Litter Box Question

[Megan S]

Hi new cat owner here! This may be a super dumb question, but how often are you supposed to completely change out the litter in the litter box? I haven't been able to find an answer anywhere.
Follow up question: What is the point of litter box liners? Can't you just dump the litter into a trash bag and I would probably clean the box with some bleach.

 

[DreamerRose]

Forget the liners. Cats end up scratching them and they get all mixed up with the litter. Most people I know empty their boxes every two to four weeks. But the lazy person I am, I don't empty them at all. (I can hear everyone cringing.) It simply requires too much litter to fill them back up - two 14-lb boxes. I have three litter pans for two cats, and I clean the clumps and poop out every other day and top off with fresh litter. I also use Fresh Step, and there is no odor. If I used some other kind where the odor accumulates in the litter, I might dump it all out from time to time.

 

[pipperoo]

Congratulations on your new addition--cats are awesome creatures: beautiful, intelligent and litter-trained!

I use a scoopable litter, so the amount in the box diminishes over time and I top it up every week or so. About once a month, I dump everything out, scour the box with a little Comet, followed by hot water/soap, and reload with new litter.

Cats like things clean, so scoop often and don't let things get too stinky (and the type of litter you use will probably influence how much things smell/don't smell). I scoop whenever I notice that the box has been used which is 3-4 times a day.

And just an interesting observation that I've had (and confirmed here on The cat site). I've started feeding raw, commercial frozen, and Pip's bowel movements are smaller, only every two days and NO SMELL!! Yay!!!

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I find that if I keep the litter deep enough (3-4 inches) I don't NEED to do a total change out very often.

When I do; I try to let the litter get low for a few days before I empty it. I usually pour the old litter into a full size kitchen trash bag. It can be heavy so this week when I did that I put the bag inside one of the boxes to help me carry it outside. I dumped it in our big trash can...and it burst. So in the future I will probably just double bag it. Good thing our trash truck has a mechanical arm...

I have 2 boxes out at all times but we own 4. This way I can have 2 ready to go when I do change things out. Then I can wash the dirty ones out in the backyard with the hose and some Nature's Miracle.

 

[DreamerRose]

That's a great way to do it, MoochNNoodles . I agree about keeping the litter deep. It makes a world of difference.

 

[happilyretired]

I use scoop able litter and scoop daily. Every week, I empty the box (into my spare one) and wash the box thoroughly, but just with hot water. About once a month, I dump the litter and refill with fresh. It seems to work fine.

 

[susanm9006]

I use puppy pee pads as a litterbox liner because it makes litter clumps easier to remove and the pad absorbs moisture that always seems to make its way to the corners of the box. Without a liner the urine tends to remove the finish from the plastic litter box making the surface rough which then makes the litter clumps stick to it. I hated the scraping and washing I had to do before the puppy pads. I fully replace my litter about once a month.

 

[Gizmobius]

I do a complete dump, clean, and fresh refill once every few months. Normally I just keep adding scoops of litter in as it's scooped since I use clumping litter. I scoop every single time he uses the box so there's relatively little reason for me to do a complete clean any more frequently than that. If I do notice any smears or messes on the side of the box, I will quickly wipe it with a Clorox wipe and it does the trick.