All about the litter box

I was one of those horrible cat people who never changed the box, and then got pizzed when Kitty peed on the floor.  What did I expect? 

I also used the cheap clay litter.  You know, the stuff that reeks to high heaven after one "tinkle".  Ugh.  Poor kitty! 

At the time, the clumping stuff was very expensive, and fell apart easily.  It was an all around exercise in frustration. 

By the time I'd moved to Texas, they had "better" and cheaper, clumping litters (still not wonderful but workable), but I was still generally pretty lazy about changing the box. 

My Texas cats have been awesome though, they either used the box or went outside.  They went out, a lot. 

Bubba, in particular, never used his box.  It just sat there, year after year, unused.  He had a cat door.  He didn't want a box.  He even waited, practically crossing his legs, during Hurricane Ike.  Once the worst had passed he ran outside behind "his" rosebush. 

However, when we got Baby Girl in 2012 I didn't want any toilet issues.  I put a box in every room in the house, with the best clumping litter I could buy.  She used them, and has never had a problem. 

I also got more diligent about cleaning the boxes, in part because I was well medicated for once in my life!   As a homeowner now, I also had a vested interest. 

I got some covered boxes because Baby Girl likes to fling litter in all directions.  Even now, she will rarely fling one of her own turds out of the box while "covering".

Baby Girl, however, got stuck in the covered box, so that was a no-deal.  I tried removing the door - she was still afraid of it.  Poor little thing.  [sigh]  So, no lid at all.  

That seemed to work pretty well, although Baby Girl began to follow Bubba's "outside" habit.  Then Bubba died, and I got Torbie a few days later. 

I know "new cat issues" require sparkling clean litter boxes, and plenty of them.  I ensured that.  It worked.  They're good girls. 

Happily when the boys came along they still had a box each.  I scoop daily and everyone's happy. 

I use Scoop Away Ultra, and Arm & Hammer Cat Litter Deodorizer.  They work great.  I have a wonderful, long-handled, metal scoop. 

While Scoop Away does say I don't have to empty the whole box, it has gotten pissy after a few months, so I let it run down and dumped it today.  I cleaned it out, sanitized it, dried it well, applied the Arm & Hammer, and loaded it up with fresh Scoop Away.  Everyone's happy. 

I also keep the boxes on cardboard in case I have any scattering issues.