Litter Cleaning Tip — The No Lifting, No Dumping, No Scrubbing Method (Note: for residential multi-cat owners. Not for kennels or shelters where routine disinfecting of litter pans is required to prevent the spread of disease.) Scooping out the litter box is something we cat lovers have to do on a regular basis. It's a nasty job, but a small price to pay for the joy our furry friends offer us. However, just because we love cats doesn't mean we have to love all the scooping or the odor that is usually the result of a dirty litter box. Making a Nasty Job Less Nasty We've tried all the techniques for reducing odor and making the job easier. We've experimented with sifting trays, liners, mechanical litter boxes — you name it, we've tried it! But when it comes to multiple cats (we currently have six) we think we have settled on the best approach which simply requires:
Use a Bigger Pan The key to the no-dumping approach is to use a large litter pan that can accommodate a depth of five or six inches of litter without filling it to the brim. By using a large, deep pan, liquid waste never gets to the bottom because it is always trapped in the litter and scattering is also prevented. We have found that the ideal pan for this purpose is actually a plastic concrete mixing pan. You can get them at Home Depot or other hardware stores in the building materials department for less than what a cat litter box costs at the pet store! These pans are really heavy duty and come in large and extra large. We have one of each with an extra large one under our basement stairs (36" long X 24" wide X 8" deep). Put an End to Lifting, Dumping and Scrubbing If you use a big pan filled with good quality clumping litter (we like the crystal blends) and you're relatively consistent with scooping, you NEVER have to lift up the litter pan, dump it out or scrub it. Just scoop out the soiled litter, discard, and add clean litter as needed. Period. The clean litter keeps the pan dry and dehydrates any bacteria or mold that would otherwise create odor and require scrubbing. You can now put an end to all that hassle — even in a house with multiple cats. Industrial Strength Litter Box Cleaning Requires the DuraScoop! The DuraScoop makes it easy to really get to the bottom of things, even in a deep pan with six inches of litter. And even if your pan gets really dirty, the DuraScoop can scrape it all out very easily and you can still avoid lifting and dumping (and getting soiled litter all over your floor). It's an industrial-strength solution for an industrial strength amount of kitty waste. You're Happy and So Are Your Cats We have found that the bigger pans are great for our cats, since they provide lots of open space and clean litter which never gets saturated. It's also great for us since we have only two pans to clean instead of a lot of little ones. And we don't have to scoop the pans out as often. Another benefit is not having half-empty bags or buckets of cat litter sitting around since the larger pans hold an entire 40 lb. bag or more. Life Is Easier Seriously, even with six cats, week after week, month after month, we just scoop out the dirty stuff and add clean litter. Even if we forget and skip a day or two, or even the better part of a week — no problem. Scoopable Litter and Your Cat's Health — The Real Story We know there have been some rumors on the Internet about the possible negative health impact of scoopable clay litters on cats and kittens. As far as we are concerned, this is unproven and has been perpetuated out of fear over fact. Clumping litter has been on the market since 1993 and we have not experienced one health problem in all of these years with any of our numerous pets, including kittens and seniors. And our vet has never seen any problems caused by clumping litter either. (See our page on this subject.) Regardless of the litter you use, the DuraScoop works great with all of them! Happy Scooping! |