How Often Do You Clean Cat Litter?

[edteach]

I have the one indoor cat. I have two litter boxes. I was told N+1 is needed. I clean in the AM and once in the PM so twice a day

 

[margd]

Aha! You have asked a loaded question! See this thread, which is still current, and you'll know what I mean.

How Often Should We Clean The Litter Box?

If you are talking about scooping the boxes, I think twice a day should be sufficient. For many people, twice a day is the only practical approach because they have jobs and other responsibilities that keep them from home. Their cats do just fine. Those of us lucky enough to be at home during the day have the luxury to scoop multiple times but it's really not essential.

 

[LTS3]

Twice a day at the minimum, IMO. Some people use automatic litter boxes or robot litter boxes that take care of the waste immediately after the cat uses the box. All you do is check the waste bin once a day and empty it or replace it if it's full.

 

[duckpond]

I usually give a quick check and scoop 4 or 5 times a day, my cats like it clean I don't top up litter, i use big boxes and then when they start getting low, i dump, wash and refill. Depending on the litter , and how many boxes i have out, it will be every week, or every two weeks max.

 

[Neo_23]

Twice a day at least. Sometimes more if I'm around and have the time.

 

[Furballsmom]

I have three boxes for the Big Guy and I'm scooping once a day, then topping off the litter if it needs it.

 

[lacy2000]

I scoop once a day. Twice a day would waste way too many plastic bags for me.

 

[FakeGourmet]

I only ever had one litterbox when I had one or 2 cats. I scooped that once or twice a day. The litter was completely emptied, box cleaned weekly. Didn't use clumpable litter. Currently have 5 and have only 2 litter boxes. Never heard of the N+1 thing. I suppose that's for people who go away for the weekend or just don't have time to scoop daily.

 

[Furballsmom]

or just don't have time to scoop daily

Every cat is different, but in my case I have just the Big Guy and as I mentioned above, three boxes (big cat, large quantity in and out LOL) and I scoop daily. He typically uses one box for pee and one box for poo.
I got the third one for those days where I might be late getting to cleanup duty and there have been times he's used all three in probably a 36 hour (or so ) time period...

 

[duckpond]

I only ever had one litterbox when I had one or 2 cats. I scooped that once or twice a day. The litter was completely emptied, box cleaned weekly. Didn't use clumpable litter. Currently have 5 and have only 2 litter boxes. Never heard of the N+1 thing. I suppose that's for people who go away for the weekend or just don't have time to scoop daily.

or have fussy cats...lol i have 4 cats and run 5 litter boxes. my guys are funny about going if its dirty, i see them go to it, sniff around and then walk away, soon as i scoop they go, and i don't want to give them any reason not to go i normally scoop 4 or 5 times a day. Maybe im picky to, my husband says so....lol ? Using natural litters, grass and walnut litter i find it works way better to have extra. I have one cat that piles that light weight litter up into a volcano after he goes. If i used clay litter i might only run 3 boxes.

 

[Gizmobius]

When I just had Gizmo, I'd clean the box after every time he used it but now that I've added another cat and another box I clean them both when I wake up and when I go to sleep at the very least. There's usually an afternoon check in there somewhere, so I'd say I clean the boxes two to three times a day.

 

[maggiedemi]

Now that I have 2 cats, I try to scoop shortly after they use the litterbox because I want to know who did what. I don't get a new plastic bag every time I scoop though. I just get a new one in the morning and hang it on a hook in the garage. Then at night I twist it up and put in a plastic bucket.

 

[saleri]

Damn I guess I don't scoop that much. I have two kittens and only have two litter boxes. Granted, both litter boxes are 8-11 inches deep and usually filled with 3-4 inches of litter. And I only scoop once a day.

 

[maggiedemi]

I only have two litterboxes too. One for each cat. I can't afford more than that since I have Jumbo/Giant size litterboxes and they each take a 40 pound box per month. It gets expensive.

 

[saleri]

I only have two litterboxes too. One for each cat. I can't afford more than that since I have Jumbo/Giant size litterboxes and they each take a 40 pound box per month. It gets expensive.

Yeah I mean I probably should scoop more, but like I said both litterboxes are big enough that I've seen both kittens use it at the same time.

 

[duckpond]

I think a lot of it depends on the size of the box, and the type of litter you use. And if you have aggressive diggers...lol my cats dig a LOT, especially my big boys. they break any clumps up and scatter them around the box. so i try to scoop before they do that. If it were just the smaller girls who are not so aggressive i could go longer.

 

[walli]

Does anyone know of a clumping litter that isn't so dusty?
I started using Litter Attract for my Feral, but I don't need to buy that anymore.
The Tidy Cat seems to be really dusty, Just wondering if there was anything out there
that was as cheap as Tidy Cat.

 

[saleri]

Does anyone know of a clumping litter that isn't so dusty?
I started using Litter Attract for my Feral, but I don't need to buy that anymore.
The Tidy Cat seems to be really dusty, Just wondering if there was anything out there
that was as cheap as Tidy Cat.

Smart cat! It's just made of grass, renewable, biodegradable, light, and clumps super well!

 

[walli]

Hey Thanks saleri!

 

[saleri]

Hey Thanks saleri!

It clumps so fast that I'll be half way down scooping my cat's litter box, my cat will jump in use the box, and the moment she jumps out, I'll be able to scoop it immediately. The once con, is that it is very very light so it may scatter on the floor sometimes depending on your box.