Cleaning the litter box without removing all the litter?

I have two litter boxes one in the laundry room and one in the bathroom. I use clay litter in one and silica gel litter in the bathroom one since it tracks less. Gizmo likes to pee in the silica liter and poop in the clay litter, Willow prefers to use the clay for #1 and #2. I dump the used litter and disinfect both boxes with Pine-Sol about once a month.

The problem is when I feed them Petromalt for hairballs, it gives them soft poops, since it's basically a laxative to clean out the retained hair. These soft poops invariably end up deposited right next to the wall of the litter box where they stick to the side when I scoop them out. Is it OK to just push the litter to one side and then use a sanitary wipe to clean off the side of the box instead of dumping all the litter to clean it out?

I want to point out that Pine Sol is toxic to cats.

While it may seem to be a lot more work, it really is more sanitary to clean the box totally (without heavy cleaners like Pine Sol, which contains phenols that can be harmful to cats) at least once a week, more often if necessary. If the poop sticks to the sides of the box, then simply wash it out with hot water (as hot as you can stand or wear protective gloves) and dish washing soap.

I have a chronic pooper, as I call her. And the same thing happens to me. I switched over to clumping litter and it really has made a difference in the way the box stays nice and fresh. I just be sure to scoop every day (or a couple of times a day depending, I have 4 cats and they like the "public" box better than the one in the bathroom) and it stays nice and fresh for about 3 weeks. I also have a very large box (it is actually an under the bed storage tote with high sides) and it helps if the sides are taller. That way, the mess is contained to the box and not on the walls next to it.

Originally Posted by Hesster

Is it OK to just push the litter to one side and then use a sanitary wipe to clean off the side of the box instead of dumping all the litter to clean it out?

Click to expand...

Sure, it's OK. Why not?

The other thing you can do is buy an el cheapo extra spare litter box (or an old bucket) and just dump the litter into it, wipe down the good litter box, and pour the litter back into it.