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The litter tray

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Original poster

How often do you clean out the litter tray?

83 replies

cakedup · 06/12/2017 22:10

By that I mean empyting it, washing/cleaning it and refilling with fresh cat litter.

I have two indoor cats using one litter tray. I usually clean it out once a week. However I recently had an op and it's been 2 weeks now. Thinking I will attempt to clean it out tomorrow.

OP posts:
TheSecondOfHerName · 23/12/2017 20:59

Thank you for using the word bahookie, which I haven't heard since I was in infant class in Dunblane in 1978.

MsHomeSlice · 23/12/2017 21:01

:o .... idiot cat has a very fluffy bahookie...it's the only word that suit :o

follybodger · 23/12/2017 22:42

I wash my 3 trays about twice a year

They are cleaned of soiled matter 2 or 3 times a day because I have 9 cats and not enough room for more trays

They prefer to come in and use the trays instead of doing their business outside

BulletFox · 24/12/2017 00:04

God I was thinking about this just now, I'll have to work out a long term plan.

We have a small flat and the cat has never been an indoor cat before, basically you go in the front door and sitting room and kitchen is to the right, bathroom and bedroom to the left (the bathroom is off my bedroom).

I can't use the sitting room at present as the heavy furniture needs to be moved and unpacking done, so I have to use my bedroom as 'relaxation room'. Cat is really clingy at present but it makes me tense slightly when she does a little poo and I can smell it (litter box is in the bathroom). Both of us aren't used to it.

Longer term is it best to keep litter tray in the bathroom? Does anyone who has an indoors cat put poos in the bin or do you always use the toilet?

dementedpixie · 24/12/2017 08:42

Our litter tray is in the kitchen although ours is very big as we knocked down the wall between the kitchen and dining room so its in the dining room side. I bag and bin pee and poo.

BulletFox · 24/12/2017 09:21

Thanks dementedpixie, I think as soon as I can access the sitting room I'll set up her paraphernalia in the kitchen and do it the bin way

EachandEveryone · 24/12/2017 15:37

I’ve got a litter locker and I love it. On the whole though if I’m around and they poo it goes straight down the loo as they don’t bury. My windows are open 24/7!

ocelot41 · 25/12/2017 22:02

I second what others have said about World's Best - it does track a bit more but as long as wees and poos removed promptly, there is very little smell. I changed over from 2 previous litters for that reason. Once a week I empty it into a bag for life, wash the trays out and put litter back plus a bit of fresh. Every 4-6 weeks I change the whole litter. I was doing it 3 X weekly previously and it still smelt! Great stuff, World's Best, but you will need a tracking mat and a dustpan and brush to hand!

ocelot41 · 25/12/2017 22:04

Also, bags are best Bullet. Apparently our sewage system isn't designed to cope with the bacteria in cat poo. If it gets into seawater it can really harm marine life. I think California had a campaign against flushing cat poo after sea otters were found to have been killed?

BulletFox · 25/12/2017 22:29

Ah, ok ocelot, thanks - I'd already got some disposable bags in as I was thinking about doing it that way, but can get a severe case of the vomits when she leaves her little 'treats' so started using the loo.

I'm going to move the tray to the kitchen tonight, she's an intelligent little thing & will soon adjust

cattycat83 · 31/12/2017 09:17

Still having massive issues with one of mine. He's going in the litter tray (covered box) then getting out and weeing on the outside. I've been away for Xmas and a friends been looking after them, I've returned to stress and mess as soon as I got back, I've also noticed the skirting boards are starting to get damaged. I have nowhere else the box can go and dont know what else to do

BluebellTheDonkey · 31/12/2017 10:44

Cattycat can you put one of those absorbent bedsheets under where the litter tray is? At least it would catch the wee. My girl cat kept on weeing on the doormat despite having two litter trays and a massive garden, it was one of those soft absorbent mats, I have had to replace with a hard bristle mat to deter her.

Els1e · 31/12/2017 13:16

My cat has always preferred litter tray so it gets quite a bit of use. I scoop out pee / poo as required throughout the day and completely wash / change about every 2/3 weeks. Not had any problems and cat is now 14. Like the look of demented pixie’s tray.

EachandEveryone · 31/12/2017 21:18

After all that my cat has been on my vinyl beanbag twice in 24hours so I’m now thinking of getting a third littertray for the living room and I hope it works

cattycat83 · 01/01/2018 23:49

Bluebell I've tried that..he rips it up..like he's trying to bury the wee..I was going through multiple a day..just at the end of my tether with cleaning 24/7

NeeChee · 03/01/2018 22:54

I have a covered tray for big kitty and a normal tray for the kitten. I thought they would be fastidious about each using their own trays, but they don't seem to care.
I scoop the poop daily, and empty and rinse every 3-4 days.
Do anyone else's cats have to 'christen' their tray as soon as it's refilled? Big kitty has always done it, the kitten does it too. He's not copying either, because big kitty was outside the first few times he did it.

DumbledoresApprentice · 04/01/2018 10:40

1 cat, 2 litter trays. Clumping litter. Poo and wee scooped 1-2 times per day from her preferred tray and the tray cleaned out every 3-4 weeks. The other tray is only used once in a blue moon. I scoop if I notice she’s used it and do a litter change every few months.

brapbrapbrap · 04/01/2018 10:46

Everyday. I have 1 indoor cat and 1 outdoor cat, but I empty, wash and refill everyday. Only takes a couple of minutes.

HobbyHorseGO · 04/01/2018 10:48

I have 1 litter tray for 2 indoor cats. I know people moan about that, but I had two litter trays for years and they only ever used the one, so I got rid of the other. They're the same with their water - despite all the advice being not to keep water near food, they only drink water if it's next to their biscuits Hmm

Anyway, I digress - we use the organic clumping stuff so the wee clumps and poo get scraped up daily, I top up when needed and then I empty the whole thing and clean it about once every 10 days. The litter we use is fab.

HobbyHorseGO · 04/01/2018 10:51

Sorry but I disagree . If you don't empty the tray daily then your house WILL smell of cat pee . The reason you say you can't smell it is because you are used to the smell

Not if you use the clumping stuff. I've been away for five weeks while my cats were sat by someone else. I could smell the rancid cat food in the bin, but not the cat wee. Honestly - the clumping stuff is great as long as you actually scoop the clumps out daily.

Rikalaily · 25/01/2018 12:31

One large tray, 3 cats who also go outside. They poop mostly in the tray through the day, wee's outside so it's mainly used just overnight while they are locked in. I change the whole tray every morning and again before bed if they have been in more than usual and wee'd in it. I use wood pellet litter.

TheSecondOfHerName · 25/01/2018 15:16

I'm really surprised at how often some people are changing the entire litter.

We're using Cat's Best Nature Gold (smart pellets) with one small cat who has not yet started going outdoors. She poos once a day; the poo smells so we remove it as soon as she does it. The wee clumps don't smell but we remove them twice a day.

After a month, I sifted and saved the whole pellets to reuse, discarded the small amount of sawdust (disintegrated pellets) that had collected at the bottom and cleaned the tray. There was hardly any sawdust so I will be leaving it longer next time to empty the tray, perhaps six weeks.

hazeyjane · 25/01/2018 15:24

We have 3 trays for 2 cats, use Catsan non clumping. Scoop out poos when they're done or asap, and change and clean whole shebang once a week.

littlewoollypervert · 25/01/2018 16:13

Two large IKEA storage boxes here, with round holes cut in the lids to make top entry trays (really, really contains the litter and the smell)

I use Lidl cheapo litter and scoop poo and wee clumps daily.

The wee clumps stick to the bottom so I tilt the tray and shake the clean litter to one end, scoop the exposed clumps, and then tilt and shake to the other end. The volume of litter goes right down over the week so I top it up weekly, I reckon a full replacement monthly.

There is never a smell of wee, and the poo only smells

  1. straight after it's produced AND
  2. if they don't cover it properly

On a related subject, do people find that the weight of their bin has gone right up since getting cats? (due to chucking out the litter)?

I have to drag mine up the path which has a slight hill with both hands nowadays, I looked up my bin weights online and they have gone from 35-40 kg when full to 60kg!

NameChanger22 · 25/01/2018 16:18

One cat who spends most of her time indoors. I remove the poos immediately, she's stinky. I change the litter completely every 4 or 5 days. I can't stand cat smells.