covered or open litter tray?

[MrsKitty]

Which is better? New to this whole cat malarkey, about to adopt a cat and her kitten and going cat shopping this afternoon ....

Which litter tray, and what else might I have not thought of? I know there's no doubt millions of threads on this already, but a few quick pointers would be really appreciated

Thanks

[deliasmithy]

Covered!
Reduces smell and reduces litter being kicked out.
The ones with flaps often allow the flap to be removed until they get used to it are good.

[MrsKitty]

Thanks Delia, we bought both (indecisive, me?) But will encourage them to use the covered one then.

Stupid question - how often do I clear it out, and what do I do with the used stuff do I just chuck it in the outdoor bin or should I use nappy bags / similar or what....

Clueless - sorry!

[misseskimo]

Hi MrsKitty, I would definitely say closed too! I've only ever bought an open tray for when my kitten had her op and I needed something smaller and easy to get into for her cage (the cage was to stop her moving around after her op!), but EVERYTIME she used it, she missed the sides and would pee all inside the cage! Also covered masks the smells!

Regarding litter clearing etc. that totally depends on what litter your using and how many cats you have... If you use a cheap clay-based one you'll have to clear it out more often. I'd recommend an anti-bacterial one too. Over the years I've used sooo many litters and had good and bad points with all. The main things to consider are:

• Price vs Consumption - How much is it costing, how often are you going to need to buy another bag. Remember, if you have more than one cat using it, you'll need to clear it out more often anyway! I found I actually spend less now on WB than I did on PetsAtHome's own brand antibacterial, as that needed changing so often!
  
• Dust - A lot of the cheaper brands generate lots of dust, particularly synthetic or clay-based products, not good if you/a family member is asthmatic or has allergies to dust etc.
  
• Disposal - How to dispose of it! Some brands you have to bag and put in your normal waste, some are compostable, and some you can flush down the toilet!
  
• Cleanliness - Is it antibacterial? Remember, this is faeces we're talking about!
  
• Clumping / Non-Clumping - Does it form into easily-removable clumps upon being urinated on, or do you have to sit and sift it all out?
  
  I personally would recommend Worlds Best Cat Litter (www.worldsbestcatlitter.co.uk). I buy mine from ZooPlus (online) as it's alot cheaper than the pet store... It's not the cheapest brand, but it's certainly the best, and the price actually probably works out about the same as some of the cheaper brands given how long it lasts! My breeder recommended it to me a few years back and although I cringed at the price at first, I'll never go back to anything else now!
  The WB Litter is completely natural, its not got any artificial stuff in it, so doesn't matter if you have a naughty kitten who likes to eat it (my friends did this!), it clumps really well, is completely biodegradable (and flushes down the toilet) and the only odour is the natural kernals that it uses to make it! I usually buy two of the huge 12.7KG bags for multi-cat households (the red bag) as ZooPlus do a deal on two for £60, and these will last me about 8-9m for two litter trays, sometimes longer... My last two I bought in Jan, and I'm not even halfway through the first bag, though I did have a little left of the old one when I ordered... The trick with this brand is to empty out the clumps and solid poo EVERY day and flush it down the toilet, then top-up with whatever amount you took out, so that it's always about 2-3" deep. Then about once every 4-6wks (depending if you have one or two trays) you need to totally empty it out and replace the litter. Sometimes it needs it a little earlier, sometimes its the full 6wks.
  
  The one I used to use from PaH was about £11 a 9KG bag, and I'd buy one every other week as it would smell so much! Catsan is also good, but again, I'd need to buy a new bag every other week!
  
  Hope this helps! Sorry for the essay! And good luck with your new babies! :)

[MrsKitty]

That's great info, thanks misseskimo.

We're currently using a wood pellet litter as that's what they were used to at the shelter and I didn't have much time to research! I've been removing the poo every day, and topping up a little - once it's turned to sawdust am I supposed to get rid, or leave it for a couple of days (although taking out the poo everyday) ?

I moved the tray out of the living room to it's permanent place yesterday - the cat definitely knows where it is, not so sure about the kitten though as there was a poo in the basket/blanket I'd made as their bed (which, if course, the decided to sleep behind all day rather than inside!)

They're both currently using the uncovered on, although the covered on is right next to it. I put out the uncovered one as I wasn't sure kitten would be able to get into the covered one. Should I remove the open one to get them to use the covered one, or leave both but put some used litter into the covered one to encourage it's use?

So many questions - sorry!

[misseskimo]

Hi - No worries! Sorry for the delay, didn't have this saved as a watch thread on my phone, so didn't see the response!

I'll be honest, I've never used a wooden pellet litter as I was told when I first got my cat (all those years ago) that it wasn't the most hygienic type to use, so I didn't bother! I used a paper-based one once, and as it was so light I was finding it all over the floor and dragged around the house where they would kick it out when "burying"!

Cleaning out every day is right, I can't comment on the "empty when sawdust" part though as I've never used it :(

You maybe right in that the kitten can't get into the closed one, does it have a flap?? I've had friends before say their cats didn't get on with walk-in flaps, but once they took them off they were fine? If not, it may just be that the covered one isn't so visible and hence using the uncovered first. I'd maybe stick with the uncovered for the moment, until the kitten is a little bit bigger, but with the kitten, when it poos in the basket, put it straight into the litter tray and leave it there for a while. It should teach it that the tray is the place it's supposed to go... If it's really young, it might be worth going "back to basics" and placing the kitten inside the litter tray every few hours or so, alongside their poo you moved from the bed so that it knows where it is - maybe about an hour after being fed? Might help encourage it to use the tray?

Let me know how you get on :)