Future First Time Kitten Mom: How Do I Use Non-Clumping Clay Litter?

[mildlyironic]

Hi, and thanks in advance for your advice!

I will be adopting two adorable littermates, who will be 12 weeks old when I bring them home in early June. I'd done a fair amount of research on litters, and ultimately settled on using clumping clay litter like Dr. Elsey's (while keeping open the possibility of a clumping non-clay litter if it seems like litter ingestion might become an issue). After communicating with the kittens' foster mom, I have recently discovered that the kittens are currently used to a non-clumping clay litter, and have been recommended not to use clumping clay litter until the kittens have been spayed and neutered. This leaves me with two questions:

How Do I Use Non-Clumping Clay Litter?

Some research online mentions lots of cleaning and dumping of litter. How often do you clean out the litter? Is it possible to use less litter generally to reduce the amount of litter waste? How easy/hard is it to get all the urine out, and what products, if any, do people use to properly clean out the box? I currently have this nightmare scenario in my head of pools of rank cat pee spilling everywhere or leaking out of a garbage bag when I try to pour it out. Do litter trays or bags work well? Do people dump the litter every day? Dump the litter every day and  scoop multiple times a day?

Age Appropriateness of Clumping Clay Litter

I definitely know that it's generally inappropriate to use clumping clay litter with very young kittens, but would like some more advice on what age it would be safe to transfer the kittens to a clumping litter. From research, it seems to me like clumping litter would be easier to manage and keep relatively fresh-smelling, similarly comfortable for the kittens compared to non-clumping, and overall cost-effective due to the reduced amount of dumped litter. Would people reach a consensus that four months of age is the right time? 

 

[molldee]

I fostered five 5 day old kittens. I used non clumping litter up until about 12 weeks, when they seemed ready to use clumping. They never even tried to taste the litter, just dug and did their business though so it wasn't a tough decision. It differs with each cat though. Ask the foster mom if the kittens have tried to eat the litter.

If you're nervous, by all means, use non clumping. Basically you just fill (it doesn't have to be that deep, maybe an inch or two) the box with the litter and dump it every couple days. Since you're only getting two, I'd think every couple days would be fine. I used to have to dump mine every other day because I had five! Again, this differs with every kitten because some kittens eat more than others (which means they'll pee and poop more). With the kittens and non-clumping litter I used a regular plastic box. I used a cardboard box when they were tiny and just disposed of the box, but when they got older I used a plastic one. After dumping the litter, I wiped the box out with diluted white distilled vinegar. You can also just use soap and water. I dried the box out under the sun or let it air dry inside for an hour or so, and then filled the box up again. If there's no pee stains or clumps on the box, you could probably get away with just wiping out the box with a paper towel and not thoroughly cleaning it. Don't use litter box liners because kittens may dig, scratch it up, and eat the pieces.

If you're using clumping litter, scoop every day. Have at least three boxes (or more) around the house. You don't need to dump the whole thing unless the sides get all stuck with pee clumps/residue. If the sides get all dirty, I'd dump the litter and scrub out the box. Kittens can be messy with their poops because their digestion systems are delicate. Get a good nonscented clumping litter like Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat (blue bag). It clumps very well and doesn't leave bits of pee clumps like other litters and its dust free.

Again, it depends on the kittens. If they have a history of eating things they shouldn't (like paper, things they find on the ground, etc), then use nonclumping. If they have no instances of testing anything they see on the floor, then they should be fine with clumping litter. Keep an eye on them either way, just to note whether or not they try to taste the litter.

Hope this helps!

 

[mildlyironic]

Molldee - thanks so much for your advice! Can I ask what proportion you distill the white vinegar when using it to clean your box?

Another great thing is I heard from the foster mom that, though the kittens are currently using a non-clumping litter, they also sometimes hop into the adult cats' clumping clay litter box that has Dr. Elsey's, so hopefully transition will be smooth once I see them for a bit and confirm that they're not chomping litter. It sounds like you've successfully transitioned kittens from non-clumping litter to Dr. Elsey's, so can I ask two questions:

(1) To transition, do I add a layer of Dr. Elsey's under the layer of non-clumping, and slowly increase that layer each time I dump the litter until the kittens are in a 100% Dr. Elsey litterbox? If so, is there a way to minimize dumping Dr. Elsey's with the non-clumping litter during transition, or do I just accept that I waste that amount of clumping litter while going through transition?

(2) I'm hoping to keep a pretty thick layer of Dr. Elsey's (around 3-4 inches), but want to keep the non-clumping litter at around 1-2 inches. Do you think the kittens will be displeased by the increased depth, and do you know if there's a way to slowly acclimate them to it? 

Thanks!

 

[molldee]

I used a 50/50 mix, 50% water to 50% vinegar. A lot of people use 25 (vinegar) / 75 (water), but I find 50/50 gets the pee/poo stains better off the pan.

To be honest, I just one day switched their box with Dr. Elsey's. I did this knowing they wouldn't eat the litter first though. They didn't need any introductions to Dr. Elsey's - it was a pretty easy transition. If you want to be on the safe side, then maybe fill a little box of Dr. Elsey's and put it beside the nonclumping and see if they prefer one over the other. If they prefer the nonclumping, then mix 75 (nonclumping) / 25 (Dr. Elsey's), until they get used to just Dr. Elseys, but I think your kittens will do okay with a cold turkey switch. Just watch out for any peculiar behavior. If you don't see any, then I would feel okay leaving them alone with the litter.

The kittens will probably enjoy the deeper litter - mine did! They liked digging, so maybe right before you switch to Dr. Elsey's, do a 3-4 inches of nonclumping to get them used to the depth and to make sure they don't play and eat it. I think you'll be okay though! Kittens are pretty smart and going in the litterbox is an instinctual thing - they know to dig and go!