Litter box help!

[slvrwhispr]

Okay. For all intents and purposes, Izzy is my first cat. I only had Cody for about six months before all of that turned south, so I'm not well-versed in litter box tips and tricks. Basically, it smells. I've got a fairly large, high-walled open-style litter box, and right now, I'm using Arm and Hammer clumping litter. I've got a small trash can with a lid that I use to scoop the clumps into, and I do that about twice a day. On Sundays, I dump all the litter.

Now, here's my problem. One, Izzy likes to pee with her butt right up against the walls of the box, so a lot of the clumps are right up against the wall of the box, making them IMPOSSIBLE to scoop in one piece, which releases all kinds of smell, not to mention drops a bunch of little, unscoopable chunks back into the litter. So within hours of me refreshing all the litter, it smells again. I don't use litter liners because Izzy spends a lot of time digging out the perfect hole to pee in, then a lot of time covering it back up, so liners just get shredded.

So! Let me know how you've dealt with your cats' bathroom quirks. I'm open to any and all suggestions, especially on litter. If there's anything out there that clumps better than Arm and Hammer, I'd love to know what it is. I'm tired of my apartment smelling like a litter box. It's small, and the smell just permeates.

[Tambrey]

is the litterbox in the bathroom, or near the bathroom...if so, I love the A&H flushable litter...it has the purple stripe on the box...then I just scoop a couple clumps every time I go to the bathroom and flush them away....we have alot of cats, as you know, so all boxes get used often...
by scooping every time I go to the bathroom, it stays actually very clean...and nothing gets a chance to really stick to the sides...I have some who do that too...
And I don't even dump it every week...maybe once a month...then wash the litterbox outside and let it airdry in the sunshine....

If the box is not near a bathroom, but can be in or near the kitchen garbage, then get a Litter Locker and use that...again....every time you go to throw something away...scoop the box and put it in the litter locker...I use just a regular clumping litter in the main floor boxes...but again, by scooping every time I throw something away, they stay managable...

With 10 cats using basically 3 litterboxes, which are storage totes actually, I rarely even have a litterbox smell to the house...except when I work for a couple days in a row and do not get to them...then I usually end up scooping most everything out and starting fresh...because the guys do not scoop...so they end up going all day before I can scoop...by the time I get home and fix supper and am doing those daily chores...they are quite yucky by my standards...

[slvrwhispr]

Perhaps my flaw is in the scooper. Because I do usually scoop more than once a day, but definitely at least once. The scooper, though, is the standard silver plastic one that you can get just about anywhere. I haven't really thought about looking for a different scooper style until just now, but maybe that's why I'm having so much trouble? It's pretty flimsy and tends to shatter the clumps if I have to dig for 'em at all. Any suggestions?

[Tambrey]

I use the heavy duty plastic ones that came with my litter lockers (I have 2 of them)....it could be the scoop, because these heavier ones do not break up the clumps much...of course, there is always a bit of fall out...but I can dig right to the concrete ones that are stuck on the sides or bottom for those cts who think they need to dig to China...I turn it over and scrape under them first, then lift them right out...

[slvrwhispr]

Hm... alright. All I know is that the smell is both overwhelming and nauseating. I usually end up with a headache every time I scoop the litter, which of course doesn't make me excited to do it. Maybe I should pony up for the flushable stuff. At least that way it won't be sitting there in the trash can, lid or no lid.

Some of 'em really do like to dig to China, don't they? I can't believe the scratchmarks in the bottom of the box. I put a good 3-4" of litter in there, but she still apparently wants more.

[Tambrey]

I don't think the flushable really costs any more than the regular scoopable...I think I pay $8 or so for a box that lasts a long time since I have made it a habit to scoop every time I am in the bathroom...I am still working on training hubby and son to do the same...so the box stays clean for the most part, I just top it off as necessary, and really only dump and reclean that one once a month or so...the litter just really seems to stay clean...

sometimes I even save whatever litter is in the box, and dump it back in, mixing with fresh, after I clean it...

[Traci]

Izzy likes to pee with her butt right up against the walls of the box, so a lot of the clumps are right up against the wall of the box, making them IMPOSSIBLE to scoop in one piece, which releases all kinds of smell, not to mention drops a bunch of little, unscoopable chunks back into the litter. So within hours of me refreshing all the litter, it smells again.

If you don't scoop all the waste, it's going to start to smell right away. If it's deeper than you scoop, that will be a problem. Also, if there are scratches or cracks in the box, the scent will linger there. Also check the back of the box and underneath it for signs the waste may be behind or under the box.

I don't like Arm&Hammer, it seems to make the box smell even worse than it is. Might check for added ingredients on the box or whatever that resemble fragrances since these too will make it worse. And I agree, the metal scoopers make things much worse than using plastic scoopers.

[Cleo]

I was using Tidy Cats for Small Spaces clumping litter. I found it covered the smells well. Now we're using Tidy Cats scoopable with Tidy Lock Technology. It holds the waste together well and doesn't leave too many of those unscoopable pieces behind.

Here's what it says:

Exclusively for those of you who want a tidy litter box and prefer daily maintenance - Tidy Cats Scoop® is the only brand to offer new Tidy Lock™ Technology! If you like keeping a tidy home, you're going to love this new hard-clumping formula. With Tidy Lock™, moist litter locks together and hardens over time, forming crumble-free† clumps that make everyday scooping a breeze. And, its larger, virtually dust-free litter granules are powerful enough to control odor, even in busy boxes.
With Tidy Lock™ Technology, no smelly pieces are left behind!†

† versus previous Tidy Cats Scoop® formula



And the boxes we use are these covered ones that flip up on a hinge. Very convenient.

[mitykat]

the best kind of cat litter i like and i swear by it is the wood based cat litter it is brilliant it is virtually odourlous and is easy to scoop I dont know where you are based and in which country because i am in england and not sure if you can get it in other countrys I think you should be able to.But as I say it is absoloutly great if you can get it try it.

[Traci]

Cleo, were you happy with the tidycat small spaces stuff? That's what I'm using now, I'm fairly happy with it, save for the tracking