The TRUTH about how often people clean the box

[laureen227]

Originally Posted by mybabyphx

Ok, so after reading all of these posts-- I think to myself-- am I changing mine enough? Hmm.. PHX doesn't seem to mind the way I do mine. He will tell me if he wants it changed too. Oh, trust me, he will tell me!!

then i think you're probably safe. btw, how do you pronounce his name?

scooping is the reason i have littermaid boxes. i have 4 cats, & i work all day. i love coming home to a house that doesn't smell like litterbox. if i had regular boxes, that wouldn't be the case - i know from prior experience!

 

[urbantigers]

I always scoop twice a day - once in the morning before work and again in the evening. I have 2 cats sharing one large covered box. Frankly I don't like the idea of poop lying around for 24 hours even if it isn't smelling (and my litterbox does only smell when it has freshly produced poop in it) and I'm not going to risk them going elsewhere just for the sake of spending a few minutes scooping. I've never had litter box problems and I want to keep it that way.

 

[Asteria]

I try to scoop twice a day. I fall in the basic consensus here, I make it a goal to keep up with it but unavoidable things make me have to skip a night or something but I don't like it to be over a day without scooping. It makes me nauseous when people let it completely overflow. And I feel for the cats because I bet they're not loving that either.

 

[littleraven7726]

Originally Posted by laureen227

then i think you're probably safe. btw, how do you pronounce his name?

scooping is the reason i have littermaid boxes. i have 4 cats, & i work all day. i love coming home to a house that doesn't smell like litterbox. if i had regular boxes, that wouldn't be the case - i know from prior experience!

after that pet sitter incident we almost bought a littermaid. i still might at a future date. i haven't completely ruled it out.

 

[mybabyphx]

Originally Posted by laureen227

then i think you're probably safe. btw, how do you pronounce his name?

scooping is the reason i have littermaid boxes. i have 4 cats, & i work all day. i love coming home to a house that doesn't smell like litterbox. if i had regular boxes, that wouldn't be the case - i know from prior experience!

His name is Phoenix but it's spelled PHX. He got his name Because he was originally from the PHX Animal Shelter

 

[ckatz]

I scoop twice a day. Usually when the cats are eating so I don't get an "inspector" checking out my work

Because the boxes are clean I have never had a problem with them going outside the box. My feeling is I wouldn't want to use a dirty toliet, why should they.

 

[cdubbie]

I scoop every other day- the day the garbage goes out.
Sometimes I do it more, but there isn't much there to pick up.

Smidge demands a very large box with like four inches of litter. On the occasions I've been lazy she still found plenty of clean stuff.

I change the entire litter every 10-14 days, when I notice the smell change.
I admit I'm lame about fully washing the box. I only do that every month or so, but, for the most part, nothing is sticking to it.

Smidgey has never gone outside the box, but I do find it strange she doesnt actually sit in the the litter like my other cats but is "standing" with her front paws elevating her when she rests them on the ridge of the high box. I'm thinking in general she doesnt like to get into the litter clean or not?

 

[laureen227]

Originally Posted by mybabyphx

His name is Phoenix but it's spelled PHX. He got his name Because he was originally from the PHX Animal Shelter

that's the way i've been pronouncing it in my head, because that's the airport code for Phoenix & i've always read it that way. just thought i'd check, tho. [former travel agent, here]

 

[mybabyphx]

Originally Posted by laureen227

that's the way i've been pronouncing it in my head, because that's the airport code for Phoenix & i've always read it that way. just thought i'd check, tho. [former travel agent, here]

I wonder how many other people out there are wondering what my cat's name is. I guess it never occured to me that PHX could be difficult to know over the internet cuz you never hear me say it outloud lol. I live in Arizona- almost in Phoenix so everyone here just knows what PHX is. LOL it would be funny to call him P--H--X spelled out and not Phoenix. hmmm

Also I just wanted to add in here that PHX actually does look like that face that I have in my signature. Even though that's not actually a picture of him

close enough. He's a siamese mix

 

[deelovely79]

Originally Posted by JellyBella

I'm finding myself scooping 3X a day.

Once in the morning, once when I get home from work (when most of the business seems to happen) and once before I go to bed. .

Me too, I tend to feel guilty when I get down to scooping only once a day like if I get home late and I'm tired. The girl usually need to be feed and played with/petted so I'll skip the evening scoops but I always scoop in the morning after I've set the food out. I'm just neurotic and like to make sure that everyone is peeing and pooping regularly.

 

[ladycat]

Both the boyfriend and I have alot of aches and pains. sometimes we skip a day even two if my back acts up or his ribs pop out (long story). But we have many boxes. So they don't really get to bad. I know we have a few friends...I have actually scooped and not said anything as I've felt so bad for the cat and they wonder y the cat goes besides it. I would too!

 

[misty8723]

I have two cats, three litter boxes, and I scoop twice a day at least. When I'm home, if I can smell they've gone, I'll clean it right away. I definitely wouldn't want to use a toilet that was only flushed every other day, so I don't expect my cats to have to use nasty overflowing litter boxes. I totally change the litter about every 4 weeks, but I have to admit I don't always wash them when I'm changing. It just depends on how nasty the bottom looks.

My sister in law & brother in law are some of those people who had their cat killed (I refuse to say "put down" - call it what it is) because he was peeing outside the box. I will neverforgive them for it.

If they had just told me what they planned, I would have taken him. In fact, I told them I would take him when they were complaining.

 

[cdubbie]

That makes me furious too Misty.

I figure, I adopt them for life, even if it includes some unpleasantries.
If I tried everything and Smidge still would not use the box I'd just live with it, even if the house smelled terrible.

 

[maxy24]

At one point I was not cleaning the litter box for long periods of time. Then i cleaned it and could actually smell the ammonia so i freaked out and felt horrible that they had to live with that and so now i clean it everyday. Plus if there is too much poop then Neko goes on the floor next to the box. It's much easier to just scoop a few poops and pee clumps out than cleaning a mound of it while it reeks and your house smells and the cats start going on the floor. I like it much better now, and so do the cats.

 

[laureen227]

Originally Posted by CDubbie

That makes me furious too Misty.

I figure, I adopt them for life, even if it includes some unpleasantries.
If I tried everything and Smidge still would not use the box I'd just live with it, even if the house smelled terrible.

exactly, which is why i'm living with the fact that Chip occasionally takes a dump on my bed

can't figure out why - doesn't seem to be a litterbox issue with him. might be behavioral, but again - not consistent...

 

[catsarebetter]

Well, I do have one self-cleaning litter box.. so there's always one box that's clean here. There are also three more here. Two of them, I'm in charge of and the other is in my sister's room for her cat. That one barely gets cleaned, but the two I'm in charge of get cleaned.. well, i try to do them twice a week. I have to say, though, that Kahn will start peeing "inappropriately" if he decides the box isn't clean enough, so I try to keep them fairly clean. I also, though, put like six inches of cat litter in them, and they're huge boxes, so there's lots of room and clean litter in them. And they always have the option of the self-cleaning which is always scooped.

As far as changing litter and cleaning the litter box surfaces.. I generally will let the litter run out when I start to see little "breaky" clumps in the litter that are too small to pull out. I'll just let it get down a bit, then the next time it's low, I completely toss it (provided there aren't too many tiny clumps in there that I can't get out.. in which case I'll just dump it early).. Once it's dumped, I take and clean the litter box out and make sure there's no residue.

But, my boxes don't smell (with the exception of the "fresh" poop..) The fresh poops are enough to knock you out. I have to say, though, that cleaning them out immediately doesn't really dissipate the smell any faster than letting it just evaporate.. and once the initial stinkiness is out of the way, it's not any stinkier in the box. I wasn't sure about this, so I had a friend with a fresh nose "investigate" this for me. Gotta love friends who will smell your cat box for you. I thought maybe I needed a non-household opinion because I might be used to the smell.

 

[booktigger]

i try and do 3 times a day, but sometimes only manage 2, and feel guilty at that!! Only one of the trays has a lot in it though, it is the only one with clumping litter in it, think i will change back again!! I never used to know about that though, I followed my neighbours example which was 2/3 cats with one tray (fortunatley plus outdoor access and the neighbours tray) and only cleaned completely every other day!! She didn't know about air fresheners either, and the house did smell when you walked in. She must have learnt about air fresheners now, cos it doesnt - she does have cats that spray for territorial reasons too, which didn't help.

 

[nedra]

I have a littermaid. I dump the tray every day and make sure there is enough litter and sprinkle arm & hammer baking soda. I'M picky! then I dump it out and start over every month if not more often.

The cats go through a pet door to this cat box my DH made so the litter box isn't in our house. It's cool. Then there is a door on the otherside where I can take the tray and dump it outside in the trash barrel.

 

[mybabyphx]

Originally Posted by nedra

I have a littermaid. I dump the tray every day and make sure there is enough litter and sprinkle arm & hammer baking soda. I'M picky! then I dump it out and start over every month if not more often.

The cats go through a pet door to this cat box my DH made so the litter box isn't in our house. It's cool. Then there is a door on the otherside where I can take the tray and dump it outside in the trash barrel.

You should show us pics

 

[nedra]

they go through the kitchen where the pet door is into the cat box...(the cat box is inside the enclosed front porch..my FIL has a cat box too and it is outside and he even put siding on it to match his house..he he)