# How Often Do You Clean The Litterbox?



## Alex Harris (May 4, 2012)

On average on how often do you clean the litterbox? For me I clean between 2-3 times per day between the boxes. Sometimes the cat will use both boxes and others they will just use one.


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

By clean do you mean just scooping or emptying completely? For me there's a huge difference!


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## snowy (Aug 23, 2012)

Ya, there's a huge difference. I use pine litter with a 2 layer box. ET poop once a day, so scooping is once a day. Clear lower tray layed with plastic sheet and top up new litter once a week. Clear out everything and wash top box once a month.


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## Alex Harris (May 4, 2012)

Scooping only,not complete dump and sanitize.



Arianwen said:


> By clean do you mean just scooping or emptying completely? For me there's a huge difference!


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Between 2and 3 times a day for scooping and about once a month I tear the boxes apart and soak them in bleach solution and rinse them well.


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## Penny135 (Apr 6, 2011)

I scoop them when I get up in the morning and at night before bed.


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

It depends on the cat so I can't really vote.

Blacky does everything outside.

Blaze doesn't pee in his two litterboxes so I don't feel compelled to clean them daily. Newspaper on the wall gets changed, though...

For the cat in the garage I clean the litterbox twice daily, morning and night. I might scale back to once a day in a week or two after I can stop looking for disasters in there (he was just neutered and could - although unlikely - have worms).


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## Venusworld21 (Oct 23, 2012)

I clean once a day for my permanent kitties (5 cats, 2 litter boxes, no accidents) and twice a day (morning and night at feeding time) for my fosters as most of them are kittens just learning to use a litter box and cleaner is much more inviting.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

I scoop once a day and totally clean all 3 boxes every 2 weeks.


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## lovetimesfour (Dec 1, 2010)

Minimum three times a day. But usually much more often than that, because if I am home and I hear a cat in the boxes, I just go down right away and scoop it out. And I always check them before I leave the house and when I first walk in. So yeah, lots of times. I didn't vote in the poll, since there is no choice for that. 

Dump and scrub once a week.


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## Luvmyfurbabies (Jun 25, 2012)

Mostly twice a day but sometimes more. It depends on if someone is really "stinking up the place." They have a habit of going right after I just cleaned the litter box as well. I just don't like the thought of them having to be in a dirty box.


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## Luvmyfurbabies (Jun 25, 2012)

As a side note: I have a really fast system. I buy these packs of 50 vinyl gloves and tiny plastic bags. When I get ready to clean, I put on the glove and scoop away. When I'm done, the glove goes in the bag and the bag goes in the garage and there is no mess. I don't have to worry about where to keep a dirty scooper.


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## nicichan (Jul 6, 2012)

I don't think my cat would go if there's already something in the box (she sniffs and walks away), so I pretty much scoop it out every time she uses it, usually about 3 times a day. I dump and clean it about once a month.


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## Victoriax (Feb 25, 2012)

lovetimesfour said:


> Minimum three times a day. But usually much more often than that, because if I am home and I hear a cat in the boxes, I just go down right away and scoop it out. And I always check them before I leave the house and when I first walk in. So yeah, lots of times. I didn't vote in the poll, since there is no choice for that.
> 
> Dump and scrub once a week.



as above ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ :thumb


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## Dexter (Nov 15, 2012)

scoop the poop every day and put fresh litter every 2-3 days depending on the stinky pee & i use cat san litter 


also I have found litter bags are ineffective and just get loads of holes in them don't know why I even bothered with them & a good scrub with baby bottle sanitizer cleans up the tray real good.


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## snowy (Aug 23, 2012)

nicichan said:


> I don't think my cat would go if there's already something in the box (she sniffs and walks away), so I pretty much scoop it out every time she uses it, usually about 3 times a day.


I noticed ET sniffed the whole box 1st before using. Each time before going into his box, he will meow real loudly "*I'm gonna poop*", then immediately after finishing, he will meow real loudly again "*I have finished, please clean up*", lol...Funny, if he pee, he doesn't meow at all. The way he meow, I know he's gonna do his big business.


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## scottd (Jun 28, 2011)

Once a day usually. I've skipped days when I'm tired and it doesn't really get too bad.

I don't empty it and clean the entire box very often though. I usually do it every 3 months or so.

I use World's Best Multi-Cat and it works very well for me. Some people hate it. Some people love it. I fall in the latter group.


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## katlover13 (Apr 15, 2008)

We have so many litter boxes that there is never very much to clean in each one. The least popular box often doesn't have anything in it.


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## Elvie (Nov 21, 2012)

I clean it at least 3 times a day, but I change it completely every second - third day.


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## lovetimesfour (Dec 1, 2010)

Dexter said:


> scoop the poop every day and put fresh litter every 2-3 days depending on the stinky pee & i use cat san litter
> 
> 
> also I have found litter bags are ineffective and just get loads of holes in them don't know why I even bothered with them & a good scrub with baby bottle sanitizer cleans up the tray real good.


You should be scooping pee too, you shouldn't leave the pee in the litter box. Pee won't stink if it isn't left in the box. And..poor kitty, how can she even dig? Leaving the pee is going to cause litter box avoidance problems sooner or later.


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## Dexter (Nov 15, 2012)

lovetimesfour said:


> You should be scooping pee too, you shouldn't leave the pee in the litter box. Pee won't stink if it isn't left in the box. And..poor kitty, how can she even dig? Leaving the pee is going to cause litter box avoidance problems sooner or later.



the pee doesn't clump in the litter and we have no issues with avoidance he knows where it is always kept and since the day we found him he has always known how to use his litter box, and I put fresh litter in ever 2 -3 days so it doesn't get "dirty" also we don't really have much of an odor issue as we change litter often and when we change the litter we also bleach the litter box I am very particular about that,


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## coyt (Jul 15, 2012)

snowy said:


> I noticed ET sniffed the whole box 1st before using. Each time before going into his box, he will meow real loudly "*I'm gonna poop*", then immediately after finishing, he will meow real loudly again "*I have finished, please clean up*", lol...Funny, if he pee, he doesn't meow at all. The way he meow, I know he's gonna do his big business.


oh my gosh, my cat does this too! its so weird how they announce it XD


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## Pushkabounce (Nov 6, 2012)

Tinker my adult cat doesn't like a dirty tray. He will hold on until I have removed a wee before he does his poo so I just check multiple times a day to see if it needs removing.

We just got 2 kittens so have 2 more trays and I come down this morning and he had one a wee in 1 and a poo in another! I also check the kittens tray many times a day and scoop our whenever there is something to scoop. I do a full dump and scrub every 4 weeks


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## NutroMike (Oct 24, 2012)

I scoop daily. I have 4 litter boxes in the house so once a day is usually sufficient. I do glance in them as I go about my daily routine and may scoop a second time if necessary.


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## Evanescent (Nov 14, 2012)

Several times a day. I have 2 kittens, and am cat-sitting another kitten..
And today I wasn't home mid-day to scoop..

Almost the ENTIRE box was in clumps!

I have 4 boxes out, but they all prefer to use this one box..
I only scoop the other boxes if I see a clump. Usually, there is only one or two a day per other box..

I dump/sanitize as needed, but at least every 2 weeks.


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

lovetimesfour said:


> Minimum three times a day. But usually much more often than that, because if I am home and I hear a cat in the boxes, I just go down right away and scoop it out. And I always check them before I leave the house and when I first walk in. So yeah, lots of times. I didn't vote in the poll, since there is no choice for that.
> 
> Dump and scrub once a week.


Me too. I end up scooping at least 4x/day, although sometimes there's nothing in one of the two boxes. 

However, I dump and scrub only about every 3 or 3 1/2 weeks - whenever the bag of World's Best runs out.


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## rightsaidfed (May 31, 2012)

I have 1 cat and scoop twice a day. I totally empty and scrub the box every 4-6 weeks. I'd do this scrub down more frequently if I had more cats, but I did a 3-week cleaning once and it just wasn't dirty. 


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## Luvmyfurbabies (Jun 25, 2012)

I was curious about the people who do the frequent scrub down of litter boxes: does anyone here use the litter box liners? I use the thick jumbo ones and there is no need for a total box scrub down. I just replace the whole liner instead. I have a deep wide bottom on the box and my kitties don't spray up on the cover. Just curious?


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## jadis (Jul 9, 2011)

I scoop twice a day or more if there is a fresh poo and I happen to catch it and they get completely cleaned about every two weeks. I rotate and completely clean two every week (I have four total).

And I do use the liners, when I say completely clean, I mean I change the liner and put in all new litter.


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## 3furbabies (Dec 7, 2011)

Luvmyfurbabies said:


> I was curious about the people who do the frequent scrub down of litter boxes: does anyone here use the litter box liners? I use the thick jumbo ones and there is no need for a total box scrub down. I just replace the whole liner instead. I have a deep wide bottom on the box and my kitties don't spray up on the cover. Just curious?


I scoop around 3 times daily on average. I use to use liners when I first got my cats, but then found it actually created more of a mess than without. They would scratch holes in the sides of it while burying their waste and when I would lift the bag up, it would all come pouring out anyways. I very rarely do a whole scrub down. Maybe once every 6 months or so. Unless someone made a big mess, then I will clean it out good.


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## lovetimesfour (Dec 1, 2010)

Luvmyfurbabies said:


> I was curious about the people who do the frequent scrub down of litter boxes: does anyone here use the litter box liners? I use the thick jumbo ones and there is no need for a total box scrub down. I just replace the whole liner instead. I have a deep wide bottom on the box and my kitties don't spray up on the cover. Just curious?


Are you talking about plastic bag liners, or the heavy formed disposable box liners? I just bought a 3-pack of those to try. They look a bit small though, I may have to try the next size up. I'd like to be able to reduce the frequency of the dump and scrub. 

Every week is a lot of work, but I don't see how people go longer than that. The bottom of the boxes are filthy and smell by the end of the week, and I scoop almost obsessively.

I have two sets of boxes. While one set is in use the other is dumped, scrubbed and aired.


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## Luvmyfurbabies (Jun 25, 2012)

I use the plastic jumbo liners. They are white with a red draw string. I stretch and pull to make them fit because I have a really large hooded litterbox. If you keep the litter deep enough the bag stays pretty much intact. I love them. The best part is the litterbox stays super clean. I haven't needed to clean it once!


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## shan841 (Jan 19, 2012)

I have 4 cats and 2 litterboxes, so I have to scoop twice a day(morning and night)

I scrub them out whenever I get a new bucket/bag of litter, about every 3 weeks


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## Galathiel (Feb 6, 2012)

I scoop once a day for my cat. She has two litter boxes. 


> The bottom of the boxes are filthy and smell by the end of the week, and I scoop almost obsessively.


 The bottom of my box isn't dirty at all. Maybe your litter isn't deep enough?


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## nicichan (Jul 6, 2012)

I don't use liners, I tried them and she kept tearing holes in them when she was digging around in the box.

The bottom of my cat's box is never dirty, just dusty from the litter. I think dumping the litter once a week is a bit of a waste if you use clumping litter. I only dump it when it starts smelling a bit dirty, which is usually after 4-6 weeks.


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## RebelKittysMomma (Nov 15, 2012)

I am scared to answer this lol. I am horrible ocd. I NEVER SCOOP i empty the whole little box every day lol.


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## 3gatos (Nov 28, 2012)

I scoop once a day and completely empty and wash when it gets low, about twice a month


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## rightsaidfed (May 31, 2012)

RebelKittysMomma said:


> I am scared to answer this lol. I am horrible ocd. I NEVER SCOOP i empty the whole little box every day lol.


You must spend a fortune on litter! Also your kitties clearly have it the best out of anyone here - so spoiled by your OCD 

Is it the idea if them having a "dirty" litterbox that bothers you or do you just not like scooping? If you don't like "digging for treasure", I highly recommend the omega paw roll and clean litterbox. There are YouTube videos on how it works if you're interested. 


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## lovetimesfour (Dec 1, 2010)

rightsaidfed said:


> You must spend a fortune on litter! Also your kitties clearly have it the best out of anyone here - so spoiled by your OCD
> 
> Is it the idea if them having a "dirty" litterbox that bothers you or do you just not like scooping? If you don't like "digging for treasure", I highly recommend the omega paw roll and clean litterbox. There are YouTube videos on how it works if you're interested.
> 
> ...


Oh dear. I think those rolling boxes are really gross. Can you imagine having to go to the bathroom in an enclosed space where every inch of the space is covered in litter dust and pee and poop bacteria?

Every time the box is rolled, that's what happens, the filth goes all over all surfaces of the box. I really feel sorry for cats forced to use those things.

Covered boxes are bad enough.


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## RebelKittysMomma (Nov 15, 2012)

I am scared that my house will smell like kitty poop. It isn't the scooping that bothers me, just the smell.


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## RebelKittysMomma (Nov 15, 2012)

hoofmaiden said:


> One more great reason to feed raw. My cats' poops have no odor, which is how the poop of carnivores is supposed to be. Their poops are also infrequent (once every 1-2 days).


This is my first ever kitty/cat he is a little over 2 months old. What do you mean by feeding raw?


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## rightsaidfed (May 31, 2012)

lovetimesfour said:


> Oh dear. I think those rolling boxes are really gross. Can you imagine having to go to the bathroom in an enclosed space where every inch of the space is covered in litter dust and pee and poop bacteria?
> 
> Every time the box is rolled, that's what happens, the filth goes all over all surfaces of the box. I really feel sorry for cats forced to use those things.
> 
> Covered boxes are bad enough.


I had the same reservations about it, they're really not dirty. At least mine isn't. Maybe it's because I only have 1 cat or it clumps well enough to not leave residue. Even when I do a complete scrub at 4-6 weeks, there's very little smell and only a light dusting from the litter. Never any waste on the interior surfaces. 

I can understand how some might prefer not to use this type of box though. 


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

I don't use liners because I find them ickier to deal with than just the pan - and I also had that problem of having holes scratched in the liners. The only problem is that sometimes, no matter how much litter I bunch up, Margaux still manages to pee against the side of the box. That's why I scrub out the litter boxes whenever I dump the litter. But once I scoop, it doesn't smell.


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## KatBudz (Jun 18, 2009)

I have 2 cats and 3 litter boxes, I scoop once a day at night,,or if I'm too tired, ill scoop the next morning. I fully clean the little boxes every month, sometimes I can stretch it a bit longer if the litter doesn't smell, or there aren't too many little broken off clumps in it.


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## Luvmyfurbabies (Jun 25, 2012)

hoofmaiden said:


> Liners actually make the box smell MORE b/c urine accumulates/clumps in the folds of the liner and cannot be fully removed. The box should be liner-less so that the clumps can be completely removed, leaving nothing behind.


I don't have a problem with my liners but as I stated earlier; my box is extra large so even with the jumbo liners I have to tug and pull to get a good tight fit. There are no folds and the urine clumps stay in the litter and not on the liners. They have been a true lifesaver!:crazy


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## Robin1109 (May 8, 2011)

I feel like the odd one that only scoops every other day! I absolutely check in on the boxes (they don't use the small one AT ALL but use the jumbo box instead), but I usually only scoop every 48 hours for 2 cats. I don't have an issue with smell ever since changing them to a duck and green pea diet. And, when I scoop, there's plenty of room to dig and still use the rest of the box. Again, their primary is one of those jumbo boxes. When I set up my small (by small I mean standard litter box), I couldn't believe I ever let them use something so small!


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## lovetimesfour (Dec 1, 2010)

Robin1109 said:


> I feel like the odd one that only scoops every other day! I absolutely check in on the boxes (they don't use the small one AT ALL but use the jumbo box instead), but I usually only scoop every 48 hours for 2 cats. I don't have an issue with smell ever since changing them to a duck and green pea diet. And, when I scoop, there's plenty of room to dig and still use the rest of the box. Again, their primary is one of those jumbo boxes. When I set up my small (by small I mean standard litter box), I couldn't believe I ever let them use something so small!


You may not smell anything, but they do. You really leave pee and poop from two cats in the box for two days at a time? Why? I am asking sincerely, I just don't understand that. 

Cats like a clean bathroom as much as people do. And keep in mind that, whatever is in the box, is getting on their feet. And whatever is on their feet is being tracked through the house. 

Dirty litter boxes not only can lead to litter box avoidance, but can cause illness. Urinary tract infections, for example.

I really cannot comprehend leaving a box unscooped for more than 12 hours. It's just so...unhygienic. I don't expect everyone to be as fanatic about it as I am but...two days?


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

Yeah, my mom cleans her 2 boxes (2 cats) every 2 days. I don't see why she can't do it EVERY day--after all, it's generally easier to do something daily b/c you get into the habit. There is no smell in her house but the boxes are small and they are full of "stuff" by the end of 24 hours. The fact that so far her cats have not objected enough to go elsewhere doesn't make it OK in my book.


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## gosha (Oct 16, 2011)

You guys say 3 times a day, does one cat go to poop 3 times a day? My cat poops only once and he always poops when everyone around gathered to watch tv in the loft and his litter box is in the bathroom next to it, so he lets everyone know when he pooped and I have to clean it right away. Now I wonder if he should be pooping more often?


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## nklincoln (Aug 2, 2005)

I think there is a kitty law that states if human cleans box, box needs to be used. Even if they just used it, they will pretend to go and move the litter around to thier specification.

Just saying it must be a law as they do it everytime they see me cleaning.


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

gosha said:


> You guys say 3 times a day, does one cat go to poop 3 times a day? My cat poops only once and he always poops when everyone around gathered to watch tv in the loft and his litter box is in the bathroom next to it, so he lets everyone know when he pooped and I have to clean it right away. Now I wonder if he should be pooping more often?


My cats poop once every 24-48 hours, but they are rawfed. Commercial-fed cats go once or twice a day. It's not just poop in the box though, of course--urine also has to be removed. 

It's impossible to scoop a box too often--if someone wants to do it 3x a day, GREAT! I find that w/ 4 cats and 4 boxes once a day is plenty, but it depends on how the cats are fed, the size of the boxes, etc.


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## lovetimesfour (Dec 1, 2010)

gosha said:


> You guys say 3 times a day, does one cat go to poop 3 times a day? My cat poops only once and he always poops when everyone around gathered to watch tv in the loft and his litter box is in the bathroom next to it, so he lets everyone know when he pooped and I have to clean it right away. Now I wonder if he should be pooping more often?


A healthy canned fed cat poops about once every 24-36 hours. But a cat should be peeing three times a day, and the pee should be removed daily. For one cat, if the box is only cleaned every two days that's two piles of poop and six pees. Pretty gross, in my opinion.

I have three cats and four boxes, and my cats are fed a combination or raw and canned. They poop every 24-36 hours, and pee three times a day. That's nine pees in a 24 hour period. I scoop minimum three times a day, but usually more often, when I am home to do it.

And yes, like you, I scoop poop as soon as it happens, if I am home to do it. I have one who announces her intentions also. She also announces the results, afterward.


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## snowy (Aug 23, 2012)

nklincoln said:


> I think there is a kitty law that states if human cleans box, box needs to be used. Even if they just used it, they will pretend to go and move the litter around to thier specification.
> 
> Just saying it must be a law as they do it everytime they see me cleaning.


ET will also stay around to watch while I clean. Sometimes he will use it immediately after I finishes too, if not, then he will go sniff the box, as if to check if I have done it properly, QC check for cleanliness? lol.




lovetimesfour said:


> But a cat should be peeing three times a day, and the pee should be removed daily.


I don't clear pee, cos when pee touches the pine pellet, it turned to saw dust which falls to the bottom tray when ET digs. Each time he pee, I don't smell urea, but rather I smell wood, well which is something I don't quite like, but there was no avoidance for ET so far, for more than 11mths now.

Even when I lift up the top tray to remove the bottom sawdust, I don't find it all that pungent. So pine does take care of the odor quite well.


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## lovetimesfour (Dec 1, 2010)

snowy said:


> I don't clear pee, cos when pee touches the pine pellet, it turned to saw dust which falls to the bottom tray when ET digs. Each time he pee, I don't smell urea, but rather I smell wood, well which is something I don't quite like, but there was no avoidance for ET so far, for more than 11mths now.


Well in that case, the pee IS being removed.  When discussing litter box scooping, it would be helpful to mention if one uses that type of litter system, because it is misleading to just say you don't scoop the pee. 

My point is that urine should not be left in the box, it should be removed at least once a day, no matter the method.


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## snowy (Aug 23, 2012)

lovetimesfour said:


> Well in that case, the pee IS being removed.  When discussing litter box scooping, it would be helpful to mention if one uses that type of litter system, because it is misleading to just say you don't scoop the pee.
> 
> My point is that urine should not be left in the box, it should be removed at least once a day, no matter the method.


Ya...from what I read not many people uses pine pellet, I think. I have never used any other type other than pine and paper pellet, so its hard to understand why the need to remove pee. Okie, so there's a difference between the different type of litter and system.


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## lovetimesfour (Dec 1, 2010)

I love the idea of pine litter, especially those sifting boxes, but have not had good luck with it. When I first tried pine, one cat began having upper respiratory symptoms right away and another simply wanted to eat it all the time. So that was the end of the pine litter experiment. ..sigh..


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## SamSim (Oct 7, 2012)

I have a very low maintenance cat. Meenu seems to not be too picky when it comes to a clean box, she knows where to go. But she had a bout of diarreha a few months back which gave her an aversion to the box, so since then I've cleaned it out every 12 hours. Lately I've been slacking, only doing it every 24, but Meenu's never left a mess outside yet, so I'm a lucky mom to have such an easy going girl. Pill's great, cuddles great, play great, and is now about 90% healthy. Boy I'm a lucky duck : ]


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## PHILIPPE & MEI LI (Nov 30, 2012)

i use clumping cat litter so i scoop 1 time per day , add fresh litter. every 2 weeks i dispose of old litter , wash box, put in new litter..:daisy


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## lovetimesfour (Dec 1, 2010)

People who don't clean the boxes at least once a day (if you have multiple boxes) or at least twice (if you have one cat one box), consider this. When your cat is forced to use a dirty box she gets feces and urine all over her feet. Then she walks all over your house, spreading those germs everywhere. If you won't keep the boxes clean for your cat (though you should be considering the cat's comfort) perhaps you might do it to prevent the spread of bacteria. For either reason, the cat gets a clean bathroom.


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