what type of cat litter is the best for less mess and what is the best type of litter tray too???my

my cats making me crazy...i don't mind cleaning up poop and pee at all..but its the digging in it...and more or less emptying the entire litter tray onto the floor that gets me down...he will cover his mess...then dig in the litter tray for ages after he has used it...and i am a bit of a neat freak...

so whats a good cat litter?

what type of litter tray should i use?i currently have a large  5 inch deep tray....but he still manages to get it 3ft across the room...help help help...lol

are the hooded ones with filter any good?will cats actualy use them or do they think its like a cat carrier which equels vet trip?

which litter is best for keeping smell in...and desposing off?

all ideas or own experiance would be very helpful...specialy if your a cat loving neat freak like me!!!lol

They do make pans with covers, also make them with a lid that curves inward a bit over all edges of the pan. Both would keep the litter in. I prefer clumping litter, as it is easier to keep track of how much they are peeing and I can notice any change in their pattern.
 

Some cats like covered pans, some don't. It's really an individual thing. But they do keep odor in so you'd have to keep it super clean or he might stop using it. Of course you should scoop ANY litterbox at least once a day but you really need to be quick with a covered box.

I like Tidy Cats Premium Scoop best. The dark blue or orange kind.

thanks guys...but have you any idea why he digs so much for so long...even toys don't distract him..or food...lol..he just carrys on til i chase him..but at night i can not do this....so in the morning all the used litter is everywhere....

think i'll try a bigger litter tray with the lip round the edge and see if this works...his previous owner stopped using the litter tray when she started letting him outside...but i've only had him two weeks and dont want to let him out for another month or two...

Cats are weird .

I use Sterilite storage totes for litterboxes. They're way deeper than regular boxes.

Agreed. Try using a storage bin or get a hooded litter box. The litter itself won't make a difference just make sure there is plenty in there. Sometimes when there is too little they dig more.. Doesn't make sense but that's what I've noticed, lol

i have a dome shaped litter box with filter on top. also has a little stair type deal in it to step up into the litter. i really like this one..but there is only 1 problem with it. the shape of the area with the litter is a crescent shape. therefore it is hard to scoop in the 2 corners.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4017038&lmdn=Litter&f=PAD/psNotAvailInUS/No

i got that one after trying a regular enclosed square shaped litter box that has a filter too. that one worked fine..except i have a 16 lb cat that was having a hard time turning around in it.

i also made a mistake with this litter box after a while though. i put the door back on it and my 2 oldest cats were NOT used to it. it had been off for a long time. so they decided to use my daughter's closest as a litter box.   oh my goodness, that was a nightmare. i took the door off and they started using it again.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Large-Enclosed-Cat-Pan-Colors-May-Vary-Cats/10811473

i do have a tip though.....

when you DO get a new box (any kind that is enclosed) make sure that you get a small scoop of droppings from the old litter and put it in the new litter in the new box. when you have him go in it he will smell his droppings he will know that it is for him to use.
that tip was given to me when i got the dome shaped box. it worked like a charm.

forgot to add......

the dome one is pretty big. if you don't have a bathroom or space that will fit the dome, don't get it. i didn't realize how big it really is until i got it home. it's 22 inches wide. fits ok in our bathroom...which leaves us 1 1/2 feet to walk past it, so it doesn't bother us.

see i have a tray..i don't put loads of litter in but what i feel is enough...i use the kind of gravel/stoneykind of litter.

i am changing the litter about 3-4 times per day...i can't scoop out the pee????its ok for solids..but not the pee.

i also use litter liners which don't really bother my cat..but he does tear them when digging sometimes...but is easier to clean ..when your doing it a few times per day...

my cat hasn't finished growing yet..and he's already big..so i know i need a larger litter tray at some point...but i'm going through so much litter..i know if i get a bigger tray..it'll double that....

i've seen the rock and roll litter box..which looks great..anyone used them type?

won't be so bad when simba is going the loo outside...but still need one for the times he can not go out too..

I think fully changing the litter 3-4 times a day is a bit excessive, that has to be extremely expensive. Have you tried just doing it once a day? You can use an old spoon to scoop out the wet litter, if you get it all out you could probably go 2-3 days without a full change. Or, he's old enough now that you can use scoopable litter---the pee clumps up so you can scoop it right out.

Why aren't you able to scoop out the pee? Are you not using clumping litter?

My Grim used to dig a lot, so I got him a covered BIG litterbox and everything has been fine since. I scoop every day and hardly every have to dump because all the dirty litter/crumbs fall to the bottom and he always pees on the bottom so it gets scooped up progressively. I just add more litter when it needs it.

The OP is in the UK, so I don't know if specific products available here in the US will be helpful.

Use clumping litter with a tall sided litter box or storage container. No need to completely change the litter if you use clumping litter. Just use a slotted serving spoon for scooping, that way you don't leave larger crumbles behind (which you'll get if he digs that much).

I have a digger, and there is no way 5" is deep enough. :lol3: Try a storage container rather than a litter box, and take the top off. Try something that's like a foot deep.

I woupd say get one with a lid one it my cat loves hiding in there cause she has privacy when doinuisness and all youhear is her scratching you can only see the. Litter box and its about 7 inchs deap

i change the litter alot...i have just changed it to catstan litter..which is alot better..but still with the pee its not clumping enough...and after my cats done a wee..he buries it then diggs in it for ages..emptying almost the lot on the floor..also he mix's the used with the un-used making it really tricky to just scoop out the dirty litter....i do try to just get the pee..but its really difficult with the cat mixing it all together...sometimes he does a poo..and with the mad digging afterwards..the litter and poop end up out the tray on my floor????what can i do???

My cats dig like that too and spread litter everywhere.  I live with it until I can vaccum.  Not ideal, but they won't use covered (I've tried).

stella123 said:

i change the litter alot...i have just changed it to catstan litter..which is alot better..but still with the pee its not clumping enough...and after my cats done a wee..he buries it then diggs in it for ages..emptying almost the lot on the floor..also he mix's the used with the un-used making it really tricky to just scoop out the dirty litter....i do try to just get the pee..but its really difficult with the cat mixing it all together...sometimes he does a poo..and with the mad digging afterwards..the litter and poop end up out the tray on my floor????what can i do???

Click to expand...

We told you what to do: storage container or covered litterbox
:nod:

yer i did read that....but you said nothing about the litter....yer they would be great to stop the mess...but not the amount of litter i'm going through...as he'll still dig and mix used up with non-used????

If that's the concern I'd recommend switching to a better clumping litter. That way you can just scoop out the pee clumps.

its a nightmare isn't it...i now leave my hoover next to the litter tray...lol...might aswell..i use it more in that room...

not tryed a coverd one for him yet...but think i'll try another tray..one with cover...or a deeper one...don't your cats mix the used litter up with the non-used though? ..mine does making it very tricky to just scoop out the pee...poo's not a problem..except for when he flicks it across the room..lol....if he wasn't so bloody cute i'd be really ready to kick his butt out..lol

Earlier you said you don't put a lot of litter, but only just enough. Well, it's probably not enough. He wants to bury his pee better, but can't, so he digs and digs and digs and then just gives up.
If you put enough litter in a larger box with taller sides, he will be able to dig a hole, pee in it and then cover to his satisfaction.

To further explain my story, a similar thing was happening to me with Grim where he would throw a large amount of litter outside the box because a. He likes to dig and b. There wasn't enough litter in the box.
Once I bought a covered litterbox and made the litter deeper, the problem stopped.


Also, I don't know if you can buy Fresh Step or Cat Attract over there, but both clump really well.

With clumping litter, the pee clumps up into a hard lump and it CAN'T mix in with the rest of the litter. Some brands clump better than others, so try a few, I can't really make recommendations because I don't know what brands are available there.