Cat owners-

[disbridemimi]

Please solve a few family debates for us!


How many cats do you have?

Are they indoor or indoor outdoor?

How often do you scoop the litter?

How often do you totally overhaul your box?

HOw many litter boxes do you have?

How long do you think it is appropriate to go away and leave your kitties unattended?

Any advice on keeping the litter mess to a minimum? My kitty enjoys kicking the litter onto the cellar floor and rolling in it (ick) and we got one of those litter mats to put in front of it, and now hes just turned into a SUPER litter kicker to get it out. He could be in the kitty litter kicking olympics, you should see the distance he gets.

We have two indoor kitties and we totally disagree on all of the above. I tend to scoop the litter every 2-3 days. When its DF turn, he waits MUCH longer. I like to overhaul the boxes every 2 weeks or so, sooner if it needs it. He thinks we shouold let it last longer, and spend less on litter. Our cats do not go outdoors at all, we ave 2 litter boxes. I think its ok to leave the kittes unattended for a weekend only, no more than that, Df thinks the cats will be ok up 5 days with a few big bowls of dry food and water, I think they need to be looked in on at the third day alone minimum. Don;t want them to feel so sad and all alone.

 

[Rora]

How many cats do you have? 2

Are they indoor or indoor outdoor? Indoor

How often do you scoop the litter? At least 2x a week.

How often do you totally overhaul your box? 1x a month? It depends.

HOw many litter boxes do you have? 1

How long do you think it is appropriate to go away and leave your kitties unattended? At most, 2 days. If we are away longer,we have someone come in, check on them, play with them, give them more food and water.

To solve litter messes, we put a big mat (like a place mat-- or multiple place mats) under their box and most of the time the mat catches the litter they kick around.

Good luck with your kitty debacle!

 

[Tina]

How many cats do you have?

Two

Are they indoor or indoor outdoor?

Indoor only

How often do you scoop the litter?

Twice daily (I've got active young boys who are dig-crazy. Anything sitting in the box too long ends up on their paws or punted out of the box)
How often do you totally overhaul your box?

Every 2 weeks I dump the litter, scrub the pan with Mr. Clean and hot water, then refill with fresh litter. I'll replace the pan every 6 to 8 months.
HOw many litter boxes do you have?

2 boxes. You should always have at LEAST as many boxes as you do cats. I had extra when I had a diabetic cat.
How long do you think it is appropriate to go away and leave your kitties unattended?

My kitties eat Wellness canned. I won't leave them without a sitter for more than 18 hours.
Any advice on keeping the litter mess to a minimum?

I keep a hand broom and dustpan next to each box and sweep around the pan after each scooping.

 

[LisaNJ25]

4.. 1 is a new part time cat. He is a stray who prefers to be outside but is so much more friendlier than my other 3.

I have 3 litter boxes. 2 get scooped daily. Sometime more than daily because one is in the kitchen. I have one cat who can clear out the whole downstairs when she goes. The one in the basement every few days.

If I am going away for more than 2 days I have someone come check on them, change litter, feed them.

I dump out and wash the kitchen one every 2-3 days. The others weekly.

 

[Holidaymouse]

1. I have three cats - 2 girls and 1 boy

2. indoor and go outside under supervision only (i still get their rabies shots and everything)

3. Sccop litter almost daily - I have heavy poopers! I also bought the world's largerst box that the three share - sometimes kitties don't share but mine do okay.

4. Overhaul the entire box .... well... I should every 2 weeks but I am more once every month or so...

5. 1 Super jumbo box - the box is similar in size (width) to a jumbo laundry basket.

6. Okay - I'm a freaky cat mommy - I have a babysitter that comes by daily to check on them..partly because I give them fresh water every day. partly because i think kitties do better having some loving everyday. However, I can go a weekend (if I set out extra food and water) but no longer.

7. No advice on the litter issue as we have litter kickers too. Gotta love litter all over the house, on the bed, EVERYWHERE!!!!

My cat children are well-loved and seem to thrive on attention. Seems yours are the same.

 

[luvmy3]

How many cats do you have? 2

Are they indoor or indoor outdoor? indoor

How often do you scoop the litter? once daily

How often do you totally overhaul your box? once weekly

HOw many litter boxes do you have? just 1

How long do you think it is appropriate to go away and leave your kitties unattended?

I will go away for a week and left my kitties alone. If I do that I buy one of those disposable boxes to put next to the regular litter box. I leave bowls of food and water all over my kitchen floor and leave all the toilet seats up just in case they spill any of the water. I also prop open all the doors because I'm paranoid one would get trapped in a room and not be able to get to her food.

 

[Meriweather]

I have one now, used to have 2
Indoor mostly

I scoop twice a week with the one. He has 3 boxes.
Overhaul?? What's that? Not very often.

We have left him alone for 9 nights, but he was younger then. Now we have a neighbor come in every 3-4 days to scoop and feed. He does fine....actually likes to be alone better than having some one come in.

 

[cazcan]

Yay, Cats!
I just have to join in here!

I have two indoor ones...and have had cats as long as I can remember.
As far as scooping, I still use either clay or the "Yesterday's News" litter that you just dispose of. I work 40+ hrs weekly, and the last thing I really want to do is scoop! I change the entire box(s) 3x a week. I do use two litter boxes. It's funny, but the fur-heads use one box for one (ahem) function & the other box for the other (ahem) function! Without fail! Those sillies.

As far as leaving them...never more than a couple of days. They absolutley need someone to pop in and let them know how valuable and wonderful and important they are...!!

 

[sunnyday123]

Please solve a few family debates for us!


How many cats do you have? three. I don't know how that happened.

Are they indoor or indoor outdoor? indoor

How often do you scoop the litter? every day. ( see first question)

How often do you totally overhaul your box? about once a week. One of the cats has bad aim.

HOw many litter boxes do you have? three.

How long do you think it is appropriate to go away and leave your kitties unattended? a weekend. but I worry. alot.

Any advice on keeping the litter mess to a minimum? My kitty enjoys kicking the litter onto the cellar floor and rolling in it (ick) and we got one of those litter mats to put in front of it, and now hes just turned into a SUPER litter kicker to get it out. He could be in the kitty litter kicking olympics, you should see the distance he gets.

We have two indoor kitties and we totally disagree on all of the above. I tend to scoop the litter every 2-3 days. When its DF turn, he waits MUCH longer. I like to overhaul the boxes every 2 weeks or so, sooner if it needs it. He thinks we shouold let it last longer, and spend less on litter. Our cats do not go outdoors at all, we ave 2 litter boxes. I think its ok to leave the kittes unattended for a weekend only, no more than that, Df thinks the cats will be ok up 5 days with a few big bowls of dry food and water, I think they need to be looked in on at the third day alone minimum. Don;t want them to feel so sad and all alone.

No advice on keeping the litter mess to a minimum, mine seem to have secret pockets that they carry litter in to disburse throughout the house. Two litter boxes are in the basement, and one upstairs because my male cat will lay in the box if he spots one of the girls heading for a box.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

I have one indoor cat and one litter box. I never scoop. I change the litter box completely every 2-3 days and I honestly think that's not enough.

I use an extra-thick cat box liner that I buy at Publix called Jonny Cat. My cat used to tear through other litter box liners--not Jonny Cat! Plus it has drawstrings so you just take it out, pull the drawstrings shut, and it's ready to throw away.

I use half of a 10 pound litter bag with every change. I purposely use unscented litter because my mother used to use fancy scoopable scented litter and change it every 2 days and I swear the scent made the cat pee smell worse. She always thought scooping on day 1 and completely changing on day 2 was adequate but I could smell the scented cat pee.

I have a very sensitive nose and really, I believe I should completely change the litter every day.

Edited to add: Our cat is too old to leave alone now (he needs to be fed canned cat food twice a day puls he's on thryoid, blood pressure, and gallbladder meds), but the longest we ever left him alone for when he was younger was 3 nights. He did fine with that. We would have to leave him a ton of dry food, otherwise he would have eaten all his food on the first day. He would be visibly fatter when we returned.

 

[mom2travel]

How many cats do you have? 2

Are they indoor or indoor outdoor? indoor mostly but let them go out back on the deck or to wander the yard while we watch them

How often do you scoop the litter? me, never ; DH scoops about every other day

How often do you totally overhaul your box? once a week - more if needed

HOw many litter boxes do you have? 1

How long do you think it is appropriate to go away and leave your kitties unattended? we never have - either someone stays with them or they go to the kennel. We've talked about maybe leaving them for a weekend but haven't done it

Any advice on keeping the litter mess to a minimum? ?magic?

 

[lauraDar]

We have one indoor cat and use one litter box which we keep in the bathroom. We use the clumping type litter, we scoop just about every day, every other day at the very least. We change litter and wash out the box about 1/month. We haven't had occasion to leave her overnight yet but will be gone for 5 days in a row next month and will have friends come over to feed/water/scoop every other day.

 

[luvmy3]

I just wanted to add since I forgot it in my post that for keeping the litter under control I use bath rugs. Not the towel type ones but rather the big fluffy ones. I put one right in front of the litter box and then another in front of that. I shake them out and throw them in the wash once a week. It works pretty good although some litter still does get tracked out of their litter box closet.

 

[LaurenLC]

How many cats do you have? 3

Are they indoor or indoor outdoor? Only indoors

How often do you scoop the litter? My wonderful husband scoops and cleans liter about 2-3 times a day

How often do you totally overhaul your box? About once every 10 days

HOw many litter boxes do you have? 2

How long do you think it is appropriate to go away and leave your kitties unattended? We have left them alone, alone for 4 days. We have left them with a friend for 15 days. They came every other day to feed, play and clean up after them.

 

[Quacktatty]

How many cats do you have? 2

Are they indoor or indoor outdoor? Indoor only

How often do you scoop the litter? Usually once a day. My boy likes to dig the litter out of the corners to pee. It makes it really stinky if you leave it for much longer.

How often do you totally overhaul your box? Once a month or so

HOw many litter boxes do you have? 2 boxes

How long do you think it is appropriate to go away and leave your kitties unattended? I'd probably do 2 nights unattended, 4 nights with a visitor for litter scooping, playing and food refreshing. Any more than that I would have someone watch them.

 

[mrs_hower726]

[/COLOR]

Please solve a few family debates for us!


How many cats do you have? 4 - we brought home our newest addition yesterday!
Are they indoor or indoor outdoor? All indoor

How often do you scoop the litter? Never

How often do you totally overhaul your box? 3 times a week

HOw many litter boxes do you have?

2 - the kitten has his own until he goes to the vet tomorrow.

How long do you think it is appropriate to go away and leave your kitties unattended?

2 days max. Any more than that and we bring in a cat sitter to do food, water, and litter.

Any advice on keeping the litter mess to a minimum?

Does your litter pan have a lid? That along with the mat in front of the box keeps most of the litter in the pan. We have a kitty that likes to play in the box and throw litter as well and this works for him.

 

[daisyduck123]

We have 2 cats.
Indoor only.
2 litterboxes.
I scoop them every morning & night.
Major overhaul? They hardly ever need them. Maybe because I scoop them so often.

We're going to WDW next month for 12 nights. Our neighbor will come over once a day to feed & play with them.

 

[kakhragon]

Sorry to hijack the thread for a moment, but ALL cat lovers united should check out the three little black and white cartoon animations on youtube by simon's cat!!! They are short and possibly the most adoreable and eerily acurate portrayals of cats and their owners I've ever seen!!!

 

[torinsmom]

Please solve a few family debates for us!


How many cats do you have? 4

Are they indoor or indoor outdoor? indoor(1 goes out on leash)

How often do you scoop the litter? every day

How often do you totally overhaul your box? once a month

HOw many litter boxes do you have? 3

How long do you think it is appropriate to go away and leave your kitties unattended? 2 days at most with plenty of water bowls and self feeders

Any advice on keeping the litter mess to a minimum? My kitty enjoys kicking the litter onto the cellar floor and rolling in it (ick) and we got one of those litter mats to put in front of it, and now hes just turned into a SUPER litter kicker to get it out. He could be in the kitty litter kicking olympics, you should see the distance he gets.

We have two indoor kitties and we totally disagree on all of the above. I tend to scoop the litter every 2-3 days. When its DF turn, he waits MUCH longer. I like to overhaul the boxes every 2 weeks or so, sooner if it needs it. He thinks we shouold let it last longer, and spend less on litter. Our cats do not go outdoors at all, we ave 2 litter boxes. I think its ok to leave the kittes unattended for a weekend only, no more than that, Df thinks the cats will be ok up 5 days with a few big bowls of dry food and water, I think they need to be looked in on at the third day alone minimum. Don;t want them to feel so sad and all alone.

If you figure out how to keep the mess to a minimum, PLEASE let me know My kitties like to kick the litter too. One likes to lie down in the (clean) litterbox and roll around. One gets to close to the edge and sometimes misses the litterbox. Crazy cats......but I love them.

Marsha

 

[Cheshire Figment]

How many cats do you have?
I have two, a male 9yo and female 10yo that I got as a bonded pair from a rescue group.

Are they indoor or indoor outdoor?
Basically they are indoor cats, as they were both front declawed. However, I have a fully screened in lanai and whenever I am in the house the sliding glass door is open wide enough for them to go onto the lanai. But they cannot get into the "real" outside.

How often do you scoop the litter?
My garbage pickup is Tuesdays and Fridays, so I do it Monday and Thursday evenings. I use clumping litter with a deep three-tray set.

How often do you totally overhaul your box?
Because I use the stacking trays (with grid) and clumping I never really have to overhaul the box. However, I add about 10 pounds of fresh litter every week or two.

How many litter boxes do you have?
Normally one, but if I am going away for more than a weekend I will use two boxes.

How long do you think it is appropriate to go away and leave your kitties unattended?
I have a dry feeder that holds about four pounds of food as well as a tank that holds about a gallon of water. Both of these are about a normal three week supply. However, if I am going away for more than a week I will arrange for a sitter.