How long between litter changes?

[cruisetime]

How long do you go before you replace the litter all together? I clean it out each day of stuff she has done and put a little fresh stuff in every other day. How long before I should change the whole litter? Thank you, Debbie

[jazzcat]

I'm kind of bad about doing the complete litter change regularly. I scoop the boxes daily but I'm lucky if I competely clean every couple of months. When I do I dump out the litter and clean the boxes with Mr. Clean and water and then set them in the sun to dry and air out. If I had the litter boxes in the house I would probably do it more often but they are out in a room in the garage and my cats access them with a pet door.

Here's a picture of the kitty's private potty.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v110/jazzcat99/potty.jpg

We just bought new vinyl to put down in there since the old stuff is cracking and breaking off. I have to laugh because once we do that the cat's litterbox room will have a newer floor than my kitchen, LOL!

[cruisetime]

That is a great idea! Sometimes I wish I had a bigger house...... Oh well. She is going in the spare bathroom which is also my hubby's bathroom or a guest bath and she is soooo stinky! It will be worse when we have her in the RV - talk about small - when staying on the land on weekends - we will try her out traveling this weekend. Funny what you said about the floor - we are finally talking seriously about new carpet - it is so worn out and you can really tell when paying so much attention to the cat - closer to the carpet... :) haha Debbie

[Pickle]

Hi there

I scoop out daily and change the lit over about every 7-10 days. Every couple of changes I wash the tray with v.hot water.

Lisa

[mina'smomma]

I change Mina's litter every Saturday. I wash the litter box every other week with some dish soap and hot water and then use a clean towel to dry it.

I do, however, scoop it out everyday.

[lizzielou742]

I completely dump out all the litter, rinse and bleach out the boxes, and set them in the sun to dry every 5 or 6 weeks or so. I can't afford to completely change them out any more often than that - It's a lot of litter!! But that's OK because the kitties don't seem to be bothered with it, and as long as I scoop everyday, there is no smell or anything.

[nibblets]

I use the clumping litter and scoop at least once a day. Then about every couple of months I do a complete changeout of litter and wash the pan really well.
Again, on the litter issue, having one cat makes it less neccesary to add extra deodorizer (what is already in the fresh step is sufficient) and changeout of the litter.

[DJFyrewolf36]

Wow, I scoop every day and get fresh litter about every other week or so. ( Remus is PICKY!)

[Traice]

I scoop once a day, and do a complete change every 2-3 weeks.

[Sirrahsim]

:eek: :eek: I only scoop once or twice a week. I keep a VERY deep litter box (like 6 or 7 inches) and Boomer doesn't mind, so it works for me:) Less scooping is better for me at the moment because I'm pregnant and have to get all geared up with surgical mask and surgical gloves:rolleyes: I completely clean out the litter box and scrub it with dish soap every 6 weeks or so:)

[sirrahbed]

:o I rarely do a complete change. In the past year - maybe 3 or 4 times? I use Fresh Step and Scoop several times per day and honestly - I do not think there is any smell! Anything "deposited" is removed. The few times I did a complete change was when I was running low on litter anyway so figure why not? Then, I scrub the boxes with scouring powder plus bleach and rinse really well.

This has been with three cats and three boxes. Now I have five cats and three boxes but one of the boxes is HUGE (my sandy beach) and holds 21 pounds of litter replaced three of my extra large boxes - it is the size of a footlocker:rolleyes: It is a plastic storage box that is something a person might store bedding or blankets in and is very tall - sure has cut out the piles of litter on the floor:D

[sirrahbed]

Originally posted by Sirrahsim
because I'm pregnant and have to get all geared up with surgical mask and surgical gloves:rolleyes:

Are you serious??:(

[Tina]

Originally posted by Sirrahsim
I'm pregnant and have to get all geared up with surgical mask and surgical gloves:rolleyes:

I was told to stay away from litter when I was pregnant. My doctor said it was best for my husband or someone else to change the litter.

I scoop maybe every 2 days:o and do a complete change every 1 or 2 weeks.

[Jods]

scoop every third day complete change once a week...

[Tonya]

I scoop about every 2 days. I change the litter every 10 days or so...whenever it starts smelling. I bleach it out and clean it real good about once every 2-3 months.

[chrangharris]

Originally posted by Sirrahsim
:eek: :eek: I only scoop once or twice a week. I keep a VERY deep litter box (like 6 or 7 inches) and Boomer doesn't mind, so it works for me:) Less scooping is better for me at the moment because I'm pregnant and have to get all geared up with surgical mask and surgical gloves:rolleyes: I completely clean out the litter box and scrub it with dish soap every 6 weeks or so:)

HOW DARE YOU EVEN GO NEAR THAT CAT BOX! YOU NEED TO TALK TO PAUL AND HAVE HIM DO THIS WHILE YOU ARE PREGANT! THE RESULTS OF TOXOPLASMOSIS IS TO SERIOUS TO EVEN RISK IT- MISHA AND I GOT VERY VERY VERY LUCKY TO NOT HAVE ANYTHING HAPPEN TO MISHA! IT CAN BE AS SERIOUS AS DEATH! I DON'T CARE ABOUT PAUL'S ALLERGIES- THE LIFE OF YOUR BABY IS MORE IMPORTANT THEN PAUL'S ALLERGIES- HE WILL JUST HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT FOR A FEW MONTHS!!!!

[Sirrahsim]

first off, Relax. I'm not even going to bother arguing with you

[wolfsoul]

I scoop the litter once a day, and completely change the litter and clean out the pan a few times a week. :) It's probably my least favourite job. Caleb has REALLY stinky poops. :o

[chrangharris]

Originally posted by Sirrahsim
first off, Relax. I'm not even going to bother arguing with you


I'm sorry if that upset you. I went through 9 months of Dr's running extra tests and telling me there was a decent chance that there would be things wrong with my baby because of toxo. We were talking serious physical deformities and mental deformities. It is something that is very easy to take precautions on for some peace of mind- the safest is to not even touch the cat box.

[Sirrahsim]

I've spoken with the vet, I've spoken with the Doc, I use mask and gloves EVERY TIME. I've lived with cats all me life:) It probably isn't even medically necessary for me to use mask and gloves, but I do as an added precaution. Remember, you are more likely to get toxo from handling raw meat and unwashed veggies than you are than from scooping the kitty litter (assuming you don't eat the lil tootsie rolls or anything)
Thanks for your concern:)

I'm sorry Cruisetime, I didn't mean to indirectly lead to a thread high jacking :( :)

[kt_luvs_kitties]

I scoop a few times daily, but I have to completely change the litter boxes every week. We have 5 pans and 8 cats between my mom and I. I clean with hot water and dish soap. Sometimes I will let it go 2 weeks, but then I regret it when the time comes:D

[shais_mom]

I am not very diligent about scooping, so I change the box completely every week. I use dish soap and hot water and scrub it with a brush. B/c I am not good about scooping, the clumping litter gets clumped on the bottom of the box. Sometime I spray non stick cooking spray or lately I have been spraying Lysol on the bottom of the box as a precaution to kill germs. Just something I started doing, not sure why. :confused:
I just filled a new litter box that is a sifting box. So we shall see how that works. I really wanted the box that rolls and all the clumps go to a little resevoir that you just throw away, but PSP doesn't have any.

[chrangharris]

Originally posted by Sirrahsim
I've spoken with the vet, I've spoken with the Doc, I use mask and gloves EVERY TIME. I've lived with cats all me life:) It probably isn't even medically necessary for me to use mask and gloves, but I do as an added precaution. Remember, you are more likely to get toxo from handling raw meat and unwashed veggies than you are than from scooping the kitty litter (assuming you don't eat the lil tootsie rolls or anything)
Thanks for your concern:)

I'm sorry Cruisetime, I didn't mean to indirectly lead to a thread high jacking :( :)

I've also lived with cats all my life. Bryan wouldn't let me go near the cat box since we got married- over 1 1/2 years before we got pregant. All of my meat was cooked and my vegetables washed. My hands were scrubbed after handling any meat. Unless I started eating tootsie rolls in my sleep, there is no explaination on how I got it. My point is, you can never be to careful.

[catnapper]

I honestly have no idea how often.... when they really need it. That could be a few months, that could be just a month. Depends on how much usage a particular box gets.

I scoop daily (been twice daily lately) and use the clumping litter. I add to it every so often and then stir the new stuff in to mix with the old.

Allen is VERY picky about his litter so I make sure the level is high enough to his standards and that its clean and odor-free enough. What I wouldn't do for a cat that didn't act like a pee clump in his box was the end of the world! :D

[catmandu]

I scoop,twice,a day,let the litter run low,and then change,and scour,once,every two weeks!

[cruisetime]

chrangharris - no worries - I understand both your concern and her taking precautions. I just got a cat 10 days ago and have been on here for the last two weeks after paying for her at the the shelter - I had to wait the weekend before I could pick her up. Anyway - I'm learning a lot and didn't even know that a pregnant woman could have problems from changing the cat litter.

Thank you all for responding. My new kitty is very stinky! I tried the clay litter first and that lasted only 2 days and I changed he whole box. Tried Fresh Step clumping after reading that that is what most of you use. I bought the Cedar one and that may have been my mistake but it doesn't help the smell at all.... So I just bought the Arm & Hammer that some of you said you used to try it. (it was on sale) I scoop it out everyday (I missed a day but everyone survived) :) and I wasn't sure if I should dump the whole thing once a week or not. It seems like a waste as everything is still good since it was all scooped out each day. And I add to it each day a little fresh to make up for what I scoop out (and try to help with smell). After reading everyone's posts I realise I'm not hurting my kitty to change the complete box every 10 days or so - I was afraid of neglecting kitty but litter is soooooo expensive! Thank you all! :) Debbie

[chrangharris]

Debbie- Glad you found some answers!!! Cat litter does get so expensive- especially if you have more than one cat! Cats are so worth it though!

[catnapper]

If your kitty is so stinky, it might also be the food you are feeding him. My Allen has such a stinky mess... woah! Clear the room stink at times! :D But we switched to Nutro Natural (A bit expensive but so worth it!) It is made with natural quality ingredients - and no corn. It has made such a difference in the odors coming from the box... amazing. My Sister-in-law thanks me every time I see her for telling her about it. Now she swears by it too!