Servicing the litterbox.

"tension_on_the_wire" wrote in message
ps.com...

meeee wrote:
"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
...
On 2006-09-07, Cheryl Perkins penned:
In my experience, cats usually take elimination extremely seriously,
but the results of their efforts are often a little off from the
human point of view - like when they have four paws in the tray, and
their backside hanging over the edge, or dig to China, scattering
litter hither and yon rather than piling it up neatly, or carefully
pile litter up on the carpet instead of in their box.

Oscar's litterbox is currently in DH's bathroom, close to the tub.
She diligently paws at the wall of the tub as if somehow that will
help anything. If the humans want the poo covered, we have to do so
ourselves!

I did notice that when she had the runs from her antibiotics, she
developed much more accurate habits. She would carefully dig a hole
into the litter, poop into it exactly, and then cover it.


Most of mine are ok; the usual litter scattering. But Cougar (siamese) is
absolutely hopeless. She digs for about half an hour, refuses to cover
up,
and pees over the edge of the box. Is it just me, or do cats who have
lived
outdoors ie. feral like Jasmine, have better toilet habits than indoor
raised cats??

I don't think it is a matter of feral or indoor, as I have had the same
problem with a feral cat who did eventually come in. The funny thing
was that my, then, totally indoor cat learned that habit of standing in
the box like a diva, and peeing over the edge. I learned a few things
from it:

1. If the box is against a wall, it does make it difficult for kitty
to put front paws and hang front end out of the box so that he can aim
his hind end better. Ideally, though very difficult in most
situations, is to have no walls abut the box (sorry bout pun). Even if
you pull it out by two or three inches, it makes a big difference.

2. I clean my boxes twice a day. I have three boxes and two cats.
The cat who learned how to pee over the edge is one of them, and is
extremely picky about using a box that has been previously peed in,
including by herself, and rather than dig and risk the chance of
getting her precious paws contaminated, she'll just walk over to some
part of the litter that looks okay and try for it, hence the accidents.
If the box is totally clean, she never misses.

3. Plus, I clean my boxes twice a day because one of our cats is a new
kitten and they are the only ones that get primary toxoplasmosis,
usually, since most adult cats are already carriers. Toxoplasmosis is
transmitted by the feces, but only by feces which are more than 48 hrs
old, when the larvae become active, or the eggs hatch or some such. So
since I want neither the new kitten nor our 5 yr. old child exposed, I
rigorously clean the boxes twice a day.

3a. Also, for those who have had babies, do you remember how much they
peed? How many nappies? Kittens are no different. Little wee peelets
all over the box numerous times a day are somewhat off-putting to
Luthien the Diva.

4. One of our boxes is outside, and Luthien the Elder is very happy
about that, as it is a new development. She hates digging in the clay
soil, and now the backyard is clean as a whistle. Mind you this is
California and no rain until rainy season, at which time neither the
cat nor the box will be outside.

5. For the inside, we got a Booda box.....those Igloos with the hood
and the tunnel. I never thought Madame Luthien would stoop, but she
does. She still pees on the wall inside, but at least it doesn't go
anywhere else except into the crack between bottom and top, which
problem I fixed by lining the whole edge with baby wipes which catch
the pee and prevent it from running down the outside of the box, and
help seal the crack better to begin with. The lid is off right now to
give wee one a chance to learn, but it is going back on next week, as I
had already happily forgotten about having to vacuum/hoover (US/UK)
that carpet ten times a day for spilled and flung litter. And little
Glorio is a most enthusiastic digger and flinger! Only eight weeks old
but I swear he acts like he's pushing a little Toy Tonka truck around
in there!! What a boycat!

--tension

Thanks for those tips....I do put mine against the wall so moving it might
help. And mine are all looking to be enthusiastic diggers. Hmmmm....a lidded
box you say?

meeee wrote:
"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
...
On 2006-09-07, Cheryl Perkins penned:
In my experience, cats usually take elimination extremely seriously,
but the results of their efforts are often a little off from the
human point of view - like when they have four paws in the tray, and
their backside hanging over the edge, or dig to China, scattering
litter hither and yon rather than piling it up neatly, or carefully
pile litter up on the carpet instead of in their box.

Oscar's litterbox is currently in DH's bathroom, close to the tub.
She diligently paws at the wall of the tub as if somehow that will
help anything. If the humans want the poo covered, we have to do so
ourselves!

I did notice that when she had the runs from her antibiotics, she
developed much more accurate habits. She would carefully dig a hole
into the litter, poop into it exactly, and then cover it.


Most of mine are ok; the usual litter scattering. But Cougar
(siamese) is absolutely hopeless. She digs for about half an hour,
refuses to cover up, and pees over the edge of the box. Is it just
me, or do cats who have lived outdoors ie. feral like Jasmine, have
better toilet habits than indoor raised cats??

Snoopy refuses to cover, I think she's proud of what she's done. Baggy will
sometimes burry it for her, perhaps female cats see males as underlings. ;-)
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy and Bagheera)
Cats leave pawprints on your heart.
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk

"Adrian A" wrote in message
...
meeee wrote:
"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
...
On 2006-09-07, Cheryl Perkins penned:

Snoopy refuses to cover, I think she's proud of what she's done. Baggy
will
sometimes burry it for her, perhaps female cats see males as underlings.
;-)
--

That's so funny because Tyrone never covers, and as such Chloe seems to be
the "maid" around here. :~)

kili

meeee wrote:
"tension_on_the_wire" wrote in message
ps.com...
5. For the inside, we got a Booda box.....those Igloos with the hood
and the tunnel. I never thought Madame Luthien would stoop, but she
does. She still pees on the wall inside, but at least it doesn't go
anywhere else except into the crack between bottom and top, which
problem I fixed by lining the whole edge with baby wipes which catch
the pee and prevent it from running down the outside of the box, and
help seal the crack better to begin with. The lid is off right now to
give wee one a chance to learn, but it is going back on next week, as I
had already happily forgotten about having to vacuum/hoover (US/UK)
that carpet ten times a day for spilled and flung litter. And little
Glorio is a most enthusiastic digger and flinger! Only eight weeks old
but I swear he acts like he's pushing a little Toy Tonka truck around
in there!! What a boycat!

--tension

Thanks for those tips....I do put mine against the wall so moving it might
help. And mine are all looking to be enthusiastic diggers. Hmmmm....a lidded
box you say?

Yes, I saw them come out in the last few years and never looked twice
as I figured Madame Luthien the Choosy would never consent, but when I
had to bring her inside for a year, due to ill-health, the whole litter
box-in-the-house issue became, shall we say, pungent once again, most
especially for poor spouse who is, as I mentioned in another post, most
definitely *NOT* a cat person. And most of the house is broadloom
carpet. Off-white, before you ask. I got sick of picking litter off
the bottom of my feet everytime I walked through the bathroom, the only
linoleum floor in the house, and eventually went for it.

It is a large, perhaps two foot diameter, almost a complete circle, or
globe, I suppose, when you put the lid on. The lid almost completely
seals the box, except for one little portion where it has been extended
into a little tunnel-like affair in such a way that flinging litter, at
worst, can only be flung into the tunnel, but not outside the Igloo.
And yes, if it were white (ours is grey), it would actually look like
an Igloo from a distance. The main problem is the leak at the crack,
which we fixed with wet-wipes, and of course the tracking, but it is so
much easier to contend with now, as all we need to do is put a little
mat at the opening of the tunnel. There is no way, unlike from an
uncovered box, that the cat can leap from box to far away spots,
thereby sending litter to be found in future lives in the most unlikely
places, like the little one was doing this morning until I finally
huffed and puffed and put the lid back on. So far no complaints,
though it is his first time with the lid. Luthien is quite phlegmatic
about it all now.

They also have normal-shaped rectangular lidded boxes which are
probably more space-efficient if you are in a tight spot, but they
didn't seem to be as effective as this one. Let me see if I can Boodle
you a picture (sorry bad Google pun)

http://www.pet-dog-cat-supply-store....c0ff106cfed3e7

I hope this link works. It shows several other varieties of lidded
boxes.

---tension

"snip
They also have normal-shaped rectangular lidded boxes which are
probably more space-efficient if you are in a tight spot, but they
didn't seem to be as effective as this one. Let me see if I can Boodle
you a picture (sorry bad Google pun)

http://www.pet-dog-cat-supply-store....c0ff106cfed3e7

I hope this link works. It shows several other varieties of lidded
boxes.

---tension


wow I've never seen one like that; only smallish rectangular ones. I've had
to resort to clay litter again (except for the kittens) as we have a small
and poorly ventilated house and many cats. That doesn't solve the tossing
problem; so the igloo idea looks great to me. The cats have their own room,
so the space issue wouldn't be too bad. I'll have to try and track down one
in Australia. Thanks!

"mlbriggs" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 07 Sep 2006 01:29:06 +0100, Christina Websell wrote:


"Jane" wrote in message
ups.com...
I need some advice. Is this normal? Can a tiny cat pee up nearly the
whole box in less than 48 hours?
If so, how do you who have a lot of cats cope with litterbox duties?
It
must be your life's work :-)

Yes, it can be perfectly normal. My sister's tiny little Topaz peed
almost her weight every day. At least it seemed that way. She and her
brother drank a lot, and peed a LOT. My Fin never was much of a
drinker, and peed accordingly. Same with the Princess.

Thanks for your advice. I value all the advice I've got about this.
Kitty
will challenge Debbie's Willow over peeing for England. Not that this is
good. Ted says she can't concentrate her urine any more. A function of
good
working kidneys that we don't realise about.
She is pretty good about using her litterbox now but I have to be careful
about newspapers.
She drinks quite a lot as is to be expected, she also has a touch of
dementia so if she manages to go upstairs to use the box, which she
mostly
does WOW!
She does very well for 20.
Mostly she stays in now, her own choice. Boyfie will bring her her
favourite food (if he can catch them) but he isn't such an expert as she
was, yet. Maybe a collared dove only once or twice a week.
Kitty falls on a collared dove like she was starving. Gimme the bird
right
now. Chomp.
Somehow cat food doesn't have the same appeal for her.

Tweed


Years ago when Princess was alive, I gave her some raw liver (cut in small
pieces) or kidney or heart. Her main food was Science Diet, but she did
love the raw feedings. Have you tried anything like this? MLB


She isn't allowed to have this type of pure protein - although I suspect she
would love it. Her kidneys wouldn't stand it now.
She is doing quite well, but I have to be careful to keep any
clothes/fabrics off the floor otherwise she's likely to pee on them. I am
not going to tell her off for this at her advanced age and state of health,
but how I wish I had not let my lovely quilted knitted blanket that my aunt
made for me dangle over the arm of my chair on to the floor..

Tweed

"Christina Websell" wrote

but how I wish I had not let my lovely quilted knitted blanket that my
aunt made for me dangle over the arm of my chair on to the floor..

Nature's Miracle will restore your blanket.

On Thu, 26 Oct 2006 23:41:26 +0100, Christina Websell wrote:


"mlbriggs" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 07 Sep 2006 01:29:06 +0100, Christina Websell wrote:


"Jane" wrote in message
ups.com...
I need some advice. Is this normal? Can a tiny cat pee up nearly the
whole box in less than 48 hours?
If so, how do you who have a lot of cats cope with litterbox duties?
It
must be your life's work :-)

Yes, it can be perfectly normal. My sister's tiny little Topaz peed
almost her weight every day. At least it seemed that way. She and her
brother drank a lot, and peed a LOT. My Fin never was much of a
drinker, and peed accordingly. Same with the Princess.

Thanks for your advice. I value all the advice I've got about this.
Kitty
will challenge Debbie's Willow over peeing for England. Not that this is
good. Ted says she can't concentrate her urine any more. A function of
good
working kidneys that we don't realise about.
She is pretty good about using her litterbox now but I have to be careful
about newspapers.
She drinks quite a lot as is to be expected, she also has a touch of
dementia so if she manages to go upstairs to use the box, which she
mostly
does WOW!
She does very well for 20.
Mostly she stays in now, her own choice. Boyfie will bring her her
favourite food (if he can catch them) but he isn't such an expert as she
was, yet. Maybe a collared dove only once or twice a week.
Kitty falls on a collared dove like she was starving. Gimme the bird
right
now. Chomp.
Somehow cat food doesn't have the same appeal for her.

Tweed


Years ago when Princess was alive, I gave her some raw liver (cut in small
pieces) or kidney or heart. Her main food was Science Diet, but she did
love the raw feedings. Have you tried anything like this? MLB


She isn't allowed to have this type of pure protein - although I suspect she
would love it. Her kidneys wouldn't stand it now.
She is doing quite well, but I have to be careful to keep any
clothes/fabrics off the floor otherwise she's likely to pee on them. I am
not going to tell her off for this at her advanced age and state of health,
but how I wish I had not let my lovely quilted knitted blanket that my aunt
made for me dangle over the arm of my chair on to the floor..

Tweed


Is it washable? MLB