content with dirt/sand.
There are many people who tend to use a scented brand of litter or some type of air freshener to help cover up litter box smells, although most of the time, these smells can simply be objectionable to some cats. Applying a nice, thin coating of baking soda sprinkled on the bottom of the litter box will definitely help capture smells without deterring the cat. Read also: The Basics Of Caring For Cats.
Setting up the litter box
Many people have a tendency to establish the litter box in a “not in the way” section of the home to help decrease odors and help take preventative measures so the kitty litter isn’t being tracked inside the rest of the home. Although, if the litter box happens to end up inside the basement on a cold cement floor or next to an unsightly appliance of some sort, your cat might not be very satisfied with this arrangement, so you might now have to make some sort of compromise in this particular situation.
Be sure that the box is in an area that allows your kitty a good amount of privacy but will also be somewhat agreeable. If the cat’s litter box is especially tough to make it to for the cat, notably for an older cat or kitten, the cat just might not use it at all.
Prevent yourself from putting litter boxes right alongside heat-generating, or loud appliances, for instance your dishwasher or dryer for example. Abrupt or constant noise can have a tendency to make a cat feel anxious or agitated, while heat emanating from a furnace or dryer can project the smell of the litter box, which in turn could then make them avoid the box altogether.
Place the litter box a good distance away from the cat’s water and food bowls. Now you will want to establish at least one box on each of the individual levels of your home (if that is the type of floorplan you have). This way, the kitty has multiple choices if the route to their main litter box is blocked off (maybe the door to that specific room is shut or there just so happens to be containers or chairs etc. blocking a specific pathway to one of the litter boxes).
If you happen to have multiple cats, arrange and establish litter boxes in many different areas so that one cat won’t be able to “ambush” a different cat attempting to use the litter box.
Keeping the litter box clean
To address the ever-growing needs of even the most picky kitty, scooping droppings out of the box on a daily basis is a must. How regularly you typically change the litter box ultimately depends on the amount of cats you own, the amount of litter boxes and the litter type you happen to use.
Two times every week should be a typical occurrence for changing cat litter, but contingent on your situation, you might need to change the litter every second day or just one time every week. If you do clean the box on a daily basis, you may need only to replace clump/scooping type cat litter every 2 or 3 weeks or so. If you notice a stench/smell or if a good amount of the cat litter is clumping or wet, it is due time for a replacement. Thoroughly scrub the cats litter box every single time you replace the litter. Use mild dish soap to clean and freshen the box, because cleaning agents that have citrus oils or ammonia can easily turn off a cat, and certain cleaning agents are even toxic to cats. Read also: Cat trilling: why it happens?
Litter box liners
Litter box liners are surely an advantage for the cat’s owner. Typically, the box liner can be wrapped together and tied up exactly like a bag of trash, except the actuality is that many cats tend to claw it to pieces while they dig and scratch inside the litter box. However, it may just be useful if the cat does not claw too intensely to bury their droppings.
How deep should the litter be?
Cats generally will not use litter that is any more than around 2 or so inches of depth. Not only that, a decent amount of longer-haired kitties will typically prefer a smaller amount litter and a slick, smooth surface, much like the very bottom of the litter box. Putting in additional cat litter will not lessen the amount of necessary cleaning for a box.
Potty training a cat
There really is no such thing as “potty training” a kitty in the similar way somebody would potty train a doggy. You generally do not exactly need to train your kitty what to do with a box; animal instinct will typically take over. You will, however, need to establish a reasonable, easy to access box, using the above recommendations.
It is not crucial to bring your kitty cat right to the litter box and maneuver their feet front and back inside the box. If you are moving to a new home, however, you will then need to go about showing your cat where the box is located. Read also: How to train a cat.
Just incase problems happen
Just incase your cat starts to do it’s business just outside of the box, consider calling your vet as soon as possible. Any amount of medical issues can trigger a difference in a cat’s bathroom routine. If the vet looks over your cat and issues them a clean diagnosis, your cat might just happen to be exhibiting a problem with behavior that should be addressed.
***Important note: Punishing your cat is never the right answer, neither is locking your cat outside. For drawn out or difficult conditions, get in touch with somebody who specializes in the behavior of animals who happens to have plenty of experience dealing with cats.