Litter box issues - vent

I think I just need to vent about this somewhere where people don't think I'm crazy.

A few months ago we ran into trouble with the clumping litter we were using. They changed the formula and instead of clumping, it turned into mud. Not cool. So we switched the kitties over to Yesterday's news, and thought the matter was solved.

Turns out that Freya never did take to the Yesterday's News and was sneaking off into the back corner of the basement storage (where we almost never go) to pee on some old linens in a box.

Yeah...we found that, cleaned it up and switched back to a clay litter. Everything seems peachy for the first few days until we notice that Cotton's pees look enormous. Off to the vet just to find he's fine and his thyroid numbers are still well under control. Turns out that a bunch of the commercial clay litter manufacturers switched to the mud-making-mixture that made us start switching in the first place. Even worse - Freya refuses to use any litter box that Cotton's peed in (because of the amount of space his pee was taking up, I presume) and starts peeing all over the basement.

Fast forward to last night - we bought a new HUGE litterbox (because Freya was avoiding the old on like the plague), filled it with Dr. Elsey's Precious cat (since I've heard a number of good reviews), took Freya to the vet to determine that she does not actually have a UTI, likely just avoidance issues, but have an antibiotic round for her just to be on the safe side, and absolutely soaked the basement in enzyme cleaner...all because a bunch of litter companies thought they'd save some money by changing the clay content...

okay. I feel better now. So far the Dr. Elsey's and the new box is a hit...although the basement still smells wonky, especially since it's be so humid. I look forward to the day that can stop finding things Freya's peed on.

Thanks for letting me vent.

I hadn't thought of that. I'll pick up some extras when we do groceries and give it a try - especially in the storage room. Thanks!

No worries there. I'm actually allergic to most 'air fresheners' so they never enter into the house.

The irony is that we used to have 3 boxes, we added them years ago when we got Cotton to avoid any issues. For no reason that I understand, they'll only use the big shared box in the basement, even though the others have the same litter and are in quiet spots. We joke that the two of them are like girls at a party - they have to go to the bathroom together because one will actually go and get the other if they have to go, and they'll both go downstairs, even if only one has to use the box. .

Just to be safe, I did put the extra two back for now, one in the laundry room where Freya peed the most and one in the den because she that's where she peed the second most often, but so far she's only using the big box. Not to complain...I suppose I should change that to "So far she's having no trouble using the big box!" *knock on wood*

Thanks. Since our heatwave has thankfully broken for a bit, I have the extra fans set up down there to help air everything out and I'll admit it does smell better today. The enzyme cleaners do say they have to fully dry to work, so I have my fingers crossed. I've costed it out and the Dr. Elsey's looks like it will only cost me an extra $4 a month. If that's the price of keeping everyone happy with their litter, I'll happily spend it.

Just an aside: So far I've noticed the Dr. Elsey's is MUCH better at odor control than anything else I've used. Has anyone else noticed this?

Thanks, Carolina.
I'll have to send that in.