Question for Jen and others with multi-cat households

[cutie_chica]

I have 3 cats and 2 litter boxes, one is a littermate.. the kind that cleans itself, But Patches it scared of it.... 100 bucks down the drain lol, anyway, I clean the box twice daily, Morning and night.

[rpcathouse]

A Multi-Cat House Hold. I could answer this one. I scoop once a day or I would be scooping all day long. I am a breeder and have LOTS and LOTS of cats. But then I have huge over size boxes not litter boxes. I have several that are 12 " tall X 18 " X 30". They take awhile to clean but are worth the work. Plus lots of jumbo boxes. In the kitten room I have 2 litter boxes for the moms and when the kittens are old enough I start with 4-6 small litter boxes and Mom and kitten boxes are cleaned 2 X a day. All are washed out once a week. When my son was in school and needed a punishment it was litter box duty for a week, he really hated that. Plus I don't have small cats, I breed Maine Coons.

Stella

P.S. Found the count 18 of my own, 2 visiting males and a litter of 6 kittens.

[leslie flenner]

so do you use scoopable or both kinds!? We just recently realized that a puddy scraper saves on the wear and tear of the wrist (carpel tunnel from scooping). They make those darn boxes with stupid curves in the corner so....My friend's kitten room is only 4 or 5 boxes right now but that's because that's also where the picked upon live (deaf, blind, prefer not to be out in the house, etc). In the bedroom are handicaps but also handicaps in run of the house. (3 legged, 2 legged, rescued twisties- darn those women)

[moosmom]

8 cats = 8 litterboxes.

I scoop every other day and totally empty and clean the boxes once a month.

It doesn't take me very long to scoop. But emptying them totally and disinfecting them takes a while, about 2 hours.

[Corinna]

Gosh I feel bad about complaining about the one stupid box we have (not my cat)
2 cats one refuses to potty inside MUST go out . Thats Bens Old man 14 year old Winky. The new 2 year old female Ebony has refused to go out since the snow, did go out during the nice weather.
18 boxes do you have floor space for people? I keep tripping over the one little box in the basement by the washer.
I scoop when ever I notice it used , while I'm doing wash or washing wool. I repeat NOT my cat , so much for I'll take care of it , with a kid. I feed them too but he buys the food(Yaaaaa)

[rg_girlca]

I have 3 cats of my own and then there is my son's cat also.
Total 4 cats with 3 large litter boxes. I scoop in the morning, at night and in between if needed. Which I usually need to do.
About every 2 weeks, soak the boxes with bleach and then start all over again.



JEN 18 BOXES. I figured with your crew, that you would need about that many, but like T & P said, to actually see it mentioned in black and white, is just mind boggling.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I have 4 cats and only have 2 extra giant litter boxes. I would get another one but don't have any more room for it. I usually only scoop once a day in the morning. If I have time or notice that they're really messy, then I'll scoop again in the evening too. I use EverClean Extra Strength scoopable litter and just add new litter to the old when it's needed. I also use 2 Johnny Cat litter box liners per litter box and change these as needed. I've never scrubbed their litter boxes out with bleach. Is this really important?
I have covered litter boxes and if they accidently spray on the inside of them I use Simple Solution which is a stain and odor remover and is safe for pets. People never smell any kind of cat odor in my condo so the litter and spray must be doing a great job.

[shais_mom]

I am a single cat household so I shouldn't answer but I am anyway!

I scoop when I smell a fresh poo. Which is usually right after she does it b/c she doesn't cover it. And I change the litter box completely every week the day before garbage day. I use litter liners so it takes about 10 minutes.
Currently using Feline Pine that I don't like and am trying Premium Scoopable litter that a lot of my multi cat PT friends suggested.

[leslie flenner]

bleach kills everything so if there is any concern of eggs from worms, fleas, or virus shed like distemper or uri, bleach is the only thing that will kill it. When I was doing serious fostering, I bleached my floors daily (wood) because one of the kittens i had for a while was fip questionable. and i was always battling fleas (now there are flea remedies even easier to use than advantage for us multi-cat homes). There are also better remedies now for uri, (once every 2 weeks for only 2 weeks) and for ringworm! (2 oral dosages and done!)
But bleach is the best for killing virus and bacterial inf. everywhere and if you do any volunteer work- bleach the bottom of your shoes when you leave! (i've taken home ringworm from not paying attention to that).

[PayItForward]

We have three covered boxes for seven cats but they are inside/outside and often go outside as well in the warmer weather.

Two downstairs in the back room and one in the upstairs bathroom for Sandy (upstairs boy) We scoop every other day and clean out completly weekly.

Anyway I'm only on Pet Talk this early, as I got up for work but I still feel very ill with a bad cold, so I have just rung in sick. I feel guilty about not being in work, though this is my first sick day in nearly five years. I'm off to bed. See you guys later.

[IttyBittyKitty]

Originally posted by Tubby & Peanut's Mom
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.

ME TOO! Don't you worry!

[Kirsten]

Jen, 18 boxes!!!! Surprises me it doesn't take you much longer! LOL

Interesting replies everyone!

Leslie, that was helpful information about bleach, I didn't know that.

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.

Little Pouncer, it seems you and Lily have so much in common!

PayItForward, I'm sorry to hear you're sick! Get well soon!

Kirsten

[Barbara]

Of course 2 cats in 2 cat households are more spoiled....

At our house (2 cats, 2 boxes), Tigris stands in front of you meowing loudly which translates in "Slave, clean the box. Asap!" After it is cleaned or while you are cleaning, they are queueing up to use it as soon it's clean.

Filou has been seen to poop in one clean box and then go over to the other and pee

[Kirsten]

Filou has been seen to poop in one clean box and then go over to the other and pee

Yes, so does Luna! Luna is also famous for pooping on the floor next to the box when she has just used that one for peeing!

Kirsten

[lbaker]

5 cats, two boxes. But they are indoor/outdoor cats so the frequency of cleaning depends on the weather. It's funny when they have to go when it's rainy or snowy. They will go from the front door to the back door as if the weather will change My D-in-law takes care of the upstairs box (where her three prefer to "go") and I take care of the downstairs box every time I go into the bathroom where I have it. Multi-cat hard clump litter. No problems.