There is nothing I despise more than cleaning the litter box. Even when you dump it, there is still litter stuck to the bottom that you have to scrape out, and it stinks to all high heaven. Well, here's a way to keep the stink off and save yourself the trouble.
Line your littermaid plastic bins with grocery plastic bags. This keeps the waste bins from becoming soiled and they won't have to be replaced as often. Simply lift out the grocery bag each day and replace the bins when cracked.
To keep clumping kitty litter from sticking to the bottom of the pan, spray it with non-stick cooking spray before adding the litter. It works like a charm!!
Having had cats, and litter boxes, all my life I've tried every combination of things to make cleaning out the litter box quick, clean and easy.
Save the can that coffee came in and the lid. When empty, use the can to put dirty cat litter in, the kind that lumps and put the lid on top. This will keep the odor at bay and can be used several times.
You can recycle even when cleaning up after your kitties! I was scooping the cat litter into plastic bags each day, thinking I was recycling the bags, but duh! They still sit in the landfill, not breaking down.
I have 10 cat litter boxes for our "always full" cat shelter. Over the years we have learned several things to keep the litter costs down, keep things clean, and we make our own litter boxes for some of our big cats.
Insert a clean empty litter box into a large plastic trash bag. It should fit in the bag loosely. Dump the kitty litter into the the box. Using the bread tie twisters or other type plastic twisters, close the bag.
When cleaning cat boxes, the ammonia smell lingers. Although ammonia is a weak base, it can also be a weak acid. My solution was to reduce the acidity by putting a small layer of wood ash from my fireplace in the bottom of the cat box, then add the litter.
Litter boxes can get smelly and dirty very quickly, especially if you have multiple cats. Here are a few tips to keep your litter box clean and smelling fresh:
With this system you use clumping litter and every other day lift out the layer on top and it sifts the good litter down for the next day. Then just throw away the layer with the soiled litter.
I have found that Scoop Away is by far the best clumping litter. Sometimes my cats get lazy and don't cover their "product," and Scoop Away leeches the odor very well; likewise, for the urine.
Hard clumping litter makes it easier to notice when you need to fork out the clumps. Plus having an automatic battery operated air spray freshener nearby helps.
Is 20 Mule Team safe to use in a litter box?
By Ruth from NY
I would say no. I use a lot of Borax and love it for urine odors in the wash. However in powdered form it can migrate to eyes, mouthes etc. When wet it changes chemically (boric acid) which can be dangerous. Either of those three could cause illness in a cat (or human).
I would say no also. Putting it in the litterbox allows the powder to be stirred up into the eyes & respiratory tract. Also, it gets on the paws & the cat licks it off & swallows it - would be like feeding it directly to the animal.
If you use the clumping type litter and change it frequently, there should be no smell and you will not need to use Borax.
Check the litterbox for solids every time you use the bathroom. You were going to wash your hands anyway.
How do you keep the cat pee smell out of the litter box? It is cleaned every day. I have put baking soda in the box and nothing helps. I have tried different brands of litter.
By JB
More than likely your cat has got into the habit of splashing over onto the floor or wall around the litter box. The tray may not be long enough or deep enough for the size of the cat. (Or he/she is deliberately doing the splash-over to tell you the tray is not satisfactory to him/her for whatever reason. Cats are funny, ours wants his tray cleaned after EVERY use and if we don't, he piddles off the edge)
Use a half-half mix water and distilled white vinegar to thoroughly wipe down the area around and under the tray.
Replace the tray with something longer and deeper, and you might want to consider placing a protective mat underneath. We use an old car mat we can hose off at the same time we hose the tray when changing out the litter completely.
We have a large and long neutered Siamese-Abyssinian who taught us the above:) He still splashes over on occasion if we aren't as quick as he likes to clean his tray, but since changing the tray to a deeper, longer one, and since placing the mat under it, we have an odor free home.
