How Often do you Sanitize the Litter Box?

[hoofmaiden]

Originally Posted by lovetimesfour

That looks like a cool box but the website says

• *NOTICE: Biddycat is temporarily suspending all sales until further notice. Thank you for your support.

Do you know why?

No! That's too bad--wish I'd bought a few extra.

I wouldn't recommend trash bags. Who knows what kind of toxic stuff they put in them.

Well, just plastic LOL. I don't recommend any kind of liner--that's why a lot of boxes smell. Not only can the cat claw through them (letting pee through), but the pee clumps into the folds of the liner, making it impossible to remove the clumps completely. IMO the best thing is a large, open box with tall sides, NO liner, plenty of litter, scooped at least once a day.

[onyxsham]

I scoop it every day (also have two cats sharing one), I used to use two litter boxes, but found no real added value in it. I also completely dump out the litter and wash the box once every 3-4 weeks. It is a huge pain, but I like my bathroom clean, so I assume they do to.

[LunaTheHimmydoll]

I dump out all the litter about once a month and I scoop everyday or every second day. But I only have one kitten.

[dt8thd]

I have 5 cats and 5 litter boxes, which I scoop once in the morning and once at night. My mother, who is home during the day will also scoop if she notices a lot of clumps. The litter boxes get completely emptied of litter and washed about every 2 weeks, though we have one cat that often accidentally pees over the side of the pan, which sometimes necessitates more frequent cleaning of his favoured box. The kitten also takes really stinky poos, so there's only so long you can go without scooping the pans that she uses.

Amusingly, my sister and her fiance have a cat that won't even use her box unless it's been scooped since the last time she went. When she has to go she stands beside the litter box and meows continuously until someone comes and cleans it.

[ezmeray]

oh wow, I feel like a horrid pet owner now.. it never really occurred to me to dump out and disinfect the cat box, it's just scooped daily and topped off with new litter.. but I have only one cat and luckily there are have never been any litter box issues..

Is it necessary to do that?

[SamSim]

The last time I completely sanitized Meenus litter box, she became aversive to it and so started a week of cleaning ALL the linens and carpets in my basement because she would pee and poo ANYWHERE BUT the box. I became quite worried about sanitizing since then (oct) and havent done so. I also use good clumping kitty litter and scoop once a day. When I find it getting a little old I'll scoop it out, but I will probably never clean the bottom, only the top (she lifts when she pees so we use a cover box and I will wash the top every once in a while.

[Marcia]

Originally Posted by ezmeray

oh wow, I feel like a horrid pet owner now.. it never really occurred to me to dump out and disinfect the cat box, it's just scooped daily and topped off with new litter.. but I have only one cat and luckily there are have never been any litter box issues..

Is it necessary to do that?

naw - i wouldn't feel horrid! I only did it because Winnie was so sick and I didn't want spores to spread to the rest of the cats. I had not done it in all my years of scooping until now, but it was relatively easy and I think it is value added maybe two or 4 times a year. (In the past I just bought new boxes every couple/few years.)

[LunaTheHimmydoll]

Originally Posted by ezmeray

oh wow, I feel like a horrid pet owner now.. it never really occurred to me to dump out and disinfect the cat box, it's just scooped daily and topped off with new litter.. but I have only one cat and luckily there are have never been any litter box issues..

Is it necessary to do that?

Dumping and cleaning/ sanitizing the litter box is more for the pet owner than the cat. Cats like to smell themselves (i.e. their business) in their litter box.

[Dave_ph]

Originally Posted by LunaTheHimmydoll

Dumping and cleaning/ sanitizing the litter box is more for the pet owner than the cat. Cats like to smell themselves (i.e. their business) in their litter box.

Hmm. I disagree. I've watched every episode of "My Cat from ****" so I know what I'm talking about. If the litter box isn't clean they'll go elsewhere.

[LunaTheHimmydoll]

Originally Posted by Dave_ph

Hmm. I disagree. I've watched every episode of "My Cat from ****" so I know what I'm talking about. If the litter box isn't clean they'll go elsewhere.

I don't mean scooping, just dumping out all the litter and sanitizing. I actually got that tidbit from My Cat From H*ll too. I think what Jackson said is that you can definitely go overboard with it.