Save 10% off your purchase!!
|  | Home > Contests, Photos & Fun > Pet Articles > Cat Training Tips > Litterbox Maintenance
| Litterbox Maintenance
Maintaining clean litter boxes may be the most important thing (aside from spaying and neutering) you can do to prevent elimination behavior problems in your cat. Cats are notoriously particular about cleanliness and may avoid a litter box that does not meet their standards. Individual cats will vary in how much soil they will tolerate, but it’s safest to keep things as tidy as possible.
Most cats prefer the softer clumping clay litter to the older style with larger particles. Urine and feces should be scooped out of all boxes every day – maybe even twice a day if you have a particularly fussy feline. But if you stick to the rule of one litter box per cat plus one, a once a day scooping should be acceptable. However once a week the boxes should be completely scrubbed out as the ammonia smell from the urine can seep into the plastic tray and offend the kitties. Make sure to use an unscented soap for this if possible. Cats have very sensitive noses, so just because you can’t smell anything doesn’t mean the cat can’t. Cats are particularly bothered by citrus smells, so avoid all citrus products for litter box cleaning.
Every so often, maybe about twice a year, the box should be completely replaced. Other things to avoid are plastic liners for litter boxes – cats don’t like the way they feel on their feet, and litter box covers. The cover may be something that many cats will put up with if the box is keep clean, but if you have a cat that doesn’t reliably use the box, get rid of the cover.
|
|
|
|
