Concern with Litter Box

Heylo,

I've been having a minor issue with the litter box ever since adopting my lil' kitten Zoe. I've had her for about 6-7 months (she's 9 months) and this has been a problem since the start.

I set-up her litter box as follows:
Place liner along floor and inner-sides of the box. Essentially covering the entire inside of the box.
Pour in litter. The boxes usually recommend 3 inches high but I've been known to pour even more from time to time, just to be safe.

And that's more or less it. Nothing special.
The problem is after she does her business she, of course, paws at the litter to cover up her waste. This is when she paws too deep and goes down all the way to the liner and begins tearing it up. So after only a few days a corner or two of the liner is torn up and litter slips through to remain under the liner. Sometimes her waste will manage to go under as well and it's a huge problem getting it out of there.

So anyways, what the heck can I do about this? Am I doing something wrong? Is there a more efficient method to this?
I have no problem scooping the box so investing in some high-tech litter box that cleans itself isn't necessary, unless that's the only way to fix this.

Thank you.

I've never used liners for just that reason, I find that they rip and tear to easy. It's just easier to scoop the litter and once in a while just to take the box outside and wash it good, I do that mostly in the summer when it will dry in less than 10 minutes here.

When I first got Dharma, I tried liners. It just seemed like such a great idea. However, had the same issues you did, so I just gave up. I scoop twice a day, and completely empty the boxes about once a month, washing with Ivory liquid soap, dry well, and refill. I have two cats and three boxes. I was certainly little miss squeamish before, but it really hasn't been too bad at all. I don't miss the liners. Good luck!

Don't you guys find that, when not using a liner, urine tends to stick to the floor of the box if it seeps down far enough? I had that problem at first before hearing about liners.

Yeah it does. What kind of box do you have? I have 4 cats, and we use rubbermaid storage containers as litter boxes, LOL. I am bringing this up because I fill them realllly deep with litter (think 6 inches) to prevent this problem. I do not use any more litter than putting less litter in the box. The only way I would use more litter than before is if I get more cats, because it is still the same amount of waste and peed on litter that is getting scooped out as before-when I had shollower boxes. Once the box is that deep they cant dig to the botton because the litter falls back in their hole as they dig.

If you don't like the rubbermaid/6inch litter idea you can just get a really good scooper that doesn't have the pointy/spikes on the backside-so you can really scrape the bottom of the pan to get the pee.

Liners just do not work, even if you clip their nails. Hope you are able to comprimise with kitty!

We too just keep deep litter, think 4 inches. Neither of our boys are diggers really, just cautious to not let the pee hit the bottom.

I think the only person who would have success with liners is someone with a declawed cat.

Leslie

I have to use liners now since I have to throw the kitty litter away everyday untill she gets better. I also put very little since it's an everyday thing. But before that, I'd put it pretty deep and twice a month, I'd wash the box with bleach and hot water and it'd come out new.

Thanks everyone for all the input! Next time I clean out the box completely I'll be trying it without the liners.

Originally Posted by Jack31

I think the only person who would have success with liners is someone with a declawed cat.

Leslie

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no, they don't work even with declawed cats - i tried them, too.

Originally Posted by Triv85

Thanks everyone for all the input! Next time I clean out the box completely I'll be trying it without the liners.

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after you wash it, spray it w/a non-stick cooking spray [like Pam] & that helps, too.

My litter box is custom made. I bought a 92 qt plastic tub from Wal-Mart for $12 and it has a lockable lid. I cut out a hole on the side for the cats to get in with a dremel tool. Im using scoopable litter and I scoop every two days. I just lift off the lid and scoop away. Every 3 weeks I epty all the litter out and wash the container/box in the bathtub with soap and water. After its dried out I dump another 15 lbs of litter back in.

Originally Posted by Triv85

Don't you guys find that, when not using a liner, urine tends to stick to the floor of the box if it seeps down far enough? I had that problem at first before hearing about liners.

Click to expand...

I have a "side-pee'er" kitty who pees standing right up against the side of the box in the same place every time. The clumps always stick to the side and/or bottom.

No problem. With Roll'nClean box, I just give the bottom a good thump as I roll the box every night. The clumps release from the sides and bottom and fall into the removable drawer.

Every once in a blue moon, the clump doesn't release. It releases the next day when I roll 'n clean the box.

HWC, do you highly recommend the Roll 'N Clean? Any problems or concerns with it? How much did you pay for it?

It looks like a fairly simply yet effective method of keeping the litter box empty without having to actually look for and scoop everything yourself.

Originally Posted by Jack31

I think the only person who would have success with liners is someone with a declawed cat.

Leslie

Click to expand...

I disagree. Neither of my girls are declawed and I have no problems with them tearing the liners at all. Bella and Cinders are now 3 years old and have always had a lined litter tray and they work fine for me. The trick is to ensure that the liner is one size bigger than the tray and make sure that it isn't pulled tight at the bottom. Sure, I see the occasional pin prick of a hole in the liner, but they have never torn or allowed anything through to the tray itself

I should also add that Bella digs as if she is digging down to Australia when she is in the tray