Litterbox, a necessity for cat owners

Necessary tools

• First I have paper towels that I keep in large closed zip lock bags near each litter station. Most cats need two litter boxes per cat. But if you keep them clean you can get by on less.
• I also have baking soda on hand, assorted spray bottles containing various cleaners(diluted liquid lysol is working great for me right now and another good one is kids n pets in a spray bottle)
• Scoops,a cut out jug for disposal
• A supply of tie up kitchen trash bags(tie ups(ties made into each bag) are usually thicker- I don't use the tie usually)
• A kneeling pad
• And a box of litter(I get the 40lb size scoopable for economy) with a can inside for topping off the litter boxes and sometimes I use the capped jugs--easy to pour..

How I clean the litter box every day, planning and procedures

When I clean a litter box, the first thing I try to do is time it right. Before feeding is a good time because they usually go to the litter box after they eat. Late afternoon works for me too because the pets are usually asleep.

The first thing that I do is round up everything that I need. I lay out the kneeling pad and an open trash bag on the grass mat that I have surrounding the litter area. Next I get the cleaning supplies all located and placed nearby.

Once ever few days, I spray each side of the litter box with some sort of low toxicity deodorized cleaner before I scoop them out. I then let that soak in and scoop out the litter box. I roughly scrape off any dried on cat debris with the scoop and fill the bag(1 mil. tie top kitchen trash bag) that is open on the floor.

After I finish each box, I wipe off the previously sprayed on Lysol or other cleaner with paper towels and dispose of them in the bag along with the litter.

I sprinkle baking soda on top when the litter is all clear. I wipe it into the clumping litter with the back of the scoop as I smooth and level the surface of each box.

I then top off each box with a thin to thick layer of new kitty litter from the litter box that is nearby with the can that is inside. I level that off and I am almost done.

When the catch bag for the litter gets to a liftable weight, but not too heavy, I tie the end and place it in a garbage can with a lid for disposal on trash day.

I fill each house trash bag with 1 litter bag on trash day so that each house bag will not be overloaded.

I also recommend having a supply of dust masks in case you don't have a fan running near your litter area like I do. The dust from litter is bad for your health in many ways.

If you use a dust mask it would probably be a real good idea to toss it away each time and get a new one, old dust can cause bacteria to grow in the mask between uses. There are dust masks available in larger packs that are pretty inexpensive(dollar tree).

Keeping the litter box clean and washed will go a long way toward making your pet household a happier place for all concerned.

A new type of litter that I love

I now use for some of my litter boxes, cat pine.

Then the pine sawdust(the nuggets break down into sawdust) can be tossed out in the trash or placed around in the yard(trees and shrubs or on the grass and all watered in).

It makes a delightful ground cover once the urine scent is washed out of it(garden hose initially). It lasts for a long while on the yard and blends into the grass and landscape.

Pine is lightweight once it breaks down into sawdust and makes the litter box easy to clean(pine sawdust leaves no residue). No more strip mined clay for some of my boxes.

My cats have been slow to totally change over to the pine, but most of them will urinate in it and this makes dealing with the the reduced amounts of gooey, heavy, urine soaked kitty clay a lot easier and cleanup a lot easier as well.

I have modified my littermaid units(I have a few of those along with cat boxes) to use pine as well. I offer an ebook for 4.95 for those of you that would like to see how I easily modified two of my littermaids. You might want to try the illustrated ebook along with other tips- included with bonuses- to keep that littermaid running a long time.