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I use only clumping. I have tried many brands but always come back to Tidy Cats. If anyone ever invents the perfect cat litter, he will replace Bill Gates on the Forbes list of the richest men in America. I have tried every form of litter box known to man over the past 40 years and am currently using a big steel wash tub surrounded by a 12" piece of plastic with an opening large enough for the 3 cats to jump in and out. Otherwise, they have a nasty habit of simply peeing over the side onto the floor and wall. I typically scoop it 5 times a day and still find pieces of litter from one end of the house to the other every morning. The dust is my biggest objection - every brand says "99% dust-free," but that remaining 1% must be the bad one because the laundry room in which we have the litter box requires dusting every other day. I would pay $10 extra for any brand that was truly dust-free.
You should really have at least 3 litter boxes (one box per kitty). That way they are less likely to pee outside the box. Also remove any covering over the box as that also gives them an incentive to mark it ie pee outside the box.
You should really have at least 3 litter boxes (one box per kitty). That way they are less likely to pee outside the box. Also remove any covering over the box as that also gives them an incentive to mark it ie pee outside the box.
I think that poster was indicating that he/she has cats that stand at the side to pee and overshoot the side edge of the box. Taller sided containers can be helpful when one has cats who feel the need to stand tall and let fly!
While multiple boxes are usually recommended, I always say "let the cat tell YOU what it needs." My boy used his second box as a bed, and never pottied in it. So I got rid of it, and replaced it with a folded soft blankie in that spot for him to lay on.
If this poster's cats are not innappropriately eliminating, then additional boxes may not be required, especially if living space is an issue...I would think? *shrug*
Ok, after years of using heavy non-clumping clay, I am really being seduced by the lightweight options. Of course the one I am interested in is clumping. I still have concerns about her coming in from the patio with wet feet, getting it stuck on her feet, then ingesting it when trying to clean her paws. I live in FL, and my cat has no qualms about being out in the rain or laying in puddles . The patio is screen enclosed, with no roof (it's a pool enclosure) so it does really get wet out there. Without limiting her access to a big part of her territory - how does one reconcile this? Am I worried for nothing?
I use clumping litter. It makes cleaning the litter box daily way easier. I scoop once a day, right before bed time. I use Tidy Cats "Lightweight" and it's awesome!
I use clumping, makes life with so many cats so much easier. I like the idea of scooping right before bed time, that seems so much easier than scooping a couple times a day, might have to try that.
Must mention, one thing I like about normal weight clay litter is that my Nimbus cat has fluffy little paws, lots of tufty fur between his toe pads. Lightweight litters client to his fur and his feet a lot, and he tracks it everywhere. The heavier clay litter doesn't cling to him as readily. He might still track a bit, but only near the box, not all over the house.
Many of the clay alternatives like wheat, pine, etc also have this issue.
Ive been using Elsey's too recently. This after trying the WOrlds Best Cat Litter Advanced Natural. That stuff is awful. Its a powdery mess.
Elsey's isnt too bad. Clumps well but for whatever reason, clumps have a tendency to stick to the side of my litter box making them tough to get out sometimes. Dust isnt too bad, could always be better. My biggest gripe is the litter seems to track very easy. It really sticks to the bottom of my cats paws so I end up finding it all over the place, which is annoying.
I finally got to the point where I cleaned one of the boxes and put in Elsey's on the bottom, then the EverClean, what my cats are used to, on top. They originally seemed to take it okay. And I noticed little to no dust. I've been just adding more Elsey's as they use the box, and I think by now most is the Elseys.
However, I've noticed:
- The balls of urine are heavy and break apart more easily than the EverClean
- Yes, it sticks to the bottom/sides like cement, but so did the EverClean. I use litter wipes to clean it up, and it isn't too bad.
- It's lacking in odor control. My cats have been furiously trying to cover up their business with the Elseys, sniffing it to see if the odor is still there, flinging the litter all over. With the EverClean, they didn't do this. A few swipes with their paws and done. I did notice that when I tossed the bag that had the urine clumps in it, that it REEKED of urine. I used to dump the little covered trash can once a week. I now have to do this once every couple of days.
Whatever the EverClean had in it, it must have had some sort of carbon or something that got rid of the urine smell. I think that with the tiny pieces of urine soaked litter that remain in the box, my cats are smelling that. So they keep flinging that litter, thinking it will get rid of the smell.
I think I may try the lighter weight litter I keep hearing everyone talk about.
I tried the Tidy Cats lightweight litter and will be switching back to regular Tidy Cats clumping. I did like that it was easier to carry home and the clumps I scoop out of the box are lighter, but I found the litter to be dustier than the regular, and it also had a light scent which meant Toby refused to use that box for the first few days. If the price was the same as the regular litter I'd probably just put up with the extra dust, but here it costs $12.89 while the regular litter is $7.79, and to me the benefits don't justify the price difference.
I used to use Tidy Cat but switched to Fresh Step. I find that they boxes don't stink as bad as they did with the Tidy Cat. And yeah, I use the clay. Unfortunately, my Elvira has a habit of building sand castles in the boxes and she gets litter EVERYWHERE!!! Sometimes, there is more letter on the floor than there is in the boxes-and I am NOT exaggerating.
Cat
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. The patio is screen enclosed, with no roof (it's a pool enclosure) so it does really get wet out there. Without limiting her access to a big part of her territory - how does one reconcile this? Am I worried for nothing?
