Cat Litter, Boxes and Care

by: Em
(Knoxville, TN)

Our cat is using the clay type litter now and he tracks the clay pellets everywhere.

I brought a box of feline pine clumping and I am not sure how to make the switch. Please help.

Reply:

Hi Em,

We love Feline Pine at our house! We are fortunate that our cats are very laid back. We washed out the litter boxes and made the switch in a day. They took right to it.

You could try that, or you could try layering a little pine on top of the clay before you switch completely.

Or, you could have a box of each available. If he likes the pine, it is easy to remove the other. If he still goes to the clay you could gradually put less and less in the box so he might prefer to go to the fuller box, the pine one.

Hope it goes well!

~Carrie

Feline Pine
by: Helen
When I changed to Feline Pine, I only rinsed out the box and dried it with a paper towel. I wanted to leave some odor in it so they would realize it was the litter box despite the different texture. The Pine pellets can be thrown out with aggressive scratching, but are easily swept up. Just don't step on them with bare feet..............it hurts. HeHeHe

cat litter
by: theresa
I was given a main coon cat several months ago that would not come out from under the couch because he was abused twice in two different household. The cat came out and found his place in the household. He went from abuse to being very spoiled he is loving us and we love him. The one thing I hate is cat boxes. Can't stand them and can't stand cleaning them out that I bought the kitty potty to teach last chance to use the toliet. I rather have thag than a cat box. Last chance turned out 2 be a very smart cat and pretty sure he will pick up, especially he already has an interest in the toliet. Have not started the training yet because a stray cat had kittens in my yard. I got rid of all and kept one little guh. Waiting for him to get older 2 train. I don't want to have a box 4 the little guy and training for lc because he would get confused. I say if this works get rid of the litter, the mess, smell and expense.

Feline Pine
by: Em
I tried it last night with a thin layer of Feline Pine on top of this old litter. He went to it straight away. I noticed that it is very little and when I changed it out this weekend. What can I mix it with to hold it down. I understand that the pellet hurts when you step on it, that's why I am doing away with the clay. Any suggestions!

Cedarific
by: Gail (Quincy, MA, USA)
I like Cedarific - it's fine cedar chips that smell nice; however, it does make a mess. I have an extra-large litter box with a litter box liner inside, then I fill it with the litter. If you place a catch mat outside the box (mine's in the bath, under the sink), it's pretty easy to clean up. When I introduced my Abby (formerly from our shelter) to the soft litter, no intro was needed. She just jumped in and did her business. Quite a change from the pellet type the shelter uses.

I hate those pellet litters. We use them at the shelter, but it's for sanitary reasons more than anything else.

Feline Pine
by: Jessy
I had a clay-type scoopable litter with bits of cedar-fresh something-or-other in it that has since been discontinued. I also offered Feline Pine for those kitties that preferred it.

Since (1) I am getting too old to struggle with heavy clay litter and (2) my old brand has been discontinued, I am switching over entirely to Feline Pine. We have two new kittens and they are perfectly happy to use it. However, it is harder to clean than the clumping clay kind and my daughter complains that the poop smells stronger.

Litter vs Poop Factor
by: Gail (Quincy, MA, USA)
How's that for a title, eh? I found that changing my Abby's food greatly improved the poop stink factor.

On advice from a certified Coon cat breeder, I changed Abby's dry food to Orijen - very expensive ($23-25 for 5-lb bag/$45+/- for 10-lb.), but it is the best food on the market.

No grains (cats don't need it; it's only filler), no by-products (ground up animals, animal parts & waste, including dead cats, horses, etc.) and it's all organic. It meets/exceeds a cat's food requirements; therefore, cats eat less to be satisfied.

She also gets 1-tbl. Newman's Own "grain-free" wet (they only make 3 flavors grain-free: Organic Beef, Organic Beef/Liver, Organic Liver). She loves it & only eats what's in her bowl of wet & her dry lasts all day/night; she gets 1/4 cup per feeding, twice daily.

Since then, her poops have gotten smaller, she's regular and they don't stink as bad as when she was on the junk bought at the supermarket. All in all, we've got a very happy cat & in the end, it really is economical because the food lasts 2-3 times longer

Potty Problem

I have a Maine Coon cat of 1 1/2 yrs old from feral parents that I still feed. There was a litter of 4 and she was the one that Momma kept and I raised the rest but captured her at 4 weeks old.

She would poop under the couch and bed but has since stopped that and uses the boxes but still urinates on rugs, beds spreads and such but not all the time.

She will use the box to poop but not always to urinate. Missy is healthy so could this just being lazy? She too is very vocal at all times of the day for no reason and that is when I sometimes pick her up and take her to the boxes and she usually goes to the bathroom.

Her sister Cuddles has alot of the traits of the Maine coon in her also but we have no issue with her. Any ideas oher than medicine for her behavior. I also have a 8 and 3 yr old male cat but they all seem to het along fairly well.

Thanks
Marla Ungethuem

Reply:

Hi Marla,

It is fairly common, when a cat isn't taught proper litter box etiquette by their momma, that they have "issues" as adults.

When I was a young girl, a neighbor gave me a kitten at exactly 4 weeks old. I so wish they had kept her longer! We had trouble, always.

You're story is defferent, as the parents are feral. It's great that you were able to domesticate the kittens!

As for the behavior itself, I think she just doesn't "get it." And, my area is more about Maine Coon cat breed traits, quirks and behaviors. What you need is a cat behavior expert.

For specific cat training (especially litter box problems) I would point you to a very popular E-Book all about cat behavior, understanding behavior problems and how cats think. If you are interested, you can Click Here to read more about it.

I hope the potty troubles get better!
All The Best,
Carrie

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