Clumping Litter - NOT

We started to have trouble with one of the Litter Boxes not clumping, all
the litter was damp. So we took it out of service for a cleaning and now one
of the other boxes seems to be showing the same symptoms. So is it the
Litter or does one of the cats have very acidic urine?

"Bill Stock" wrote in message
...
We started to have trouble with one of the Litter Boxes not clumping, all
the litter was damp. So we took it out of service for a cleaning and now
one of the other boxes seems to be showing the same symptoms. So is it the
Litter or does one of the cats have very acidic urine?


I don't think it is the acidity of the cat urine. Rusty's urine pH is around
5 because of
his infection and the litter still clumps, unless it only take effect with
pH under 5. That would
be very worrisome.

Winnie

On 2006-03-14, Bill Stock penned:
We started to have trouble with one of the Litter Boxes not
clumping, all the litter was damp. So we took it out of service for
a cleaning and now one of the other boxes seems to be showing the
same symptoms. So is it the Litter or does one of the cats have very
acidic urine?

I've used clumping litter with Oscar for years, and it always dries
the clumps. I used to use Fresh Steps; I got sick of the perfume-y
scent, so now we use Scoop Away.

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca

Bill Stock wrote:
We started to have trouble with one of the Litter Boxes not clumping,
all the litter was damp. So we took it out of service for a cleaning
and now one of the other boxes seems to be showing the same symptoms.
So is it the Litter or does one of the cats have very acidic urine?

The clumping litter works for me, even when Persia had a UTI. Maybe it's
the brand that has changed? I use inexpensive stuff I can buy at Walgreen's
called Kitty Diggin's. It works every bit as well, if not better, than Tidy
Cats Scoop for multiple cats but costs a lot less.

Jill

"jmcquown" wrote in message
...
Bill Stock wrote:
We started to have trouble with one of the Litter Boxes not clumping,
all the litter was damp. So we took it out of service for a cleaning
and now one of the other boxes seems to be showing the same symptoms.
So is it the Litter or does one of the cats have very acidic urine?

The clumping litter works for me, even when Persia had a UTI. Maybe it's
the brand that has changed? I use inexpensive stuff I can buy at
Walgreen's
called Kitty Diggin's. It works every bit as well, if not better, than
Tidy
Cats Scoop for multiple cats but costs a lot less.

Jill


I'm wondering if we got a bad batch and now that there's one less box the %
of bad stuff is increasing in the other boxes. We use Simplicity that
PetsMart and Costco sell.

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:

On 2006-03-14, Bill Stock penned:

We started to have trouble with one of the Litter Boxes not
clumping, all the litter was damp. So we took it out of service for
a cleaning and now one of the other boxes seems to be showing the
same symptoms. So is it the Litter or does one of the cats have very
acidic urine?


I've used clumping litter with Oscar for years, and it always dries
the clumps. I used to use Fresh Steps; I got sick of the perfume-y
scent, so now we use Scoop Away.

I like Fresh Step Cedar (because it's NOT "perfume-y"), but
not everyone carries it, and it's a bit more expensive than
some of the others. I bought something called "Clump &
Flush" at Petco, last time (not that I'd ever court plumbing
problems by flushing it). It's made from corcobs, which I
thought was ecologically a good idea, but it seems to clump
at the very bottom of the litterbox, and wants to stick
there, making it hard to scoop out.

"Bill Stock" wrote in message
...
We started to have trouble with one of the Litter Boxes not clumping, all
the litter was damp. So we took it out of service for a cleaning and now
one of the other boxes seems to be showing the same symptoms. So is it the
Litter or does one of the cats have very acidic urine?

When I was doing research in how to unplug a drain that had been plugged by
clumping litter getting into it, I tried a number of different substances
trying to un-clump it.

Vinegar was one of those substances and it didn't budge the clump. Vinegar
has a pH of about 3 =/- 1 depending on strength and type. Even if the
vinegar I as using had a low acid value for vnegar, and had a pH of 4 (the
lower the more acidic) it wouldnstillbe far more acidic than cat urine,
which at worst has a pH of around 5.

So its not the acid level that is affecting the clumping ability of your
litter.

Clumping litter works - as far as I can tell - by causing a dry clay to wet
and stick together. The clay is dried beyond the normal 'dry' so that it
naturally absorbs water very quickly and reverts back to its normal state of
hydration. But it would no doubt also absorb water slowly from the
atmosphere and slowly lose its ability to clump as its no longer in a state
of 'hyper' dryness.

I would be guessing that your dud batch was probably old or stored
incorrectly so that it absorbed more water out of the atmosphere than usual.

You could try baking the unused stuff in th oven at above 120C for a few
hours to see if it recovers, but its probably just easier to get a fresh
batch.

Yowie

"Yowie" wrote in message
...
"Bill Stock" wrote in message
...
We started to have trouble with one of the Litter Boxes not clumping, all
the litter was damp. So we took it out of service for a cleaning and now
one of the other boxes seems to be showing the same symptoms. So is it
the Litter or does one of the cats have very acidic urine?

When I was doing research in how to unplug a drain that had been plugged
by clumping litter getting into it, I tried a number of different
substances trying to un-clump it.

Vinegar was one of those substances and it didn't budge the clump. Vinegar
has a pH of about 3 =/- 1 depending on strength and type. Even if the
vinegar I as using had a low acid value for vnegar, and had a pH of 4 (the
lower the more acidic) it wouldnstillbe far more acidic than cat urine,
which at worst has a pH of around 5.

So its not the acid level that is affecting the clumping ability of your
litter.

Clumping litter works - as far as I can tell - by causing a dry clay to
wet and stick together. The clay is dried beyond the normal 'dry' so that
it naturally absorbs water very quickly and reverts back to its normal
state of hydration. But it would no doubt also absorb water slowly from
the atmosphere and slowly lose its ability to clump as its no longer in a
state of 'hyper' dryness.

I would be guessing that your dud batch was probably old or stored
incorrectly so that it absorbed more water out of the atmosphere than
usual.

You could try baking the unused stuff in th oven at above 120C for a few
hours to see if it recovers, but its probably just easier to get a fresh
batch.

Yowie


The box in question is outside the "Pond Room". The Pond Room contains a
smallish pond with the Goldfish from the outdoor pond. So it's possible the
extra humidity is keeping the one box slightly damp.

BTW, don't worry the cats can't get in the fish room. Smokey is the only one
who's remotely interested in any event. She insists on following me every
might for the GF feeding. I think it's the thrill of being in the forbidden
room.

In a different thread, "Yowie"
wrote:

When I was doing research in how to unplug a drain that had been plugged
by clumping litter getting into it, I tried a number of different
substances trying to un-clump it.

Yowie, what *did* your results turn up? I'd like to know how to
unclump clumping litter that's plugging a drain.



Jeanne Hedge, as directed by Natasha

============
http://www.jhedge.com

ROTO ROTOR and about a 300 dollar bill


"Jeanne Hedge" wrote in message
...
In a different thread, "Yowie"
wrote:

When I was doing research in how to unplug a drain that had been plugged
by clumping litter getting into it, I tried a number of different
substances trying to un-clump it.

Yowie, what *did* your results turn up? I'd like to know how to
unclump clumping litter that's plugging a drain.



Jeanne Hedge, as directed by Natasha

============
http://www.jhedge.com