Cat owners-

[bballmom56]

How many cats do you have? 3 - 2 males, 1 female

Are they indoor or indoor outdoor? They are all indoor/outdoor

How often do you scoop the litter? Never

How often do you totally overhaul your box? About every 3 weeks

HOw many litter boxes do you have? 2

How long do you think it is appropriate to go away and leave your kitties unattended? Probably no more than 48 hours because they do like to go in and out.

 

[flying_babyb]

I can give you a veiw on two households.

How many cats do you have? 2 ( one male, one female)

Are they indoor or indoor outdoor? indoor with outdoor times. I let them out on my fenced in balcony with me and only supervised and on leashes

How often do you scoop the litter? Every 2 days.

How often do you totally overhaul your box? Anytime my sister visits overnight (she loves to make the kitties happy...) otherwise once a month (or when it stinks)

HOw many litter boxes do you have? One

How long do you think it is appropriate to go away and leave your kitties unattended? I cant leave mine more than 3 days (see them friday, not sat, not sunm come home on monday) Otherwise I leave my key with my best freind and her kids come by and play with the cat and feed it

Any advice on keeping the litter mess to a minimum? YEP!!! you know those mats for rolling chairs? I love them, I put them pricky side down and once a day pick it up and dump it back in the box.

Mom and aunts house:

How many cats do you have? 6 ( 4 boys I believe, 2 girls.... Blake, Holly, Tabby, Grissom, South Dakota, and kuzzuo)

Are they indoor or indoor outdoor? indoor

How often do you scoop the litter? 3 times a day sometimes more if one drops a stinky

How often do you totally overhaul your box? once a month
HOw many litter boxes do you have? two in the living room, one in moms room (mostly because her cat gets locked in there for alone time)
How long do you think it is appropriate to go away and leave your kitties unattended? They wont leave them for more than a day (GASP!)
Any advice on keeping the litter mess to a minimum? they built a little plastic wall on three sides of the box to minimise kicking. Mom has a track mat in her room by her box for her spoiled cat. They also use under the bed rubbermaids for two of there litter boxes and a regular 20 gallon rubbermaid for the third so the cats have extra room. I have a regular box so I dont get it LOL.


Then again my cats are spoiled. They get fresh greens daily, they get fresh water straight from the tap (it drips), and they get table scraps so they tend to be spoiled even when I leave them for vactions.

 

[minnie56]

I have 2 kitties...both female

Indoor kitties..they go in the yard only with one of us for short periods of time.

Scoop the litter every day.

I never totally dump it..use the clumping and after scooping--top it up with fresh.

3 litter boxes.

Never leave alone more than one day without someone here. If I am away for more then my friend visits them 2x daily..and visits as well as feeds etc. Longer than that-my petsitter comes and stays. I would never leave them unattended for more than a day.

For the mess-maybe the box is too shallow? I'd try a deeper and larger one.

 

[hedgehog2owl]

How many cats do you have? 2

Are they indoor or indoor outdoor? ha they fancy themselves out door, but they are really indoor. Butterscotch will preen himself on the lawn in the sun and Spook will dart out (and only venture 4 feet) and they are both mewing to come back in within too long.

How often do you scoop the litter? When I see clumps prob once a day or every other.

How often do you totally overhaul your box? I have liners with little holes so when you change the top liner all the non clumped litter falls out. I lay 10 of those on top of each other. each time I add some fresh liter and I pull out a liner um...4-7 days? I think? when ever the clumps seem to be taking over

HOw many litter boxes do you have? 2

How long do you think it is appropriate to go away and leave your kitties unattended?
I don't know. never left them, Butt is a only a year old and Spook is 6 months. I think we could go away for 5 days, as long as somebody came in and scooped (every other day) and gave food and water daily. Because they are water and food pigs.

 

[SpecialK]

one cat - two boxes. I scoop daily, sometimes twice a day. Complete overhual every two weeks. We've left her alone overnight. Any more than that and someone stays with her.

 

[Pomlover2586]

How many cats do you have? 3

Are they indoor or indoor outdoor? all 3 are indoor

How often do you scoop the litter? At least once a day, sometimes 2 if they are having smelly issues

How often do you totally overhaul your box? Once a week it gets fully emptied, washed out, and then new litter is put in.

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've gone out of town as long as 8 days before- However I NEVER leaves my cats fully "alone". I have someone come in to check on them at LEAST once a day while we are away but usually twice a day.

 

[dizluvah]

We have 1 indoor cat - with an automated litter box that scoops itself multiple times a day into a plastic container with plastic cover. I check the box daily because I often need to add more litter so the level is high enough to be scooped up. I empty the container and do a clean up of the litter around the floor, etc once a week. I completely change the litter about once a month; I never really track it; I just go buy how the litter looks - as I am continually adding fresh litter when it doesn't look fresh anymore I dump the whole thing and add new litter.

The cat was my DH's before we married but now I am the sole member of our kitty cleaning staff.

 

[Sleepy]

How many cats do you have?
One, only because I can't afford the vet bills for multiple if they needed major surgeries.

Are they indoor or indoor outdoor?
I have only had indoor.....even in the 70's when it was not common. It is safer and healthier for them. There are diseases out there that can't be cured with an injection and can KILL!

How often do you scoop the litter?
Once a day!

How often do you totally overhaul your box?
When it starts getting alot of leftover small clumps that can't be scooped or when it gets close to the bottom. I don't continually add litter so that I CAN do an overhaul.

HOw many litter boxes do you have?
Since we only have one cat, we only have one box, but I would add a box for each cat.

How long do you think it is appropriate to go away and leave your kitties unattended?
Overnight ONLY! Any longer than that, they stay with a friend, stay in a kennel, or I have someone come once a day to check on her.

.

 

[Continuum]

How many cats do you have? 1

Are they indoor or indoor outdoor? indoor

How often do you scoop the litter?once everyday in the evening

How often do you totally overhaul your box?every couple of weeks depending on what state it's in

HOw many litter boxes do you have?1

How long do you think it is appropriate to go away and leave your kitties unattended? If I'm gone more than 24 hours, I have to have someone come check on him.

Any advice on keeping the litter mess to a minimum? I have a litter mat infront of the box but that does only so much. I just vacuum what escapes onto the floor.

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. I judge it basically on sight. If the bag in still in good repair and the litter isn't full of unscoopable pieces, I just keep the amount of litter at a good level. That helps reduce the amount of overhauls needed and the amount of litter I have to buy.

.

 

[goofy4tink]

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.

1. 3 cats

2. all indoor, never go outside

3. scoop every day

4. every other month or so

5. just the one box

We leave them alone for the weekends all the time. One time we had to leave for 5 days.....we left two more litter boxes, as well as 3 containers of food, and two large bowls of water. They were just fine when we got home.

To keep the mess to a minimum, we have a pas that goes under the box, with a grooved surface at the front....it cleans off the paws as the cat comes out. We also have the box covered...otherwise, when they 'clean up' they make a huge mess outside the box. Covering it keeps the litter inside, where it belongs. We also have the box in our basement, up on an old bureau type thing...about 3' off the floor. That also helps keep things tidy...and the dog out of it!

 

[DISFANSTHREE]

One cat here 10 year old, one more next month, new kitten, I am not happy about. Scoup everyday, change once a week. Going on 2 week vac next month, cat stays home no prob extra food litter, water, neighbor checks on cat 1 or 2 times a week. Wife says cat gets deppreased while we are gone, she says stop going on vac or get new kitten, thats where new kitten comes in. Cat is inside only... Wife and family get all the fun with cat I get all the work.....

 

[PatsMom]

I have one cat, a four year old front declawed, neutered male. He does go out on the screen porch when the door is open or when DH goes out to smoke. He is a bit spoiled!

He has two litter boxes. We use clumping litter and scoop it out daily. We almost never dump the entire box - it never seems to smell. We just top off with new litter after scooping. He doesn't bury anything so all the clumps are on the surface. He also does not kick the litter out of the box - he is very messy with his food but very neat in the litter box.

We leave him alone for two to three days. Anything more than that, we have a cat sitter stop by to play with him, clean his boxes and give him fresh food and water.

 

[shellybaxter]

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?.

1. We have 2 cats - Tipper who is 8 years old and Paris who just turned one. We are having a Hello Kitty birthday party for Paris in the next few weeks (on her adopted birthday)

2. They are indoor/outdoor cats. They have a cat door that they can use 24/7. We live in the forest/country so not a lot of man made dangers - but some natural dangers. They are pretty good and staying close to home.

3,4,and 5. We dont have litter boxes. We use to but when we moved into our current home my Dh trained Tipper and her sister Hadassah (whom we lost last year) to go outside. He started by placing the box in the laundry room (where the cat door is). He then moved it closer to the cat door a little at a time until he finally put it right outside the cat door. They used it for a while but slowing got use to going outside. We trained Paris the same way. Now we don't have to fight about scooping the box anymore.

6. We have left our cats for more than two weeks before, but we have REALLY good friends who live right next door and take care of them for us. In fact, while we were at Disney last year Paris somehow (we still aren't sure) broke her leg in four ways. They had to take her back and forth to the kitty ortho surgeon in a town 90 miles away. We were upset that we couldn't be there but we knew our friends would take good care of her

 

[MichelleVW]

How many cats do you have?

Three, 2 neutered males and one spayed female

Are they indoor or indoor outdoor?

Indoor only

How often do you scoop the litter?

I scoop it out every 3-5 days and empty it out and clean it once a week. I use the non scoopable litter.

The litter boxes are in my laundry room and when my mom was here she said, "How often do you clean the cat boxes because they don't stink at all".

I use the Walmart Special Kitty in the yellow bag litter which is exactly like the Tidy Cats brand, just cheaper.

How many litter boxes do you have?

I have 3 cats and 2 boxes and no one seems to mind. I do see them standing in line sometimes for the "preferred box"

How long will you leave them?

I have left mine for as long as 5 days alone, but I was really worried. Usually if I'm gone over 2 days I have someone check on them. But I have one cat that is scared of strangers, so he would honestly prefer that no one check on him!


Any advice on keeping the litter mess to a minimum?

I have mats outside the litter boxes and they seem to contain most of the mess..

 

[scottishduffy]

One Kitty.

Indoor type of guy.

Litter box is scooped and topped off with fresh litter on Mondays and Fridays.

A complete overhaul is done about once a month when I get both litterboxes (we have two boxes for him) and scrub them inside and out with clorox softscrub. Then replace all litter.

We will leave him totally unattended for a weekend. (Leave friday, back on sunday... so really only one day totally alone). Any longer than that and my inlaws will drop by to feed and pet him for about 30 minutes day. The few times we have gone for than a week he goes to a 'cat resort' and will be very well cared for there.

We have the dome litter boxes, which we got when he was flinging litter outside the box. That helped a lot. We also have little mats in front of his box to catch whatever is on his feet. Not 100% effective but it catches most of it.

 

[Shmily1]

How many cats do you have? 5 inside (brothers & sisters), 1 in and out, 1 out, 4 that come by for food, and one that just showed up with three babies (and they are beautiful!!!)
Are they indoor or indoor outdoor? answered above
How often do you scoop the litter? twice a day
How often do you totally overhaul your box? once every 5 to 7 days
HOw many litter boxes do you have? 3 regular and 1 Breeze

How long do you think it is appropriate to go away and leave your kitties unattended? With five inside, it's hard to put out enough food for more than 1 day.
Any advice on keeping the litter mess to a minimum? The Breeze!! That thing is awesome!! It uses pellets instead of litter and a pad like a puppy pad to catch the urine. You change the pellets once a month and the pad once a week. I'm thinking of changing all mine to the Breeze and getting a diaper genie to put beside it for when I clean them out!!

 

[Sorsha]

How many cats do you have? 1 spayed female named Angel.

She is The Queen, and would appreciate it if we would all pay the proper respect. Oh, and many many things offend her dignity, and will earn you the glare-down-the-nose offended kitty face. But we love her anyhow.

Are they indoor or indoor outdoor? Indoor only.

How often do you scoop the litter? We use clumping litter, and scoop once daily.

How often do you totally overhaul your box? About every two weeks. We dump the litter, scrub out the box, and refill with fresh litter.

HOw many litter boxes do you have? Just one.

How long do you think it is appropriate to go away and leave your kitties unattended? We have left her for as much as 1 1/2 weeks. BUT if we are gone that long we have a house sitter who stays over-night at least half of the nights so she isn't totally alone. If we are only going away for a few days, she stays alone, but the house-sitter drops in on a daily basis to give fresh food and water and scoop the box. Angel does not appreciate being abandoned, however, and will let us know that in no uncertain terms for the first day or so that we are home.

Any advice on keeping the litter mess to a minimum? If you figure this out, let me know. Eldest DD is assigned the chore of sweeping up around the litter box every day, and boy is it usually a mess.

 

[jenm2878]

How many cats do you have? 3
Are they indoor or indoor outdoor? Indoor only
How often do you scoop the litter? Every other day or sooner if needed
How often do you totally overhaul your box? Probably once every month to month and 1/2. When scooping doesn't get rid of the smell.
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 just left our unattended for the first time this weekend from Friday morning to Sunday afternoon. Even that made me nervous - I wouldn't go longer. Ours have scheduled feeding times though - they have trouble handling a container full of food left out for them.
Any advice on keeping the litter mess to a minimum? We bought those tupperware containers that can be slid under a bed (long and maybe 4" deep) and set the covered litter box inside. That has really helped, but they still manage to kick out litter, so we keep a dustpan and handheld broom next to the pan. I sweep up when I scoop.

 

[kldmom2000]

How many cats do you have?
*3 girl cats*

Are they indoor or indoor outdoor?
*Indoor*

How often do you scoop the litter?
*Every day... sometimes twice a day*

How often do you totally overhaul your box?
*Every 4-5 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?
*If we go away for more than 1 night/2 days, we have someone come in daily to scoop the poop and feed them/love them in our absence*

 

[SaraJayne]

Please solve a few family debates for us!


How many cats do you have? 3

Are they indoor or indoor outdoor? indoor

How often do you scoop the litter? at least once a day

How often do you totally overhaul your box? about every 10 days or so
HOw many litter boxes do you have? 1 large one

How long do you think it is appropriate to go away and leave your kitties unattended? We've gone as long as 4 days (leaving extra litter boxes and food/water, but any longer than that, we have someone come in and clean the litter and give them fresh food and water.

My answers in pink.