Cat litter question

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katielv

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Hello all experienced cat owners!

I need your advice on the best cat litter. I have two 6 months old kittens and they only want to use one litter box. I have two out, but whichever one gets used first is the one that will be used for the rest of the day. So when we come home at the end of the day the litter box is all wet. I just want it to last at least a whole day. In your opinion what is the best cat litter or which cat litter do you use?

Thank you.
 
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yosemite

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Originally Posted by KatieLV

Hello all experienced cat owners!

I need your advice on the best cat litter. I have two 6 months old kittens and they only want to use one litter box. I have two out, but whichever one gets used first is the one that will be used for the rest of the day. So when we come home at the end of the day the litter box is all wet. I just want it to last at least a whole day. In your opinion what is the best cat litter or which cat litter do you use?

Thank you.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure I understand why the litter box would be wet. Are you not using clumping litter?

I started off using a clay clumping litter with our Bijou but he was sneezing a lot from the dust so I've now switched to World's Best Cat Litter which is a corn-based clumping litter so if they ingest any of it, it won't hurt them. I had read some things about the clay litter dust getting into their system and drawing moisture from them so I was concerned about using it for such a tiny kitten.

With World's Best, you can also flush the dirties without worrying about plugging your toilet(s).

There is also a brand called Swheat Scoop similar to WBCL, but I found it dustier.

Our 2 cats often use the same litter box as well and it can get pretty "busy" by the end of the day. I scoop and there is no lingering odour so I think it works pretty well - at least for us.
 
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I used to use Arm and Hammer Easy Flush, but clay litters bother my allergies. I tried Feline Pine and Prego and Polly will pee in it, but they pooped on my bathroom rug and in the tub, so I guess they don't like it. I also tried the new Feline Pine Scoopable, but it seems to end up all over my furniture when they use the box and then jump on the couch. We are now using World's Best. It clumps hard, is flushable, and does not bother my allergies. It's also lighter, so it's easier to carry the computer room box over to the toilet.

Prego and Polly seem to prefer the bathroom litter box lately, and I'm not sure why. They're hardly using their computer room box. I think cats are just weird like that sometimes. If you use clumping litter, the box should be able to last all day without getting to icky. If not, just get a bigger box.
 
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You could get a bigger box...I added a box at the advice of someone here and it literally is just sitting there...it hasn't been used AT ALL since I added it and it's the same box with same litter, etc. So, I think they're little weirdos about stuff like that sometimes. I'd reccommend a Booda Dome and some clumping litter. My cats didn't do well on the all-natural stuff. THey ended up accepting Swheat Scoop, but the clumps were wet and sticky, so if you didn't scoop two or three times a day, you could count on presents being left on the floor (or in your laundry, as was the case here). It was a similar thing with the World's Best and Feline Pine they just refused. We just use Tidy Cats Scoop here and scoop once or twice a day and everything is dandy.
 
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when I add a box I take a bit of litter from the used box and dump in the new box, I think it helps them get using the new box. I now have 5 cats and 7 litter boxes and they all get used. I use whatever litter I can get on sale
 
waddle

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I agree that they might just be little weirdos.
I have a box in a bathroom upstairs and downstairs. Right now my kitties are using both, but they go through spurts where they only use one or the other.

Unless you have different kinds of litter in each box and they just prefer one over the other I'm not sure what you could do to encourage them to use both. Where do you have them placed? Is one a lot harder to get to than the other? Are they different kinds of boxes? Maybe if you put two side by side both would get used?
 
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katielv

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Originally Posted by Waddle

I agree that they might just be little weirdos.
I have a box in a bathroom upstairs and downstairs. Right now my kitties are using both, but they go through spurts where they only use one or the other.

Unless you have different kinds of litter in each box and they just prefer one over the other I'm not sure what you could do to encourage them to use both. Where do you have them placed? Is one a lot harder to get to than the other? Are they different kinds of boxes? Maybe if you put two side by side both would get used?
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I have both of the boxed placed next to each other in the bathroom. They both have the same access to them. The boxes are identical. I saw someone suggested putting the old litter into the other box but it's not that they don't like one box and like the other but when I change the box and there will be two clean boxes standing whichever one gets used first is the one they'll use. Although the other one has dry clean litter they'll use the used one.
 
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katielv

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Originally Posted by lionessrampant

You could get a bigger box...I added a box at the advice of someone here and it literally is just sitting there...it hasn't been used AT ALL since I added it and it's the same box with same litter, etc. So, I think they're little weirdos about stuff like that sometimes. I'd reccommend a Booda Dome and some clumping litter. My cats didn't do well on the all-natural stuff. THey ended up accepting Swheat Scoop, but the clumps were wet and sticky, so if you didn't scoop two or three times a day, you could count on presents being left on the floor (or in your laundry, as was the case here). It was a similar thing with the World's Best and Feline Pine they just refused. We just use Tidy Cats Scoop here and scoop once or twice a day and everything is dandy.
Click to expand...
We tried using the Swheat Scoop but I observed the same thing as you did. It just got sticky and yacky and mooshy. They did want to step into the gooey stuff.
 
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katielv

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Originally Posted by Yosemite

I'm not sure I understand why the litter box would be wet. Are you not using clumping litter?

I started off using a clay clumping litter with our Bijou but he was sneezing a lot from the dust so I've now switched to World's Best Cat Litter which is a corn-based clumping litter so if they ingest any of it, it won't hurt them. I had read some things about the clay litter dust getting into their system and drawing moisture from them so I was concerned about using it for such a tiny kitten.

With World's Best, you can also flush the dirties without worrying about plugging your toilet(s).

There is also a brand called Swheat Scoop similar to WBCL, but I found it dustier.

Our 2 cats often use the same litter box as well and it can get pretty "busy" by the end of the day. I scoop and there is no lingering odour so I think it works pretty well - at least for us.
Click to expand...
I do use the clumping litter, I forgot which one right now because we've used it all. I think Arm & Hammer or Fresh Step, I don't remember, I think they actually might need a bigger box. I mean our box is huge already, but I guess I just need to find smth better. Thanks for advice.
 
laureen227

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Originally Posted by PurrPaws

Prego and Polly seem to prefer the bathroom litter box lately, and I'm not sure why. They're hardly using their computer room box. I think cats are just weird like that sometimes. If you use clumping litter, the box should be able to last all day without getting to icky. If not, just get a bigger box.
Click to expand...
all 3 of mine prefer the bedroom box to the hall box
who knows why - identical boxes, identical litter!
 
mirinae

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We just use regular no-name clumping cat litter and clean frequently. We're fortunate, though, in that our guys aren't terribly picky about what kind of litter we use, so long as the litterbox is kept clean. One thing I have noticed, though, from living in a multi-cat household (six cats, at one point): no matter how many litterboxes you have, they will all decide to go in the same box and leave the other litterboxes pristine. I think it has something to do with claiming territory? (And don't get my partner started on the cats' tendency to use the litterbox immediately after it gets cleaned! Hee hee ... We could never do the whole "scoop every time the cat eliminates" because I think our cats would never leave their litterboxes, they'd be so busy trying to keep up with the scooping!)
 
laureen227

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Originally Posted by Mirinae

One thing I have noticed, though, from living in a multi-cat household (six cats, at one point): no matter how many litterboxes you have, they will all decide to go in the same box and leave the other litterboxes pristine. I think it has something to do with claiming territory?
Click to expand...
well, that would certainly explain my girls - the bedroom box fills up in 2-3 days; the closet one i can go weeks without emptying! [littermaids]
 
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I use the Arm and Hammer Multi Cat Clumping Litter. I live in a small 2 bed apartment, and the litter is in the bathroom that has no windows. So I needed something that controls odors, which it does. It also comes in a non clumping form, if your kittens are too young for the clumping kind, since kittens have been known to occasionally try to eat their litter and the clumping litter can cause intestinal problems.
 
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