Litter box stuff
 

Still using Sterilite boxes for litter boxes. Using the kind with
clear and shiny smooth sides, apparently they never get dirty (or if
they do, they don't stay dirty). Also using Arm & Hammer Essentials
Natural cat litter. It doesn't clump very well, but it's light and
genuinely dust free.

One is huge, over 100 quarts. Being smooth all around the sides helps
with scooping. The other is taller, not quite as large, and has some
slight obstructions. My feral cat no longer throws litter outside of
the box, with no need for a covered litter box. They have no problem
jumping over the sides. Last I noticed, my most recent rescue climbs
up onto the side before jumping in.

Grocery store style ordinary litter boxes seem a little strange
nowadays.

Also useful is Astroturf placed around the litter box to eliminate
tracking. Amazon sells large pieces cheap (currently $39.00 for 3
feet by 5 feet, shipped free in the USA). I have bought many of them.
Covered with paper towels, they work great for cat sleeping mats too.

Good luck and have fun.




--
I have mentioned this before, but it's such an important part of
taking care of cats, it's worth talking about again IMO.

Litter box stuff
 

John Doe wrote:
Still using Sterilite boxes for litter boxes. Using the kind with
clear and shiny smooth sides, apparently they never get dirty (or if
they do, they don't stay dirty). Also using Arm & Hammer Essentials
Natural cat litter. It doesn't clump very well, but it's light and
genuinely dust free.

One is huge, over 100 quarts. Being smooth all around the sides helps
with scooping. The other is taller, not quite as large, and has some
slight obstructions. My feral cat no longer throws litter outside of
the box, with no need for a covered litter box. They have no problem
jumping over the sides. Last I noticed, my most recent rescue climbs
up onto the side before jumping in.

Grocery store style ordinary litter boxes seem a little strange
nowadays.

Also useful is Astroturf placed around the litter box to eliminate
tracking. Amazon sells large pieces cheap (currently $39.00 for 3
feet by 5 feet, shipped free in the USA). I have bought many of them.
Covered with paper towels, they work great for cat sleeping mats too.

Good luck and have fun.

The only ones I was able to find online are as deep as they are long and
wide. Where can I get them that are shallow enough to expect a cat to go
into them?

Litter box stuff
 

I saw some very wide and long but shallow Sterilite containers with
smooth and shiny clear sides at the local megastore recently.

My cats have no problem jumping into (and out of) them, no matter how
high they are. The first time, I used a block of something so that
they could step up. With my current rescue, I didn't bother and she
jumps into it just fine (even though she has sometimes jumped up onto
the side first).

It beats a covered litter box. Besides not needing cleaning (for some
pleasantly strange reason), they're huge, too, giving the cat lots
more room. When exiting, the impact of hitting the Astroturf probably
removes more litter from their paws, too.

It's weird that stuff just doesn't stick to the sides of them, at
least not for long. They look shiny smooth after about a year. I
doubt that the Arm & Hammer Essentials Natural cat litter helps keep
them clean, but who knows. I think it's the type of plastic.

Litter box stuff
 

On Mon, 19 Aug 2013 17:33:52 +0000 (UTC), John Doe
wrote:

I saw some very wide and long but shallow Sterilite containers with
smooth and shiny clear sides at the local megastore recently.

My cats have no problem jumping into (and out of) them, no matter how
high they are. The first time, I used a block of something so that
they could step up. With my current rescue, I didn't bother and she
jumps into it just fine (even though she has sometimes jumped up onto
the side first).

It beats a covered litter box. Besides not needing cleaning (for some
pleasantly strange reason), they're huge, too, giving the cat lots
more room. When exiting, the impact of hitting the Astroturf probably
removes more litter from their paws, too.

It's weird that stuff just doesn't stick to the sides of them, at
least not for long. They look shiny smooth after about a year. I
doubt that the Arm & Hammer Essentials Natural cat litter helps keep
them clean, but who knows. I think it's the type of plastic.

What's the problem with the covered boxes? I have one, and my two
sweetie pies have no problem with them.

Also, I think the covered ones help hide any odor, and, of course,
they are more aesthetically pleasing.

--

Litter box stuff
 

Mack A. Damia mybaconbutty hotmail.com wrote:

John Doe jdoe usenetlove.invalid wrote:

I saw some very wide and long but shallow Sterilite containers
with smooth and shiny clear sides at the local megastore
recently.

My cats have no problem jumping into (and out of) them, no
matter how high they are. The first time, I used a block of
something so that they could step up. With my current rescue, I
didn't bother and she jumps into it just fine (even though she
has sometimes jumped up onto the side first).

It beats a covered litter box. Besides not needing cleaning (for
some pleasantly strange reason), they're huge, too, giving the
cat lots more room. When exiting, the impact of hitting the
Astroturf probably removes more litter from their paws, too.

It's weird that stuff just doesn't stick to the sides of them,
at least not for long. They look shiny smooth after about a
year. I doubt that the Arm & Hammer Essentials Natural cat
litter helps keep them clean, but who knows. I think it's the
type of plastic.

What's the problem with the covered boxes? I have one, and my
two sweetie pies have no problem with them.

Also, I think the covered ones help hide any odor, and, of
course, they are more aesthetically pleasing.

I used a covered litter box for a while. I didn't say that covered
litter boxes were necessarily bad for everybody. If you have an
extremely old cat, perhaps it won't be able to get into a tall
litter box. In that case, I might not use them.

Another benefit of a covered litter box is the privacy. But a tall
sided box might provide some privacy. Having the litter box in a
closet appears to be a good thing. Currently, my rescue's kittens
are in that closet, and I miss having the litter box there. Having
the huge litter box in the closet solved most of my feral's litter
box problems. I knew I shouldn't take it for granted. Hopefully it
can be put back that way again within about two months.

As for hiding odors. I'm not sure about the benefit of that. I
usually scoop the litter when it stinks. And speaking of... I
thought skunks stink. But have you ever smelled the doo-doo from a
a mother cat that eats its kittens' excrement? The smell of
secondhand poop...

Thinking about it... Having high sides seems to help with scooping
litter. I lean the box very slowly and far as possible in one
direction as I carefully look for stuff to remove as the box is
leaned. Then turn the box around and repeat. I don't really recall
how I used to do it. I guess by leaning the box, but you can't lean
a low sided box very far.

But, again, I mainly wanted to point out how clean Sterilite
containers remain when used as litter boxes. I mean really, how
cool is that?

Litter box stuff
 

On 8/19/2013 1:03 PM, Bill Graham wrote:
The only ones I was able to find online are as deep as they are long and
wide. Where can I get them that are shallow enough to expect a cat to go
into them?

..............They're storage boxes. Some are very large with shallow
sides, made to be stuffed under a bed. Check out dollar stores and
discount places.
http://www.sterilite.com/ProductCate...y=17&section=1

buglady
take out the dog before replying

Litter box stuff
 

John Doe wrote:
I saw some very wide and long but shallow Sterilite containers with
smooth and shiny clear sides at the local megastore recently.

My cats have no problem jumping into (and out of) them, no matter how
high they are. The first time, I used a block of something so that
they could step up. With my current rescue, I didn't bother and she
jumps into it just fine (even though she has sometimes jumped up onto
the side first).

It beats a covered litter box. Besides not needing cleaning (for some
pleasantly strange reason), they're huge, too, giving the cat lots
more room. When exiting, the impact of hitting the Astroturf probably
removes more litter from their paws, too.

It's weird that stuff just doesn't stick to the sides of them, at
least not for long. They look shiny smooth after about a year. I
doubt that the Arm & Hammer Essentials Natural cat litter helps keep
them clean, but who knows. I think it's the type of plastic.

Yes. some plastics are almost, "oily" to the touch. The ideal, of course
would be one that is teflon lined, but it would probably cost a fortune.

Litter box stuff
 

Mack A. Damia wrote:
On Mon, 19 Aug 2013 17:33:52 +0000 (UTC), John Doe
wrote:

I saw some very wide and long but shallow Sterilite containers with
smooth and shiny clear sides at the local megastore recently.

My cats have no problem jumping into (and out of) them, no matter how
high they are. The first time, I used a block of something so that
they could step up. With my current rescue, I didn't bother and she
jumps into it just fine (even though she has sometimes jumped up onto
the side first).

It beats a covered litter box. Besides not needing cleaning (for some
pleasantly strange reason), they're huge, too, giving the cat lots
more room. When exiting, the impact of hitting the Astroturf probably
removes more litter from their paws, too.

It's weird that stuff just doesn't stick to the sides of them, at
least not for long. They look shiny smooth after about a year. I
doubt that the Arm & Hammer Essentials Natural cat litter helps keep
them clean, but who knows. I think it's the type of plastic.

What's the problem with the covered boxes? I have one, and my two
sweetie pies have no problem with them.

Also, I think the covered ones help hide any odor, and, of course,
they are more aesthetically pleasing.

If you could get air motion across the box and then to the outside, much as
they do with hospital rooms by keeping the air pressure in the halls
slightly higher that the vents to the outside. One could do this if the
litter boxes had their own room, with a fan blowing air into the room from
the rest of the house and a vent to the outside. I will have to think about
this for a while.... Perhaps I could comnvert a closet, or use the furnace
room downstairs.....

Litter box stuff
 

buglady wrote:
On 8/19/2013 1:03 PM, Bill Graham wrote:
The only ones I was able to find online are as deep as they are long
and wide. Where can I get them that are shallow enough to expect a
cat to go into them?

.............They're storage boxes. Some are very large with shallow
sides, made to be stuffed under a bed. Check out dollar stores and
discount places.
http://www.sterilite.com/ProductCate...y=17&section=1

buglady
take out the dog before replying

Well, since my cats are outside cats, one wonders why I would need a litter
box at all. But cats (as we well know) are strange animals, and if one uses
a litter box, then the rest will use it so they won't, "miss out" on
something. They will also tend to use them during the rainy season when they
hate getting wet. It is hard to keep the odor down to a manageable
level......

Litter box stuff
 

On Mon, 19 Aug 2013 18:32:57 -0700, "Bill Graham"
wrote:

buglady wrote:
On 8/19/2013 1:03 PM, Bill Graham wrote:
The only ones I was able to find online are as deep as they are long
and wide. Where can I get them that are shallow enough to expect a
cat to go into them?

.............They're storage boxes. Some are very large with shallow
sides, made to be stuffed under a bed. Check out dollar stores and
discount places.
http://www.sterilite.com/ProductCate...y=17&section=1

buglady
take out the dog before replying

Well, since my cats are outside cats, one wonders why I would need a litter
box at all. But cats (as we well know) are strange animals, and if one uses
a litter box, then the rest will use it so they won't, "miss out" on
something. They will also tend to use them during the rainy season when they
hate getting wet. It is hard to keep the odor down to a manageable
level......

The girls' covered box is in a closet in my bedroom; the closet has
saloon-type doors, so access is not a problem. I occasionally smell a
foul odor ("Bubba, what have you been eating?") but I keep a container
of extra-strength Febrize close by. One or two sprays, and it does the
job.

--