Cat Litter

**mombottoo** · 03-23-2008, 02:53 PM

The cost of cat litter is killing me!!! We go through 28 lbs a week and we use the scoopable kind...any suggestions on how we can stretch it to make it last a little longer? I generally change it every other day and scoop it on the off day (adding a little clean litter after it's been scooped).

If you use scoopable cat litter how often do you dump the box and start out with fresh litter?

**goat21** · 03-23-2008, 03:08 PM

I use chicken food. "Layer crumble" and a 50-pound bag costs a little over $10.00. It's not "clumpable" (sp?) but it is biodegradable. There is also no odor control but I buy baking soda in 50-pound bags (also from the feed store) and add some of that to each box.

No dust and my cats had no problem when I started using it.

Janis

**Marie78** · 03-23-2008, 03:48 PM

We have two cats and one litter box. I scoop each day. I don't use a plastic liner in the litter pan(I find that to be a waste of money). When I scoop I use a small child's sand shovel to remove the stuck on moist clumps from the bottom or the side of the litter pan. I also use a slotted cat scoop to remove the solid clumps. This seems to help eliminate the amount of wasted litter. When the moist litter is removed the litter doesn't smell as bad. After I scoop I add just a little clean litter back into the pan. I never fill the pan more than half full and I use a large sized litter pan, not an extra large litter pan.

It takes 3 months for my two cats to go through an $8 (40 pound box) of store brand cat litter, I shop at Wegman's and it's the best scoopable brand I have found for the price and the amount. That's only $32 a year on litter and that makes me happy

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Once a month I allow the litter to get down to an inch or so on the bottom of the litter pan, then I dump that out and I wash out the litter pan. I use hot soapy water in the bathtub along with a scrubby and I scrub the litter pan and both the shovel and slotted litter scoop. I dry everything with an old rag towel and then fill the litter pan half way with clean litter and start the month over. I think the cats really appreciate having a clean litter box once a month. I comet the bathtub really well after I clean the cat box in it. I hope some of these suggestions help

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**Missourimom** · 03-23-2008, 05:50 PM

Originally Posted by mombottoo

We go through 28 lbs a week

I'm just curious, how many cats do you have?

**mombottoo** · 03-23-2008, 08:31 PM

Originally Posted by Missourimom

I'm just curious, how many cats do you have?

We have two and from Marie78's suggestions I would guess I'm probably changing my cats' box more often than it is apparently necessary to do. Generally, by the time any cats we have owned are the ages of the 2 we have they have already been trained to go outside...hence no cat box needed. But, after the way our last cat died there is no way either of these cats is going to see outside, much less use it for a toilet...so we are stuck with cat box.

Back in the day (& I do mean years ago) I just used sand, but that's not an option now because I don't want to deal with the amount of extra work it takes.

**Mom23boys** · 03-23-2008, 09:13 PM

I have recently stopped buying cat litter and started shredded our daily newspaper. Our cat is just as content as he was before. I layer it with one whole section of the paper and then shred the rest. Since we get the daily paper, I can change it often.

**Neeley** · 03-23-2008, 09:42 PM

DS is the one who is responsible for cleaning the litter box. He scoops it every couple of days and completely empties it every Friday afternoon. We go through 5 lbs a week on average.

**MirandaK** · 03-24-2008, 09:05 AM

oh man...we don't empty ours very often but we scoop all 3 boxes every day.

Have you seen the new crystal litter in teh stores? There are 2 brands at my Kroger. 1 bag, 1 cat, 1 month. You only scoop out the solid waste. The urine turns the crystals yellow and you just mix it up with the scoop. It's awesome. It's 12 bucks for a bag and we have converted 2 of our 3 litterboxes to it. It took the cats soem time to adjust during which we used 1/2 crystals and 1/2 clumping but now they are all using the crystals. Might wanna try that.

**mombottoo** · 03-25-2008, 06:18 PM

Well it's day 3 on the litter and the cats don't seem to mind that it isn't fresh...I have decided to sift every day, add a scoop of fresh and see if I can't stretch it for 2 weeks before I start with completely fresh.

I might give the crystals a try, but we have a cat who is really sensitive to some things...so much so that his hair falls out & he ends up getting a skin infection...which last time cost me $130 at the vets...

**Marie78** · 03-25-2008, 08:49 PM

My youngest cat stayed the night at my mom's last year and she only uses the crystal cat litter. He didn't understand what it was and I guess he pooped on the floor next to the litter box and then tried to cover the pile with the scatter rug. I won't be buying this kind anytime soon, I don't need him doing that here

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**jamie79** · 03-26-2008, 06:44 AM

My cats are not fans of the crystal stuff either. I have 4 cats, scoop their litter everyday, add more as needed and wash their boxes out once a month. Never an issue

**YankeeMom** · 03-26-2008, 07:55 AM

My cats will ONLY use Fresh Step. I buy the big plastic tubs. I can usually get them for under $10. We go through about 2-3 per month.

We have 3 cats. The litter boxes get scooped at least 3x/week. I'd like it done every day, but we don't always have time. A full out dump & refill with all fresh is done once a month...or sooner if it gets nasty.

**MirandaK** · 03-26-2008, 11:05 AM

To transition cats to new litter it is reccommended that you go 1/2 and 1/2 the first time. Add some new litter to the old stuff, and i mean old stuff...stuff that's been sifted but that isnt' right out of the box so it will have some residual odor that the cat will recognize. The same with switching to crystals. We did a few weeks of 1/2 crystals 1/2 old litter. Usually, if you do that, they transition okay.

**magaka** · 03-26-2008, 02:05 PM

I clean ours out with the scooper, and just add new when needed, and then actually dump it and clean it out a few times a year. Really with the scoopable I think it was made so you did not have to dump it out as much?

IF you can get your cat to change over (and I have had no luck-at nearly 15 years old, she is NOT going to let me have my way!!) you can buy wood stove pellets for the litter boxes. I learned of this because ferrets CANNOT use a clay or scoopable litter AT ALL. So when we got the first ferret that we had, I went to pick him up and the woman asked me what litter I was using. (HE was a rescue so I figured she was trying to make sure I knew what I was doing.) So I told her that I had bought Feline Pine and she said not to waste my money again-to get wood stove pellets. It works JUST LIKE FELINE PINE for a FRACTION of the cost! You still scoop out the solids-the difference is that the liquids turn the pellets into sawdust. Once it is mostly sawdust you simply dump out and start over. She is actually a ferret breeder and that is all she has used for years, and she also had her cats using it-so I know it will work.

Anyway, I just bought enough for the ferrets to last about a year and a half (always try to get extra-I bought 2 bags) and it was $4.50 something a bag-so for 50 pounds of litter. When I went to get it the manager told me that they have LOTS of people use this for cats, ferrets, hamsters and even bedding for dogs, although I do not see how that would work?!

Anyway, just a thought!!

**quiltergirl2** · 03-30-2008, 07:35 AM

I bought kitty litter last night and relized I hadn't mentioned this here.

I have been trying to reduce the number of products I buy packaged in plastic. Kitty litter is a big one -- you can only use so many of those plastic buckets. And we do seem to pay more for them. I have found litter in a 40 lb. carboard box that runs between $8-$10 dollars. This litter is in a large plastic bag inside the box but...

I have also found scoopable litter in a paper bag like the old fashioned clay litter. But you have to be very careful to make sure you are getting scoopable. I can only get it at one store here -- it is their store brand. It is also less expensive, but I can't remember price right now.

I kept one plastic bucket and refill it from my box or bag.

I scoop every day (sometimes more than once) and clean the box/start over once a week. But my kitty is hyperthyroid. Even on meds she creates lakes in the litter box.