Litter box nightmare! ADVICE! *PHOTOS*

[sparklydust]

WARNING - GROSS IMAGES OF LITTER TRAYS

Hi all,

I have two cats, one is 7 and the other is 6. Cat number 1 I will refer to from now on as 'clean cat' and cat number 2 I'll refer to as 'messy cat'

So clean cat has always been just that, clean. When he does to the tray he hops in and hops out - no problems there.

Messy cat however, digs to China and sprays said diggings all over the place for good measure - you know, just to make sure he is able to fill black hole back in if needs be. He literally reduces his fresh litter to dust within minutes and manages to mix all the unused litter into his fresh wee wee therefore, a clean litter tray an hour ago becomes something like a tray that hasn't been changed in a week! (For reference, I change both trays daily - we have one upstairs and downstairs).

I have attached photos of the tray clean cat uses and the tray messy cat uses for reference.

Does anyone have any advice? It may seem silly but as busy, working people having to clean up the remnants of a mud-slide that has almost filled the room every morning is turning into a half hour job (plus we have a 6 yr old to get ready for school as well as ourselves). I know it's his way of doing things and that's fine, I know I can't change that but does anyone have any tips on how to try and keep this more contained so cleaning it up becomes that bit easier/quicker?

P.S. the wooded litter is the only litter my cats will use so changing this is a no go

[dementedpixie]

Cats best do smart pellets which are similar to the wood pellets but are clumping so you can remove pee and poo which leaves clean stuff behind. Maybe use a high sided or lidded tray too. I have an xl tray with high sides which helps contain litter when they dig a lot

[HoleyCoMoley]

I was going to say change the litter but see that's not an option, how about using a covered tray which would stop it going everywhere. Could you try just mixing in a little bit of non clumping clay litter, he might not notice, it might help and you could gradually introduce a bit more each time.

[sparklydust]

Thanks both. I've never heard of that litter so I'll check it out.

As for hooded trays - I've tried, they won't go near them and poop elsewhere

[dementedpixie]

This is the one I have

[VictoriaBun]

Tbh it looks like there isn't enough litter in the tray. I use wood pellets and put in a good thick depth of pellets. Your ' messy cat ' obviously is a digger and might be happier if he can hide what he has left behind.

[dementedpixie]

These are pricey but as they are clumping you don't need to change so often. I use a mix of these and worlds best (also an eco clumping litter) and will put in some clay clumping too for extra effectiveness.

[dementedpixie]

And yes, I do a nice deep layer so they can dig and cover better

[RoseDog]

You can buy litter tray liners that you just scoop up the liner and the litter is contained in it if they;ve not shredded it

You can also buy rubber mats, on amazon, for outside the tray that the cats wipe their paws on when getting out the tray, or my sister uses puppy pads so she can just chuck them rather than trying to clean them.

I use newspaper on the bottom of the tray to line it as it makes the trays easier to clean out!

[GiantKitten]

Cats Best litter turns itself into dust but only after weeks of use, however much it’s scratted it is expensive but for the time it lasts it works out cheaper IME

And this tray is great - it needs quite a lot of litter to get a 2” depth but then lasts for literally weeks with an occasional small top up

If your cats aren’t used to a covered tray you can leave the door off at the start. Mine love this tray though

[GiantKitten]

Oh, just seen they don’t like hooded trays...might it be worth trying this one with the top off for a bit, & then adding it later once they’re used to it?

[sparklydust]

Thank you all for your advice.

I think the puppy pads are an excellent idea and will be sure to try that.

As for not enough litter in the trays - this is something I've recently started doing to try and help the problem, when they had much more in - messy cat made even more of a mess

Other litters I'm sure are great but my cats just won't use them - they prefer the bath as a litter tray when anything other than pellets are on offer 🙈

[dementedpixie]

The ones I linked to are pellets (there's some clay stuff in there too but the bigger bits are the smart pellets)

[dementedpixie]

This is the tray

[sparklydust]

UPDATE - the litter tray in the plastic box worked!! So pleased, messy cat has now upgraded to ‘only a little bit messy cat’ 😂😂 thank you all so much for your advice and suggestions!!

[Whykeepasking]

No advice but Ive just posted about my cats. I think we have the same ones! My youngest cat is a bugger for doing that 😂