Question for WBCL users

As I am transitioning from the clay to the WBCL, I am finding that scooping has become a huge chore, as it seems to take forever for the WBCL to fall through the slots on my huge Van Ness litter scoop.

Is there a special scoop to use, or is there one that works better than what I have? I don't want to spend a full 30 seconds per scoop to wait for the material to fall through, as each box takes a good 10 scoops each to clean all the clumps out, and I have 4 boxes - it is taking WAAAAY too long and is literally becoming a chore to scoop and then shake, shake, shake while I wait, wait, wait until I can do the next scoop full. With all clay it's a speedy breeze, but the WBCL is slowing me down way too much.

Any suggestions and/or better scooper recommendations?

pETSMART HAS A great NEW SCOOP I am going to buy... it is a dura scoop that has two part one can close and not let anything thru till you press the button..

I use dollar store slotted spoons.. oh and I mix wb or swheet with feline pine scoop

I'm not sure how much this will work as I use clay litter but we've recently switched to a heavy duty metal scooper. These things have good size openings for the litter to fall through and it's a deep scoop. I can give them a good shake without worrying I'm going to break the handle or send litter flying everywhere.

Maybe bigger openings will help the litter fall through faster.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2750668

Originally Posted by snosrap5

I'm not sure how much this will work as I use clay litter but we've recently switched to a heavy duty metal scooper. These things have good size openings for the litter to fall through and it's a deep scoop. I can give them a good shake without worrying I'm going to break the handle or send litter flying everywhere.

Maybe bigger openings will help the litter fall through faster.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2750668

Click to expand...

I like the look of that one, but the slots really don't look that much bigger than the scoop I'm already using - the whole thing looks about the same size.

I am thinking of going to stainless anyway, though, for odor control and durability. Thanks for the link!

I just use a regular scoop and I scoop 2 boxes - never have an issue.

they don't show the one I use online, but I just got a new one at petsmart. It is plastic, "ergonomically designed" and most importantly has wider slots. Its taking a little to get used to the design because I've used straight ones for years, but I like the wider slots for sure.

I use the large Van Ness plastic scoop that I buy at PetCo with no problem.
http://www.petco.com/product/5381/Va...er-Scoops.aspx
Is that the same one that you are having trouble with?

Originally Posted by snosrap5

I'm not sure how much this will work as I use clay litter but we've recently switched to a heavy duty metal scooper. These things have good size openings for the litter to fall through and it's a deep scoop. I can give them a good shake without worrying I'm going to break the handle or send litter flying everywhere.

Maybe bigger openings will help the litter fall through faster.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2750668

Click to expand...

This is the one I use with WBCL and it works great.

Also when I scoop I bring the clumps to the top, then try to pick up the clumps without any extra litter.

We really like the litter lifter

http://www.litter-lifter.com/id6.html

It works well with any litter including WBCL

We have one of these
http://www.catclaws.com/products/images/SCOOP.jpg

Originally Posted by xocats

I use the large Van Ness plastic scoop that I buy at PetCo with no problem.
http://www.petco.com/product/5381/Va...er-Scoops.aspx
Is that the same one that you are having trouble with?

Click to expand...

Yup, that's the one. Maybe it's because of the fact that there is clay and corn litter mixed together? It just takes forever to sift!

Originally Posted by GingersMom

Yup, that's the one. Maybe it's because of the fact that there is clay and corn litter mixed together?

It just takes forever to sift!

Click to expand...

Thinking back to over a year ago, when my kitties where transitioning from clay to WB....
I remember that I had issues with scooping.
As soon as they accepted all WB, we no longer had a problem with it.
The cause must be that when the heaver clay mixes with the WB, they tend to get struck in the scoop openings.
I think that once you kitties are on all WB, the scoop problem will be gone.

In my opinion, you are doing a really good thing, for your kitties future health, by getting them away from clay dust.
I am convinced that inhaling the dust that causes clay to clump, cannot be good for our cats tiny lungs over time.

Keep us updated about how the transition is going.
Mine were very hesitant to use WB because it felt so different to them but I was determined to never go back to all clay...
we finally did it, you will too....

Keep us updated about your sweeties progress.

Get WCBL and a litter robot, and you'll thank yourself for it.

I can post pictures of mind, or even a video, if you want to see hows it works.

1- Instant cleaning of the litter without you being there
2- Users say they use least than half of what they used to use before the LR
3- Absolutely odor free

The major cons are:
1- Price
2- Can be noisy

My 13 weeks old kittens took it in instantly and are absolutely indifferent to its noise. I could not live without it, especially with four kittens.

OK, so hopefully it's just a transition issue caused by the mix. I'll wait it out and see what happens.

I'm not interested in getting a litter robot. I don't mind scooping 4 boxes - I like to monitor the volume and consistancy of urine and stool.

I generally can tell what clump belongs to which cat, and besides that, it helps me feel like I'm taking good care of them. They have me well trained.

I got a large frier scoop (looks like a metal cat scoop with a wire grid instead of slots and a ruberized handle) a couple weeks ago at walmart in the holiday baking section...was $4 I think and is awesome! The only problem is that it won't cat very small pieces of clumps that have fallen off, as the "grid" is about 1/2 cm squares.

Art

artgecko, that is what I have too, and the handle is long so saves on bak pain scooping all the boxes!

Originally Posted by icklemiss21

We have one of these
http://www.catclaws.com/products/images/SCOOP.jpg

Click to expand...

That looks like a good one, reminds me of the old fashioned soap dishes.

Originally Posted by sharky

pETSMART HAS A great NEW SCOOP I am going to buy... it is a dura scoop that has two part one can close and not let anything thru till you press the button..

I use dollar store slotted spoons.. oh and I mix wb or swheet with feline pine scoop

Click to expand...

I have that scoop and I really like it (it's great for getting any little crumbly pieces and for dumping out the box when you use it as a scoop). The only thing I don't like is that it's plastic. My big metal durascoop spoiled me.

I had a big metal slotted spoon when I was using WBCL. The adjustable plastic scoop is doing pretty well with the Swheat Scoop right now.