kolling@magic.ARPA (01/25/85)
I'd like to hear about any suggestions people have for making litter boxes unobtrusive. Do cats use the kind of litter boxes that come with enclosures? Does anything work better than baking soda in keeping down odor? I did some comparisons of various kinds of litter awhile back and found a large difference in odor-suppression. The two best were Safeway brand and a kind whose name I forget (comes in a blue and pink package -- Kitty something, I think). Jonny cat was awful. My cats avoided the perfumed kinds like the plague.
fetrow@entropy.UUCP (David Fetrow) (01/29/85)
(())
Good subject. The best stuff I've tried is utterly plain clay. It
more or less requires changing every day and that seems to be the
answer (at least in my household). Obviously this doesn't work for
everyone but the cats like it and it's awfully cheap when using only
a little more than the minimum necessary to hold the cats 24 hours.
-df
{ ihnp4, tektronix, fluke, microsoft }!uw-beaver!entropy!fetrowlarryg@teklds.UUCP (Larry Gardner) (01/29/85)
Well, why didn't you like Johnny Cat? We really like it!
The perfumed stuff is great, too, but we can't afford that.
Baking soda doesn't seem to be all that affective.
we keep our litter box in the hall closet and leave the door open
just enough for the cats to get in and out. That certainly keeps
it out of sight. I then put an air freshener in the closet and that
seems to help. The bathroom just doesn't seem like a good place to me
and I didn't want it in the bedroom.
Perhaps someone else has more experience.
p.s. anybody know much about cat heats and pregnancy.
my cat had her heat for about 4 days and then got outside and
doesn't seem to be in heat anymore. The vet says she is probably
pregnant.
karen alias larrygrcd@opus.UUCP (Dick Dunn) (01/30/85)
> I'd like to hear about any suggestions people have for making litter > boxes unobtrusive...Does anything work better than baking soda in > keeping down odor?... There's a variant on the standard litterbox that's particularly used by breeders. It uses chopped-up corncobs (technically, "small animal bedding" or some such) rather than granules of clay. This gets rid of one of the obtrusive characteristics of ordinary litterboxes, namely getting dust from the clay all over the area around the litterbox. (That's actually why it's used around show cats--it keeps dust out of the cat's coat, which protects the fur a little and allows it to retain a normal level of oil.) The box is a two-level affair. The main, upper part has a screen on the bottom to hold the litter and let urine drain thru to a tray below. To clean it, you shovel the upper part and rinse out the lower part. It's more trouble than a normal litterbox. (Cleaning three or four early in the morning when you've got a hangover will make you swear off booze for weeks...:-) An essential part of this type of litterbox is the deodorant. There is a spray which is sold for use with it. After cleaning the litterbox, you spray a little deodorant on the litter and a little more in the tray below. =>There's no reason you couldn't use this deodorant in a normal litterbox<= It's ONLY a deodorant--a substance which goes after odor-causing chemicals. It has very little odor of its own; it's definitely not a perfume (which, correctly noted in the parent article, would drive cats away quickly). The stuff works--we have had as many as 18 cats (due to an unfortunate coinci- dence of two litters) and we DON'T have an odor problem in the house. The litterbox and deodorant are made by "Dualle'" in Elgin, IL 60120. Some pet shops carry them. The product name is "Tabby Tender". There is also a product made by Airwick Professional Products for removing odors such as cats are wont to cause. However, it's much more expensive. It also has a noticeable scent--not strong or unpleasant, but not suited to litterbox use. Its use is for cleaning an area where a cat has sprayed-- you have to kill the odor or cats will find it and spray it again. This stuff is likely to be hard to find, but if anyone needs it, write; I'll try to locate a source. -- Dick Dunn {hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd (303)444-5710 x3086 ...Never offend with style when you can offend with substance.
kal@trsvax.UUCP (01/30/85)
I've tried the cat deodorizers and don't think they are as good as baking soda. I use brown grocery bags to line my litter box because they are absorbent, just the right size and resistant to tearing when my cats art trying to cover their accomplishment. The bags are readily available and CHEAP, so I change them every other day. When I change bags, I put about a quarter of a box of baking soda in before I put the litter back in. I have no problem with odor. I use Tidy Cat III. Cats can be real sensitive to the litter you use. Mine definately do NOT like it if I try to change brands. I take it as real compliment when visitors comment that they are surprised that I have cats because the house doesn't smell like it. To me, nothing is worse than walking into a house and smelling the litter box.
kolling@magic.ARPA (01/31/85)
>Well, why didn't you like Johnny Cat? We really like it! >The perfumed stuff is great, too, but we can't afford that. >....my cat had her heat for about 4 days and then got outside and >doesn't seem to be in heat anymore. The vet says she is probably >pregnant. I bought a bag each of 5 or 6 kinds of litter and then kept track of which ones seemed best at controlling odor. The el cheapo ones seemed to work best (Safeway and Kitty Kare). Jonny Cat didn't seem to be as good. My cats wrinkled their noses at the perfumed kind and said "argghh, yuck-o", which matched my sentiments; I guess that's a function of whether or not you like perfume. N.b., a cat can be spayed while she's pregnant, but the sooner the better.
lazeldes@wlcrjs.UUCP (Leah A Zeldes) (02/08/85)
>Do cats use the kind of litter boxes that come with enclosures?
Mine do, as do several other cats I know. If you have trouble, try
using the box without the lid for a while, then putting the lid on.
--
Leah A Zeldes
...ihnp4!wlcrjs!lazeldeslat@leopard.UUCP (Laurie) (02/08/85)
> >Do cats use the kind of litter boxes that come with enclosures? > Mine doesn't. I got her about 2 months ago. According to my vet, she is about 6 years old. I don't know where she came from or where she has been, but I *have* to use a covered litter box -- I came home one night before I started using one, and found half of the litter on the floor (and no, I did not put too much litter in the litter box). -- Laurie {ihnp4, gatech, allegra}!leopard!lat
lat@leopard.UUCP (Laurie) (02/10/85)
> > >Do cats use the kind of litter boxes that come with enclosures? > > > Mine doesn't. I got her about 2 months ago. According to my vet, > she is about 6 years old. I don't know where she came from or where > she has been, but I *have* to use a covered litter box -- I came > home one night before I started using one, and found half of the > litter on the floor (and no, I did not put too much litter in the > litter box). I meant to say mine *does* use a covered litter box. Sheesh! See what working all these extra hours does to you? (Not to mention the overjoyment of my cat when I am actually home...you'd think she was glued to me or something). On another note, after reading various cat care books and talking to other people, I decided to get my cat an inexpensive toy -- some ping pong balls. What a mistake (for me, not her). She loves them -- especially in the bathroom, at bedtime or at some ungodly hour in the morning. I guess she likes the noise it makes on the tiled floor. So, there are other cats out there that like to "wake up" at the times you would like peace and quiet the most. -- Laurie {ihnp4, gatech, allegra}!leopard!lat