Dealing with clumping clay litter

My litter box cleaning involves several issues:

• Scraping moist clay from the base of the pan
• Sifting the clumps from the rest of the litter(clumping type litter)
• Disposal of the clumps
• Cleaning the sides of the litter pan
• Dealing with soiled litter between cleanings
• Deodorizing the litter area

Scraping moist clay from the base of the pan

Moist clay sticks to the pan. The easiest way to remove it is by scraping it. Once it is loose it can be sifted.

Using the standard plastic sifting tools to scrape clay from the litter box, which I have done for years is a mistake. It just results in unnecessary hand and arm strain and damages even the best tools eventually. LItter sifters do a poor job of removing clay because of how they are constructed.

The most useful tools that I have found to remove gunked up clay from the bottom of a litter pan are the following:

• Long handled trowel(spade)
• Putty knife
• Ice scraper
• BBQ Grill metal spatula

Any of these will scrape off the wet clay from the bottom of the litter pan. This reduces a lot of the scraping issues that arise when a person tries to scrape wet clay with a blunt edged flexible sifting tool.

A garden spade has become my tool of choice for step 1 of cleaning litter boxes, and 2nd is a putty knife. Once the litter box bottoms are all scraped then it is time to sift the urine soaked clay clumps and feces from the litter box litter.

Sifting the clumps

I use both short and longer sifting tools to clean up the clay clumps in a litter pan.

I find that it is quicker and easier to tap a clump/loose litter filled sifting tool gently on the side of the litter pan to sift out the loose litter from the clumps.

For clump disposal, I use a white .95 mil kitchen size trash bag. I tend to avoid the "strong stretch" ones that seem to run in the .69 mil thickness range, these tend to tear easily after being filled. I then pack the clump filled bag in my regular trash for carry out.

The litter filled bag works so much better than just dumping the litter directly into the trash. Cat litter is smelly and a separate bag for the clumps etc. helps to some degree to minimize the odor issues.

Another option is outdoor burial, but remember, clay is very dense and it needs to be relatively sparsely buried because the ground/critters take time to absorb and process it. Also if it is too concentrated in one area, it can overwhelm any plants nearby and cause leaf burn or even plant death.

I might suggest that a person bury litter near, but not too near shrubs etc. because the urine can be toxic if too concentrated, and it can kill or burn leaves of plants if not placed some distance away and loosely buried.

Urine soaked clay will increase plant growth, however a person can use too much too closely to plants. A good rule of thumb is to treat cat litter like you would treat cow manure or commercial fertilizer. Do not over apply it too near to plants or they can die or suffer leaf burn.

Meanwhile back at the litter pan, there may develop various stains etc. on the sides of the pan, these need cleaning. Also the bottom of the pan may develop urine odor. Dumping out the pan and taking it outside for cleaning is one way to deal with the problem, however I have a better way.

For my ongoing maintenance of the litter pan, I use a side cleaning kit. This consists of a cut jug(cut some of the top out for your hand(smooth oval cut), but leave the handle, makes a great disposable, water carrying item). I have a utility brush with a handle for scrubbing, along with a roll of paper towels.

I currently use either one of the colored pine sol solutions(watered down), or kids n pets. Either works well for me. I have also used glass cleaner on occasion.

Cleaning the sides consists of three steps, soak, scrub, and wipe.

I deal with one box at a time, in order to reduce possibility of a cat stepping on a soaked pan. I apply solution to all of the sides and let it soak while I clean and sift the litter. The putty knife is a great tool to use on dried areas. The wet brush softens most of the build up after a minute or so.

The brush will have clay build up and can be washed off outside with a hand sprayer. I would not recommend pouring any water with clay in it down any sort of drains, it will clog pipes.

After the sides are initially cleaned, paper towels are used to wipe the sides dry. I tend to "top up" my litter pan after cleaning the sides, again to minimize any exposure of a cats foot to any cleaning solution that may have run down into the litter.

Baking soda may also be added to sifted cat litter to help contain urine odors. It may be placed in the bottom of the pan before filling as well.

1-2 Punch for Viral, Bacterial, Fungal PATHOGENS No-risk Offer!Free Shipping!

Topping up cat litter

Topping up cat litter involves putting a thin layer of fresh litter on top of existing slightly soiled litter. This cuts down on urine or other odor issues. I keep a box of litter with a can inside of it nearby for topping up the litter boxes. The pouring containers are great for this as well.

Deodorizing the litter area

Most brands of clay cat litter offer some odor control. Additives exist that may be added to help with the urine odor issues. However, when clumping cat litter gets saturated and turns darker gray and gets smelly, it is best to dispose of all of it and refill the box.

This can take days to weeks, depending on the number of cats a person has. The clumping clay litter will still clump, but needs to be disposed of due to odor issues that build up.

Clumping clay, saving time and effort makes a difference

All in all, clumping clay litter will always be with us, and intelligently dealing with management issues will help both the pet owner and the pet to lead more meaningful, quality lives.