Urine "clumps" - wit's end

I dread the litterbox every day... it is the worst part of the day and it makes me want to cry every time I have to do it. I've posted before about our litter woes - the urine balls sticking, the litter all over the floor, no space in my bathroom, etc. - but I feel like I've hit a dead end.

Here's a TMI picture of our current setup -



***NOTE*** The litter level in the boxes in the above pic is EXTREMELY LOW because of the situation (below). I am buying more tomorrow. I promise I don't leave only an inch of litter in there - I dump an entire 40-pound bag between these boxes, and it's gone in two weeks.

At this point, I'm not even getting urine balls anymore. They are like urine pancakes with peaks - and they are damp throughout. I am SCRAPING soggy, urine-soaked litter off the bottom of these pans every single night, and I just can't take it any more.

I tried the lift & drop method and it worked okay for awhile but maybe because of the addition of the 3rd cat, it doesn't work for the deposits I have now. (I also live in an upstairs apartment and didn't like making such a loud noise on my floor.) But, I also added a 3rd box when I added the 3rd kitten - so I don't understand why the litter situation was tolerable with the boys, but completely intolerable with the boys & Joni together????

Are the boxes just too small????? The two smaller ones are like 12x16, the big one maybe 14x18 (not too good with measurements lol).

With fresh litter in, the boxes are about 3 inches deep. But with the amount of litter I'm dumping out along with the urine, that litter absolutely disappears to the level above - the last time I dumped them and added completely fresh litter was only 13 days ago. I really can't afford to buy 3 40-pound bags of litter a month.

I barely have room to towel off after a shower now, but I'm at the end of my rope and am going to go to my parents' tomorrow to get one of the big, green Sterilite boxes I used when I moved to try the top-loading box suggestion that someone (Laurie?) made in my apartment hunting rant post. I'll dump an entire 40-pound bag in there and hope for the best...

I didn't try the Pam thing Ducman suggested last time I posted - honestly, that completely grosses me out and I'm not sure I have the stomach for it. Just imagining the smell mixed with the disgusting soggy urine cake is making me gag as I'm writing...

I hate feeling like this. Cats, like kids, can be a chore sometimes, but it shouldn't break your spirit the way this seems to break mine. It shouldn't take me 30 minutes to clean 3 boxes.

Anyone have any suggestions?????? Just in case they don't like using the Sterilite box? Or if I really end up not being able to move around in my bathroom because of the size?

I use Dr. Elsey's, after many suggestions on this forum. It's $15 for a 40-pound bag. I'm open to anything clumping, really, as long as it is unscented.

I'm obsessive about mold because it makes me so ill. The fan runs from the second I turn the bath on until several hours after I'm gone - and I wipe down the walls and the shower wall so the water doesn't sit on it, etc. Though that is definitely something to think about, though it doesn't explain why things used to work and now they don't.

I don't have anywhere else in the house to put the boxes. I have the closet in my room which is full of clothes, shoes, boxes, storage bins, etc., and the hall closet has a rolling towel rack for sheets & towels, cleaning supplies, cat toys (only place I can put them out of reach, because the door closes), coats, umbrellas, etc. So they're stuffed full. The "rest of the house" is just my bedroom and my living room - I'm at just around 600 sq. feet., much of which is in my double stairwell (tricky leasing company). The kittens don't sleep with me because I sleep so little as it is that I can't risk being woken up, and they're a little too young/wiggly/mischievous/nocturnal to stay quiet or calm. So the bedroom door stays shut which means no litterboxes in my bedroom (and honestly I wouldn't put them in there either way). Living room is taken up by couch, bookshelves, dining table.

I'm not sure why spreading them out would help with the clumps sticking. (No snark, just wondering.) It seems like it would increase the risk ("risk") that they'd use one box more often than the others, making the pancake situation worse in that box.

Is there a difference between clay & clumping? I thought they were 2 different things. I'm using Dr. Elsey's multi-cat formula clumping litter.

I think so, too. My dad is going to help me with cutting a large hole in the top of the Sterilite bin when I go get it tonight. I'm really, really hoping that will help.

I start off with about 3 inches of litter - over halfway up the top of these boxes. The kittens must dig to the bottom, though, because it does not help with the clumping situation. I think the other thing is that they seem to pee over top of where the other cats have peed... so when I shake the litter back to get at the bottom of the pan, it's a bunch of pancakes that sort of connect/overlap. I'll take a look at Petsmart tonight to see what kind of litter they have, if there is any finer than Dr. Elsey's. I'm loathe to try a new box and a new litter at the same time, though the boys are pretty unflappable so maybe they won't care. I'll keep the biggest box, the dark maroon one, out with their current litter while they try the new box. But who knows - maybe because the litter won't be so filthy/smelly from little specks of nasty urine clumps mixed all throughout, they won't mind the lid sort of concentrating the smell in there (the main reason I haven't tried a hooded box to date).

Yup. That's what I do. The problem is that the clumps aren't really clumps or balls... they are little patties that are moist/damp and won't come up with just a push from the scoop. I have to scrape them up.

Yeah, lol. I just wanted to make it clear that I don't leave a low level of litter because it seems to correlate to more sticking - so I didn't want the thread full of "Of course you have sticking, you need more litter in the box!" etc.

Very awesome! I like that idea! I have metal bifold doors, though, and can't make any changes to the interior of the home due to my leasing contract. That is definitely a great idea, though, and something to hold onto for the future. I love the cat door - you get to keep the door closed, and he gets to go in to his litterbox.

Thanks for all the suggestions, y'all... sorry for the massive response post, lol. To summarize, I have to keep the boxes in the bathroom, but I am going to look for a finer litter tonight and try it in a large Sterilite bin with the lid on & a hole cut.

LOL! Yup, sorry I missed yours! I'm not sure about non-clumping litter. What exactly does it do? Just absorb the urine? And I don't have a strict preference for Petsmart, lol, I just always forget that I can go other places, because that's where I get food. I'll check out the walmart tonight as well. What's the difference between Small Spaces & 24/7?

What about Swheat Scoop? Anyone here use that? (I know Ducman does.) I'm reading some reviews and they say good things about tracking. That's not my main concern at this point but it'd be a nice plus. It also says it's flushable... which would be a dream come true.

I just saw on Amazon that World's Best Cat Litter is almost $40 for 34 pounds......... it is flushable, but that is definitely not something I can afford right now. I'll look at the price of Swheat Scoop at Petsmart (doubt they have it anywhere else), and depending how much it is I might try that, but if it's more expensive than Dr. Elsey's I'll probably do the Tidy Cat Small Spaces at Willowy's suggestion (marketing at its finest - the name makes me want it because I live in a small space... !!).

Swheat Scoop was more than triple the price of Dr. Elsey's per ounce, but I think by volume it's much lighter so there might actually be more in the bag?? It was 5 cents per oz for a 25-pound bag of Swheat Scoop, and 2.5 cents per oz for the 40-pound bag of Dr. Elsey's. I'm trying to do this so quickly that it's hard to do the necessary math to make the decision, lol. I'm at my parents' house now, and heading to walmart after we cut a hole in this big, huge Sterilite box. I could not take the problem for even one more day - I am going to dump their boxes completely, clean them, and keep the maroon one out with the new litter (whatever I end up buying). I know that's not the best idea to change cold turkey, but I do doubt that it will upset them. Nothing much upsets them, lol!

I have some of that stuff, left over from my kitchen when I moved in! I don't have a runner, but I can use an old towel. That is a great idea. I'm going to do it as soon as I get home.

Thanks, mrsgreenjeens! I think enough of you use Tidy Cat that I'm going to give it a shot.

Update - thanks for hanging in there with me through this. I am so happy with the way things are right now, I can hardly believe I was close to tears 24 hours ago. (A day in the life of my moods... ) Special thanks to Laurie, Willowy, Tricia and Rebecca for the specific suggestions that I combined to make this setup. Regardless of the issues I may encounter with this setup, I don't think I will ever be so upset by the litter situation as I was in my original post! Thanks TCS!

I ended up getting the Tidy Cat Small Spaces. They didn't have the 35-pound tub at either the Walmart or the Target, but the Target had the 20-pound kind on sale for $6.99, so I bought two, and I'm going to go get another one tomorrow to sort of refill over the next month as needed. It does have a fairly strong scent, but only in the area of the litterbox itself, so that's good. I think it will get a lot less as it gets used, too. I can really tell how big and coarse the Dr. Elsey's was after getting this out of the jugs into the box. The consistency of the Tidy Cat is almost like rice, or the beans/rice/whatever that's in a rainstick. Very nice!

My dad cut a hole for me, the edge of which I covered with gorilla tape, and I dumped most of the 2 20-pound jugs. I hung out with the box on the floor for awhile while the boys checked it out - let them get in and out of it, sniff it out, etc., - then put it in the bathroom next to the old boxes. Turns out they all three had to go to the bathroom within a few minutes of each other and Garfunkel and Joni used the new box! Simon went at the same time as Garfunkel so the box was otherwise occupied and he used one of the old ones. He's been in it a couple times since then but not sure if he's used it.

I scooped it a few minutes ago. I wanted to cry in a good way! It was so easy!

Here's a pic of the new setup - I'm going to get the towel and the grippy stuff out, as Rebecca suggested, here in a few minutes.

It is a bit dustier than Dr. Elsey's - I noticed a bit of dust when I scooped it earlier today, had never noticed dust with Dr. Elsey's. But it is much finer than Dr. Elsey's so that's to be expected IMO. It's working really well for the clumping, and with the lid on the box I don't expect it to be a problem. So we'll see! I'm definitely still open to trying other litter in the future. I'd love a flushable.