# Scoop or Regular Litter?



## Homer (Feb 9, 2003)

Scoop or regular? I've been using scoop b/c it seems to last longer and makes less of a mess. Just curious as to what the percentages are that use which!

Which do you think is more sanitary/healthy for the cats and people in the house?


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## Max&Ben (Feb 7, 2003)

I once made the mistake of using scented scoop or clumping litter, Ben ended up having a reaction to it and proceeded to lick most of the fur off his back end. He looked absolutely ridiculous. It took him almost a year to grow his full plumage back. I can laugh now but at the time I was quite upset. I stick with the plain clumping litter and I now have it in a big covered cat box because Max likes to dig and shoot a "rooster-tail" of litter for a 12 ft radius of the box if it's not covered and facing a wall.


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## catwoman (Dec 3, 2002)

LOL Max is a funny one. No wonder he has good kick!!! He's a big kitty. We use scoopable litter. A box split between two litter boxes last about a month. We also use fragrant free. It is so much easier to clean up and our babies are used to it.


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## 3cats (Apr 24, 2003)

I have a question for you guys/gals that use scoop litter. I have never tried it and am considering it. I would like to know whether you put the scoop of urine in the toilet or what do you do with it? (Sorry, this may sound stupid, but I truly wonder whether it would ruin the toilet to switch.)


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## Sol (Feb 20, 2003)

> I have a question for you guys/gals that use scoop litter. I have never tried it and am considering it. I would like to know whether you put the scoop of urine in the toilet or what do you do with it? (Sorry, this may sound stupid, but I truly wonder whether it would ruin the toilet to switch.)


No, not in the toilet. That´s bad for the plumbing  I throw it away with the regular waste.

I´m one of those "lucky" ones that have a cat that won´t use any other litter than the absolutely most expensive (it´s fine though, that litter is really good). Anyone else that have the same problem?


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## 3cats (Apr 24, 2003)

Do you just keep a garbage can nearby or do you put it in a bag and carry it to the garbage can? What is the easiest thing to do?


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## Bean (Mar 10, 2003)

There IS scoopable flushable litter, but it's uber expensive. But you can get it at places as common as Walmart.

I use scented litter, just cause I have a small apartment. But Moby seems to not care about what he poos in. In fact when I brought him to the apartment he used the litter as soon as he got out of the cat carrier with no hesitation. But he has weird poo habits - he likes to use the bathroom WITH me.

I need one of those cover ones... sometimes (when pooing) he accidentally poos outside the box with his front paws in. And he sprays litter.

As for the scooped crap, I got a big container of litter (solid plastic). when it's empty I'm gonna use it as a poo garbage can.


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## 3cats (Apr 24, 2003)

That's a great idea. I'll just get a plastic container to use. Yeah, one of my cats misses the box when he wee-wees...his little rear end just gets higher and higher while he's doing it, like a little crescendo. I use jumbo boxes too, and he still does it.


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## Sol (Feb 20, 2003)

3cats said:


> Do you just keep a garbage can nearby or do you put it in a bag and carry it to the garbage can? What is the easiest thing to do?


We have a garbage can outside our door so it´s easy to put the litter there at once.


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## 3cats (Apr 24, 2003)

OK, I bought some clumping litter to try. Now, I'm reading all these horror story articles that clay clumping litter is bad--VERY BAD-- and that I should buy Swheat or Equisi-cat or something natural. They say that since the granules are so small the cat swallows the clay while cleaning himself, it expands in his intestinal track, and eventually causes yellow diarrhea and serious problems. Has anyone had any cats get sick from clay clumping litter ?


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## Bengalsownme (Feb 26, 2003)

The only thing I heard on clumping is that if they eat it it could cause a blockage in their intestine. Kittens have a tendency to nibble on the litter so I use a regular clay. I get it at walmart. I swear it works better than all the scented clumping stuff I've bought. It's about 5x cheaper too.


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## 3cats (Apr 24, 2003)

Well, right now the cats are all excited about the new clumping litter they got today :roll: so I'll have to use this jug up and figure out what to do next. My cats are ages 13, 5 and 2.


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## Sol (Feb 20, 2003)

> OK, I bought some clumping litter to try. Now, I'm reading all these horror story articles that clay clumping litter is bad--VERY BAD-- and that I should buy Swheat or Equisi-cat or something natural. They say that since the granules are so small the cat swallows the clay while cleaning himself, it expands in his intestinal track, and eventually causes yellow diarrhea and serious problems. Has anyone had any cats get sick from clay clumping litter ?


There are clumping litter with larger granules to and anyhow a cat would have to actuarally eat the litter if it should ingest enough to block the intestins. And I have never heard of any cat eating enough litter to harm itself. Maybe kittens could do this but hardly an adult and if you have kittens, buy the litter with larger granules.


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## 3cats (Apr 24, 2003)

Thanks for the feedback Sol and Bengalsownme. I appreciate your opinions very much.


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## will (May 26, 2003)

Hi-
I just registered with Cat Forum & yours is one of the topics I was hoping to discuss. I am a recent cat adopter & since the litter box is in the main bathroom, I spend a lot of time keeping the area as clean & sanitary as possible. I use the clumping litter & clean the box each time after he goes(seems he prefers to go when I'm home to clean it up :0!). The first week I tried flushing the urine clumps as I am able to do successfully with recent b.m.s (which haven't hardened yet), and the toilet did not like it one bit!

W.


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## 3cats (Apr 24, 2003)

Yeah, I'm still trying to adjust myself. Since I have three cats there are one heck of a lot of clumps to dump. I'm finding I spend most of my time getting bags to dump the clumps in. Also I make my daily trip to my main garbage cans with the bags. I spend more time doing this than I can believe. Then there's also the scraping up the litter that's spilled so I'm not walking on sand. It's like a chain of events everytime someone pees. Yet, of course, the litter IS staying cleaner except for the teensy weensy little remnants that slip through the cat scoop. I swear, I really don't know whether I like this or not.


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## will (May 26, 2003)

3cats-
Did you get all 3 cats at the same time? I wouldn't mind a play partner for him, but when I saw how much maintenance was involved, I put that plan on hold. I really try to keep the box (& him) sanitary. Since this forum is fairly annonymous, I will admit that after he "goes", if I'm home, I'll catch him as he's coming out of the box; usually I'll lay him on his side & with toilet paper wipe off any urine that he may've gotten on him...especially on the hind legs. I also hold him over the bathtub & remove any litter between his paws. Otherwise, I know he'd lick his paws trying to clean it. This is not only unhealthy for him, but it elimates tracked litter on the floor & in the bed!

W.


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## 3cats (Apr 24, 2003)

No, I started out with one, then through rescues ended up with three. There really is no more work with 2 than 1 except for this scoop litter thing I've been trying. It would be very nice if your cat had a partner--they have more fun if they have a friend. BUT not required really, I had one for 15 years who all he had was me and we were very happy and very close.


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## tanyuh (Jun 7, 2003)

Sorry to revive a dead thread but I wanted to ask if anyone has ever used "Yesterday's News". It's a compressed paper litter made of old newspapers. This stuff is great. It is really expensive (about twice the clumping stuff) but it lasts three times as long and it doesn't stink. It controls the smell better than anything I have ever used and I don't have to put baking soda in there. It also comes in large pieces to reduce tracking or smaller ones that are supposed to feel like clay on the paws. It is also virtually dust free. My vet recommended it when our kitten was sick and it has stuck. Our adult cat likes it too. So, if you want to try something "natural", try it! Maybe there is an online coupon somewhere.

tanyuh


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

I haven't tried it, although I would if I didn't use the Littermaid. It's expensive to buy, initially, but the work it saves and the way it keeps the odor down is wonderful. I use Arm and Hammer clumping litter. It requires a clumping litter. ( It seems to me that all cat litter is much more expensive than it needs to be, whether it's clay or paper.) Anyway, it combs through the litter within five minutes after the cat's use, It has a motion detector which makes sure the cat is away from it.

Newspaper is a good deodorizor, though, so your litter sounds effective to me.


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## HelloBeautiful (Jun 4, 2003)

I used to use scoopable, but my kitten would spill it all in the carpet and it was very difficult for me to vacuum out. I switched back to cheap-ole-clay :wink:


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