Never Buy Cat Litter Again
The main reason you might want an automatic litter box is the promise that it will scoop itself for you, but these devices often fail at that task. The scoop can get gunky or clogged, leaving the machine backed up. The Litter-Robot III Open Air, for example, jammed when we loaded too much litter or the wrong type of litter, and in one case it malfunctioned because cat waste was blocking its sensor, so it mistakenly perceived the bin as being full. And with the PetSafe Simply Clean, several times clumped urine got caught on the conveyor belt, bottlenecking the travel route and spilling dirty litter onto the floor.
never buy cat litter again
To clean the Litter-Robot, you have to empty the litter bed, unplug the machine, detach the globe from the base, empty the waste drawer, peel off the carbon filter and step mat, hand-wash all the parts (while being careful not to flood the electrical components), and then allow them to dry before you can add fresh litter and turn the machine back on.
Some automatic litter boxes also take a long time to scoop, which can annoy cats who like pristine litter boxes and may go elsewhere in the home while they wait for the litter box to do its job. For example, the CatGenie takes 30 minutes to flush away messes, and the PetSafe Simply Clean needs an hour to scoop out excrement.
Special-needs cats such as those who are older, arthritic or still very young might have trouble with certain types of litter boxes. Boxes that have sides that are too high or have a top-side opening might make it difficult for your cat to enter or leave the box. Try switching to a litter box with low sides.
If there is a conflict between your cats and one of them seems stressed, provide additional litter boxes in locations where the anxious cat spends the majority of her time. Also be sure to provide adequate resting areas for each cat. It can very useful in multi-cat households to create vertical resting spots on shelves or window sills or by buying multi-perch cat trees. It may help to distribute resources such as food, water, cat posts or trees, and litter boxes so that each individual cat can make use of them without coming into contact or having a conflict with one of the other cats. Using synthetic pheromone sprays or diffusers can reduce general social stress in your household.
The safety of clumping litter is a controversial topic. While there is nothing in the scientific literature documenting the health hazards to cats of clumping litter, there are many anecdotal reports from pet owners relating problems their own cats have had that the pet guardian relates to the use of clumping litter. Clumping litters usually contain sodium bentonite, which is a natural clay. Even though sodium bentonite is considered to be an inert, non-toxic substance, many clumping litters form very hard, cement-like clumps which are not safe to be flushed as they may clog the plumbing in your home. Another characteristic of sodium bentonite is that it expands many times when it comes into contact with water.
That being said, unless I have orphaned kittens who are being bottle fed, I use scoopable litter. I only use clay on those is because they are so messy they end up with cement shoes because they walk through the food as well their urine and it causes them to have a number of baths.
I currently have a litter of kittens that have two boxes, one with scoopable and one with clay, and they avoid the clay. Occasionally they pee in it, but they strongly prefer the texture of scoopable.
About two-weeks after we first started using clumping kitty litter, our thirteen-year-old cat suffered debilitating fits which left him deaf, blind, and walking around in circles. He is on three kinds of medication now: two shots a day for diabetes, two pills a day for seizures, and two treatments a day with a thyroid medication applied to the inside of his ears. How much, if any, of this can be attributed to bentonite in the kitty litter I cannot say. The seizures stopped , whether because of the medication or because we stopped using clumping kitty litter, I cannot say.
I have a rabbit who is litter box trained. Rabbits are like cats in many ways except they are not as concerned about burying their mess. But grooming is as big a thing with rabbits as is with cats. It is well known in the rabbit community that clay based litters are lethal to rabbits. Vets with training in rabbit care will confirm this and tell you to use paper or walnut shell litter. The primary cause of death to rabbits is breathing in the clay dust which leads to pneumonia. A secondary cause is ingestion leading to GI stasis. I see know reason why cats would be less susceptible to these ills than rabbits are.
I have been keeping and loving cats all my life. For at least 44 years I have used clumping clay cat litter, even though the modern ones are nicer with smaller particles, they have all worked excellently.
I have always either kept the litter tray/boxes on carpet or used a litter collecting mat to ensure their feet are naturally cleaned of any dust when they leave the litter tray; or a combination of mat and carpet. Perhaps other owners do not do this?
You say anecdotal evidence, i.e. first hand experience, does not count, but it would in a court of law, so why not for you? Until today, I have never even heard of any cats having problems with clay in my whole life.
I think you are scaremongering unnecessarily (a bit) as many millions of cats do live with clay cat litter every day of their lives and come to no harm, like mine. If bentonite clay is as dangerous as you and others here seem to think, I do not believe that my cats would be as alert, fit, healthy and happy as they are. I would attach a photo if I could.
When the CatGenie cleaning cycle begins, it starts with a scooping cycle. During this stage, the bowl rotates as the Genie Hand descends into the litter, gathering up any solid waste and depositing it into the hopper where an impeller macerates all of the waste.
I have had a cat genie for 8 years and had at the time of the first genie 5 cats using it and only had a couple of problems if the cat had wet stools .I had to clean he rake I love the the cat genie we gave it in the laundry hooked up to the washing machine drain .We have 2 new kittens as our older cats have past on to heaven and the we ones are doing fine with the cat genie if you compare the price of normal litter the cat genie really compares .and guess what else NO LITTER DUST..Well worth the cost ..
Don't rub your cat's nose in an accident: The only thing you're going to accomplish by rubbing your cat's nose in her accident is upsetting her. You won't suddenly know her motivations for not using the litter box and she won't promise to never do it again. Rubbing your cat's nose in an accident brings more attention to the scene of the crime and may even reinforce to your cat that it's okay for her to go to the bathroom wherever she wants. The best course of action is to simply clean the area thoroughly and continue to work on litter box training.
Fill your cat's litter box with Purina Tidy Cats Free & Clean Unscented with TidyLock Protection clumping cat littertoprovide her with uncompromising odor control. This litter solution is free of fragrances and dyes, making it an ideal option for cats and pet parents who prefer unscented litter. The 99.9% dust-free formula minimizes pesky dust clouds when you fill it, and the guaranteed TidyLock technology locks away odors to leave your home smelling fresh and inviting. We formulate this litter with activated charcoal to help absorb odors, and it forms tight, strong clumps for easy cleaning. Let your cat paw her way through this litter, and watch as she purrs in appreciation after each use. When no scents makes sense for you and your cat family, choose this Purina Tidy Cats litter, and give your feline friend a comfortable corner of your home she can call her own.
Fill your cat\'s litter box with Purina Tidy Cats Free & Clean Unscented with TidyLock Protection clumping cat littertoprovide her with uncompromising odor control. This litter solution is free of fragrances and dyes, making it an ideal option for cats and pet parents who prefer unscented litter. The 99.9% dust-free formula minimizes pesky dust clouds when you fill it, and the guaranteed TidyLock technology locks away odors to leave your home smelling fresh and inviting. We formulate this litter with activated charcoal to help absorb odors, and it forms tight, strong clumps for easy cleaning. Let your cat paw her way through this litter, and watch as she purrs in appreciation after each use. When no scents makes sense for you and your cat family, choose this Purina Tidy Cats litter, and give your feline friend a comfortable corner of your home she can call her own. 041b061a72