Choosing the right Litter Boxes for your cat
Question:
I am the "Mom" of your patients Sasha and Suzy (photos below).
Here is my question: Are some kinds of cat litter better (for the cats) than others? Aside from health issues, what other factors should be considered when choosing a type of cat litter? Thanks so much for your wonderful clinic, and also for your very informative and fun website! Linda
Thank you so much for your thoughtful question! I hope many of our readers will benefit from the answer, and thanks for the beautiful photos of Sasha and Suzy!
Answer
Basically..
The easy answer is "it depends on what the cat likes." Having said that, I will elaborate.
The deal with unscented and scented litter..
Most of our pet cats prefer UNSCENTED scoopable litter. Unfortunately pet products are sold to humans not to pets. This means the manufacturers cater to our wishes rather than the wishes of our pets. Scented litters have chemical or natural perfumes that are designed to mask the odors of cat feces and urine, but the cat has such a keen sense of smell that they are often overpowering and unpleasant for the cat. I use the analogy of having barrels of moth balls in your bathroom. Most of us have had the unpleasant experience of using the restroom at a gas station or highway rest stop where they just applied the strong scented disinfectants. We couldn't get out of there fast enough!! When you use a scented litter, that is what you are doing to your cat. Any product that is added to the litter is easily detected by your cat. One of our clients complained that her cat was voiding just outside of the litter box. She insisted that nothing about the litter box was new. After further questioning she revealed that she had been adding baking soda to the regular litter. That was enough for her cat to reject the box. An easy fix for that situation: just stop adding the baking soda.
How to make litter boxes more comfortable for your cat..
Unfortunately there is no substitute for frequent scooping and cleaning. You should scoop 1-2 times per day, and empty and wash the box once a week. Use only soap and water.
Newer litters that contain carbon may be OK, but it is too soon to tell. The new litters with "crystals" are not time-tested. Some cats may like them, but typically cats prefer natural substances. Some cats unfortunately prefer carpet to cat litter. For these special cases you can get new carpet scraps from a carpet store and cut them into litter box sized squares and place them in the box. Throw them away every few days. After a month or two you can start adding a natural substrate litter to 1/4 of the box. Increase the area of carpet covered by litter gradually over 1-3 months until the cat is back to using litter.
Alternatively..
To test your cat's "substrate preference" you confine the cat to a small room with a tile or vinyl floor. Place 5 litter boxes in the room with 5 different types of litter. Include boxes with sand, scoopable unscented litter, peat moss, sawdust, mulch, plain clay litter, carpet, etc. After a few days (or weeks for some cats) you should notice that the cat uses one box more than the others. The cat has chosen, and you must comply.
Some cats do well with automatic scooping litter box devices. These boxes have rakes that are activated a few minutes after your cat has left the box. The rake comes across the litter and drops the scoops into a collection area ensuring that the box is always clean.
I have heard some claims of the dust from fine particulate scoopable litters causing asthma in cats, but i don't know of any controlled scientific studies to support that claim. These claims are usually associated with the use of hooded litter boxes, but some cats prefer a hooded box with scoopable litter. Give your cat what it wants.
The following guidelines should help you to manage your cat's litter box issues:
I am the "Mom" of your patients Sasha and Suzy (photos below).
Here is my question: Are some kinds of cat litter better (for the cats) than others? Aside from health issues, what other factors should be considered when choosing a type of cat litter? Thanks so much for your wonderful clinic, and also for your very informative and fun website! Linda
Thank you so much for your thoughtful question! I hope many of our readers will benefit from the answer, and thanks for the beautiful photos of Sasha and Suzy!
Answer
Basically..
The easy answer is "it depends on what the cat likes." Having said that, I will elaborate.
The deal with unscented and scented litter..
Most of our pet cats prefer UNSCENTED scoopable litter. Unfortunately pet products are sold to humans not to pets. This means the manufacturers cater to our wishes rather than the wishes of our pets. Scented litters have chemical or natural perfumes that are designed to mask the odors of cat feces and urine, but the cat has such a keen sense of smell that they are often overpowering and unpleasant for the cat. I use the analogy of having barrels of moth balls in your bathroom. Most of us have had the unpleasant experience of using the restroom at a gas station or highway rest stop where they just applied the strong scented disinfectants. We couldn't get out of there fast enough!! When you use a scented litter, that is what you are doing to your cat. Any product that is added to the litter is easily detected by your cat. One of our clients complained that her cat was voiding just outside of the litter box. She insisted that nothing about the litter box was new. After further questioning she revealed that she had been adding baking soda to the regular litter. That was enough for her cat to reject the box. An easy fix for that situation: just stop adding the baking soda.
How to make litter boxes more comfortable for your cat..
Unfortunately there is no substitute for frequent scooping and cleaning. You should scoop 1-2 times per day, and empty and wash the box once a week. Use only soap and water.
Newer litters that contain carbon may be OK, but it is too soon to tell. The new litters with "crystals" are not time-tested. Some cats may like them, but typically cats prefer natural substances. Some cats unfortunately prefer carpet to cat litter. For these special cases you can get new carpet scraps from a carpet store and cut them into litter box sized squares and place them in the box. Throw them away every few days. After a month or two you can start adding a natural substrate litter to 1/4 of the box. Increase the area of carpet covered by litter gradually over 1-3 months until the cat is back to using litter.
Alternatively..
To test your cat's "substrate preference" you confine the cat to a small room with a tile or vinyl floor. Place 5 litter boxes in the room with 5 different types of litter. Include boxes with sand, scoopable unscented litter, peat moss, sawdust, mulch, plain clay litter, carpet, etc. After a few days (or weeks for some cats) you should notice that the cat uses one box more than the others. The cat has chosen, and you must comply.
Some cats do well with automatic scooping litter box devices. These boxes have rakes that are activated a few minutes after your cat has left the box. The rake comes across the litter and drops the scoops into a collection area ensuring that the box is always clean.
I have heard some claims of the dust from fine particulate scoopable litters causing asthma in cats, but i don't know of any controlled scientific studies to support that claim. These claims are usually associated with the use of hooded litter boxes, but some cats prefer a hooded box with scoopable litter. Give your cat what it wants.
The following guidelines should help you to manage your cat's litter box issues:
- Uncovered litter boxes are usually preferred by most cats.
- Most cats like unscented scoopable litter. Flushable litters are very convenient, but may clog septic systems.
- You should have one litter box per cat plus one (if you have 3 cats, have FOUR litter boxes).
- Natural substances are preferred over synthetic. Try Feline Pine®, Swheat Scoop® and similar products.
Remember!
Place the box in an area that the cat prefers, not necessarily where you want the box to be.
If your cat stops using the litter box there is a good chance that the cat has a medical problem. You should contact us immediately so we can be sure that the issue is behavioral and not medical. Urinary tract infections are common in cats, and digestive system disorders or painful defecation may cause your cat to avoid the litter box. On rare occasions cats can benefit from stress relieving medications especially in multi-cat households. DO NOT DELAY IN SEEKING HELP. THE LONGER THE BEHAVIOR IS ALLOWED TO PERSIST, THE HARDER IT IS TO CHANGE IT!
As always if you have any questions or concerns call our office at 703-455-6222. Keep those great questions coming!
Place the box in an area that the cat prefers, not necessarily where you want the box to be.
If your cat stops using the litter box there is a good chance that the cat has a medical problem. You should contact us immediately so we can be sure that the issue is behavioral and not medical. Urinary tract infections are common in cats, and digestive system disorders or painful defecation may cause your cat to avoid the litter box. On rare occasions cats can benefit from stress relieving medications especially in multi-cat households. DO NOT DELAY IN SEEKING HELP. THE LONGER THE BEHAVIOR IS ALLOWED TO PERSIST, THE HARDER IT IS TO CHANGE IT!
As always if you have any questions or concerns call our office at 703-455-6222. Keep those great questions coming!
posted by sinner_ger at
8:47 PM
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