<p>I’ve seen so many cat threads here, I figured someone would have some good advice here.</p>
<p>Last week, I unexpectedly “inherited” three lovely kitties from my aunt. There is a chance they will go back to her, but that is looking grimmer every day. I have nothing against cats, but did not expect this honor and was caught unprepared. My only experience with cats has been the outdoor sort, who require litter pans in dire emergency only. Fortunately, DH likes cats…he just doesn’t like 3. He is a bit fastidious about the house, is not fond of fur but can tolerate a bit. You could say he’s a little obsessive compulsive - so you can see the pressure I am under to keep their space clean.</p>
<p>These are indoor kitties. I’d let 2 of them out, but since they are my aunt’s, she would not be happy with that. So they are in my large, kitty friendly basement with toys and cushy chairs, tables to hop on, desk cubbies to crouch in, etc. Everything is covered with sheets now. One is long haired and white…tufts of fur are now everywhere. One is a 20 year old siamese…she has been great, but has thrown up twice. The third is a low maintenance grey tabby.</p>
<p>My biggest dilemma is the litter situation. I have two boxes, and I think I really should have three. I have clumping kitty litter, which I have no experience with, but I think I like it. I am just amazed at how much is in these litter boxes every day. I also seem to have to add a lot of litter daily. Is that normal? Anyone have any tips about how to keep up with these guys? I’m cleaning the boxes twice a day, which seems like a lot to me. I am going through litter very quickly. Any suggestions from multi-cat owners would be very much appreciated.</p>
<p>Congratulations on you new arrivals! Our two very large Ragdoll cats (16+ lbs. each), ten-year-old brothers, share one large litter box, and I need to clean it only once a day. The “official” advice is one box for each cat and one extra, but I think that’s excessive. Two is probably enough. You may want to find out what arrangements they had in their prior home–location of boxes, kind of litter, etc., brand and type of cat food (all wet food is now recommended by vets) to help with their adjustment. They can be darn fussy about things like privacy and scented vs. unscented litter, and you don’t under any circumstances want them to start avoiding the box.</p>
<p>Cats don’t make it obvious, but a change like the one these have gone through can be very traumatic, especially for that 20-year old dowager. They may be having some digestive upset, especially if their diet has changed, that is contributing to the litter box situation and vomiting.</p>
<p>I hope you give them the run of the house once they’ve settled in–cats love to explore and find their own favorite nap spaces. They will be happier if not overly confined and you will come to love their companionship (as I type this I am fighting for desk space with one furry paperweight who likes to bask in the warmth of the lamp). Frequent brushing will help control the shedding. Our cats have white bellies and long hair, and I’m pretty resigned to finding myself sporting a large clump of white fur on my clothing at any time–your DH will adjust, in time. Cats are so meticulous, hopefully it will comfort him to know that any fur he finds is purrfectly clean!</p>
<p>Good luck, and feel free to PM me with any other questions.</p>
<p>We have two of them. I haven’t missed scooping them even one day since we got them two and a half years ago. They are that easy. Just roll them over. Give the bottom a whack. Roll them back over. And pull out the drawer and dump it. Search YouTube for Omega Paws and you’ll find lots of videos. It’s an amazing product. We have the LARGE size boxes, which is what I would recommend. Scooping once a day (or in this case, rollling) should suffice.</p>
<p>Yes, with clumping litter, you will need to add some more every few days. Not every day, but a few times a week. In reality, you are slowly changing the litter continously. When I first got these Omega Paw boxes, was completely dumping them and changing to fresh litter every month. I realized that was just stupid. They were perfectly clean after a month because I was constantly replacing litter with fresh. I now leave the box they use primarily for two months and then rotate it downstairs to replace the one that gets infrequent use. That one then gets dumped and changed (after four months) and rotated upstairs to the primary position.</p>
<p>It takes about 25 pounds of clumpling litter (I use Fresh Step – clumps great and has reward points for coupons for free litter. Scoops Away is made by the same company.) to fill one. I go through at least another 25 pounds each month topping a box up, so you can see that a box is getting changed every month just in general use. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t have to complete dump and change them at all, but it’s a chance to clean out the box and just seems like a good idea on general principle.</p>
<p>One of the great things about these boxes is the ability to give the bottom a good whack Cats like to pee in one place and it will form clumps that stick to the bottom of a litter box. The whack breaks it loose and into the pull out drawer. I have not touched a litter scoop in two years.</p>
<p>Here’s a factoid. Clumping cat litter is made from bentonite clay – the same stuff that is used in the drilling mud they used to try the top kill of the well in the Gulf.</p>
<p>Thanks…I just ordered the omega paw on Amazon. It’s worth a try and the reviews were great. I also appreciate the estimate on how much clumping litter I will need per month.</p>
<p>I’m amazed at how well they are doing - especially the older one. I will probably let them upstairs at a certain point…I did not want to overwhelm them. They seem very content right now.</p>
<p>Yeah, I went seven years between cats, and in the meantime clumping litter became ubiquitous. It’s a major improvement in my quality of life. The rolling litter box sounds like a good idea, too, but I don’t need it. My cat is mainly an outside cat who only uses the litter box a few times a week, unless we go away.</p>
<p>I’ve only had a cat for 4 years. I had no idea that clumping litter is new. What did people use before that? (By the way, I use Fresh Steps or Arm & Hammer – they both work fine. For my one cat, one 14-pound box of litter lasts about a week or 10 days, scooping daily and topping it up every couple of days.)</p>
<p>I think the number of litter boxes you need depends on the cat. We went years with a series of cats and only had one box. But, when we acquired our female Maine Coon, she wanted things differently. We live in an old 1920’s house and our family room is located in the basement. We now have two cats - I have 2 LARGE litter boxes in the basement AND another one on the main level. The litter boxes are actually 22" by 15" storage containers and I use the extra-giant litter pan liners. Each pan takes 10 lbs of litter - I sift it every day for solids and completely change the litter and liner weekly. I don’t use clumping litter because I found it to be very dusty and that dust seemed to track everywhere.
My vet said that most cats don’t like covered litter pans and I found this to be true. They seem to like a lot of room to move around and scratch, so the large, uncovered pans work great. Just another opinion from someone who has had many cats through the years! Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>DH installed a cat door in the door that leads into the garage, where the litterboxes are. Keeps the cats’ toilet out of our living area, which I kind of like. Also, each time we scoop or change the litter, we sprinkle some baking soda in. Supposedly it absorbs odor.</p>
<p>As for cat hair on the furniture, you might try one of those new Pledge Fabric Sweepers. I haven’t gotten one yet, but I must say it sounds better than vacuuming the couch.</p>
<p>After years of clumping, I bought some Feline Pine and am quite happy with the reduced weight, and it seems less scattered litter on the floor. With a new kitten, we bought some clumping once again for her separate area-didn’t want her to learn to many new things at once. The clumping stuff certainly tends to track more, and smell more as well, though some of that is brand dependent. But I’m sold on the Feline Pine alternative-the nuggets, not the powder, which also tracked. Kitten will be transitioned at some point, when she’s a big girl.</p>
<p>Every tried a furmanator? Not sure of my spelling. A very fine comb for cats that removes much of the excess fur. I borrow one on occasion, as they’re not cheap-but it sure does the job, and the house stays cleaner.</p>
<p>I love the pine litter, but one of our cats did not like the switch and starting “using the restroom” away from the box. The vet said that some cats are very sensitive to smells and since they scratch around in the box, the scent stays on their paws. I had to abandon the idea of using pine and go back to the plain old Tidy Cat litter. Some cats are open to change while others are not and you have to stick with what they are use to.</p>
<p>We have a dog and a cat, and use common kitchen rubber gloves to remove fur from upholstered furniture. You put the glove on, then rub your gloved hand in a circular motion over the fabric. It removes as much or more than any other commercial device we’ve ever used. Plus it’s cheaper and easy to clean.</p>
<p>I was too lazy to teach our cat to be brushed (I know - my fault, not the cat’s), so I just wet my hands and give her a good petting. She’s happy, plus it takes off an awful lot of loose hair. </p>
<p>By the way, that was very nice of you to take on your aunt’s cats. I wish you, and her, the best.</p>
<p>Absolutely second the suggestion of getting a Furminator brush! There should be some videos on YouTube - it is amazing much dead fur our feline companions carry on their backs and bellies. And convince your hubby that you need a good vacuum cleaner. I have a Dyson, and it does a terrific job.</p>
<p>With three cats you will need to join Costco just for the litter. Be careful if you decide to switch to a new brand - cats are very conservative creatures and they can refuse to use the litterbox if you make a sudden change. Our friend’s cat went on litter box strike when she decided to fill his box with Fresh Step instead of his favorite Tidy Cat. When she gradually changed his litter by adding a handful of the new stuff at a time, he was fine with it.</p>
<p>I’m really intrigued by the Roll 'n clean box as interesteddad described it. But one important question: what happens if it’s not cleaned every day? We often go out of town and have a friend check on the cat every couple of days. What’s the longest the box could/should go without being cleaned?</p>
<p>Depends on your cats! After two or three days, the drawer would be full after rolling, but any excess would just fall back in the box to be removed with a second roll and empty. It’s just a litter box, so it’s going to go as long as any other box with clumping litter.</p>
<p>Actually, I were going out of town and leaving the cats, I would just take the top off the Roll n Clean, fill both the bottom and top with litter and have two gigantic “old-school” litter boxes. </p>
<p>My plan was to have Roll n Clean boxes that the two kitties would use roughly equally. They had other ideas and they use one the majority of the time and only occasionally in the other. So, now I have the two boxes on a rotation.</p>
<p>Everyone has such great tips…I knew this was the crowd to ask about this.</p>
<p>I ordered the Roll’n Clean box yesterday from Amazon a little before lunch (free super saver 5-9 day shipping!). For some reason, it arrived on my front porch before 11AM today. The distribution center must be really close!! Having a nice laugh over the super speedy arrival. I just put it together. I will report back with results in a few days.</p>
<p>I might have to try the rubber glove trick, as well as check out You Tube demos of the furmanator.</p>
<p>My aunt does need thoughts, prayers and good wishes. My parents are the saints though - they are the ones doing the most. I got the fun end of this deal. I took the Siamese today to have her nails clipped…she had one nail that was curled all around and looked like it might be poking one of her paw pads. My aunt must not have been able to see that. Anyway, she was fine and is pouncing around again.</p>
<p>Make sure that you get the “grill” assembled correctly. It sits in tabs on the bottom and then fits very tightly in a groove around the top edge. There’s an assembly video at the Omega Paws website.</p>
<p>Don’t scimp on the litter. I fill about three inches deep – 20 to 25 pounds initially. In fact, I used a magic marker and ruler to mark a line inside the thing before I ever filled it so I can easily see when it’s low. To add litter, just pour the litter in the drawer you’ve just dumped and use the drawer to reach in and add the litter like a sugar scoop.</p>
<p>After using it for a couple of years, here’s the rolling sequence.</p>
<p>1) Roll it 90 degrees and pause for a second to give the litter time to flow thru the grate.</p>
<p>2) Finish rolling it completely on its top and give the bottom a good whack. </p>
<p>3) Roll it back to upright and continue just slightly beyond upright. </p>
<p>4) Empty the drawer and replace the drawer in the Roll n Clean</p>
<p>5) Tilt the box a bit to the left to let all the litter flow back out from behind the grate.</p>
<p>Takes less than minute, including washing your hands.</p>
<hr>
<p>I have one of those big 40 pound buckets from cat litter, lined with a garbage bag. These have a tight sealing lid and are perfect for dumping the drawer until garbage day.</p>
Be careful if you decide to switch to a new brand - cats are very conservative creatures and they can refuse to use the litterbox if you make a sudden change. Our friend’s cat went on litter box strike when she decided to fill his box with Fresh Step instead of his favorite Tidy Cat. When she gradually changed his litter by adding a handful of the new stuff at a time, he was fine with it.</p>