Question for Jen and others with multi-cat households

[Kirsten]

I'm just curious! How long does it take you every day to clean the litter boxes?

Would be interesting to know because since I have two cats, I'm now spending so much more time doing this every day, and I never would have thought that one cat more or less would make such a difference! LOL

Since my Luna is very finicky when it comes to the litter box business, I have three boxes and I'm cleaning them at least twice a day. And when they poop while I'm at home, I'm removing this immediately. Sometimes there are days I seem to do nothing else but cleaning my girls' boxes, and I would really like to know how this works in multi-cat households!

Kirsten

[slick]

I only have 2 cats and 2 litterboxes. Because I work fulltime, I scoop in the morning and the evening, and like you, if they poop when I'm there, I scoop immediately. For me it's great.
Once a week the boxes are emptied, washed and refilled.
What I find time-consuming is scrubbing the rug after a puke or after Speckles scoots. I seem to be spot cleaning every day. Last night I got home and Max had the runs so I not only had to give him a butt bath but also spend time cleaning the rug. He's not sick, he just gets like that sometimes and it goes away after a day.

[RedHedd]

Ditto what Slick said. Scoop two boxes twice a day (if I remember) Clean/change the litter boxes once a week. I know all cats are different. My two seem fine with this arrangement. Doesn't take me that long - scooping takes less than 5 minutes a day; the cleaning/changing thing takes about 15-20 minutes once a week. The vacuuming every other day is another story .... Oh well, I love my little poopies!

[catnapper]

Gosh, I seem to have it easy... I scoop the box once daily. The one in the basement can go for two days before I scoop it because its much larger.

I thought Allen was picky because he made me scoop it once a day. I am humbled.

I thank God Pouncer doesn't care one bit if the box is overloaded. He's funny though because he watches me scoop the one box and then runs downstairs to watch the other box.. then in the middle of it, he jumps in and makes me wait so that he can do his business for me to pick up.

[Fuzzy317]

We have four cats, and three litter boxes (we only recently added the third box). I clean the litter boxes once per day. We use Tidy Cat Scoopable litter.

[jenluckenbach]

The boxes are scooped in the morning and in the evening. I never scoop in between. if it is particularly stinky it usually means it is not covered. I shift the litter so it is. Usually works. (hee hee)
We have 18 boxes. I use scoopable litter but really don't dump it as often as most people.
A round of scooping probably only takes about 5 to 10 minutes depending on whether I need to add litter to the boxes or not. But when it comes time to scrub the boxes, it is a big chore. (lots of stair climbing).

[K & L]

We change the litter daily. We have the type of litter boxes that have 3 levels that you sift (much easier and faster than scooping). When it's time for scrubbing we have a large plastic tub we bought at Home Depot. We fill it with bleach water and soak several litter boxes at one time. Then we rinse with the hose and let air dry. This takes about 15 minutes doing it this way, plus the bleach helps sterilize things. My husband does the litter and I do the feeding.

[leslie flenner]

5 minutes am and pm. I have one box and 9 cats.
#1 litter is Walmart's scoopable. In 28lb box, Special Kitty is only 6 bucks and lasts my 9 over a week. Consumer reports gave it raves a few years back (said it was best on market) and Walmart is out of it most of the time because it is the choice of multi-cat homes- esp. those who foster great numbers and the shelters- they wipe out the stock the same day it comes in!
My friend does extensive rescue work spends at minimum about an hour a day- once, in the evening. But that also includes cage cleaning, food, and medication. She washes when she has time! Obviously cage boxes are washed frequently while home floor cats can go a while.
Like Jen- if it stinks, it's cuz someone neglected to cover! I always call out- "Go back and cover that!" But mostly I end up doing that!

[kimlovescats]

My husband does potty patrol at my house too. (I'm lucky, I know this)

Anyway, he scoops first thing when he gets home each morning before he showers, and he does a complete "dump" each Friday. I'm sure they could stand to be scooped more often, but we deal with it. Also, I do try to feed premium food most of the time, so that helps hold down on the quantity of poops!

[IttyBittyKitty]

Originally posted by jenluckenbach

We have 18 boxes.

GOOD LORD!!!!!!!!!

[leslie flenner]

My friend as mentioned above, has at least 11 floor boxes and then there's all the cage boxes. That can fluctuate between 4 or 5 up to lots more in kitten season! What sucks is when they have diareah or when it's a cat who wants to take extra care to cover to the point that they scoop out all the litter out of the box with the poop and all then tip over the box and lie in it!

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Originally posted by IttyBittyKitty
GOOD LORD!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, but this hit my funny bone. I know it's something we normally don't think about, but really, with what - somewhere around 20 cats or so, 18 boxes seems to fit the bill, doesn't it. It's kind of one of those things that we know, but never really think about, and then when it's put in black and white for us we're shocked.

Sorry, IttyBittyKitty, but I'm still giggling.

[Craftlady]

Three boxes at our house. I scoop in morning and evening. In between time as needed. Overhaul clean out every couple weeks. I add litter to boxes on average 2x a week.

[leslie flenner]

yeah but one doesn't have one box per every 1-3 cats! At least I don't think so- if you're in rescue work, it's not possible. OR, Jen has lots of room and some! I know for my friend, it's more than 10 (aint gonna say) on the floor. And they have their boxes they favor! (so take a bit longer to clean!-thank god for Special Kitty litter!)
it is a comical topic and as I was typing this, someone made a horrible stink but then covered it so I smell nothing! yay for covering!

[Randy_K]

We have two boxes for three cats using Costco scented scoopable litter. We end up cleaning them twice a day unless someone leaves something a little too stinky. That's a ral motivater!