How Often Do You Change Cat Litter

March 21, 2022

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How Often Should You Change Your Cat Litter? – Lovely Animal

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Litter Box Cleaning Hacks

The first step to cleaning a litter box is to empty out all of the old litter. In many cases, the easiest way to do this is to pull a trash bag over the entire litter box . Then, gradually lift the litter box out of the bag. This is often a less messy approach than attempting to pour litter into a trash can!

Next, you will need to thoroughly clean your cats litter box. Avoid using strong disinfectants or strong-smelling cleaners, because these may be unpleasant for your cat and decrease the chances of them using the litter box after cleaning. Your best option is to clean the litter box with water and gentle dish soap. After thoroughly scrubbing all surfaces of the litter box, set it outside in the sun to dry and air out.

Once the litter box is completely dry, you are ready to add new litter to the box. Its important to know how much litter to put in the litter box. If you use a traditional clumping litter, you should add approximately three inches of litter to the bottom of your cats litter box. This provides a thick enough layer of litter for your cat to bury their eliminations, while also reducing the likelihood of urine soaking through to the bottom of the box.

Why Do You Need To Clean The Litter Box Frequently

Whether a cat is domesticated or not, cats always prefer to litter in a clean environment. If a place is dirty, a cat usually does not poop there.

If you leave the dirty litter in the box, the cat will be forced to defecate somewhere else in your home. And youre not going to like it, since the location might be anything from a shower mat to a closet corner to a bedspread in your home.

You may not notice much on the first day, but as time progresses, you may detect odor emanating from various parts of the home.

So, cleaning litter box is a necessity for both you and your pet.

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Whats The Difference Between Scooping And Full Cleaning

First off, is there a difference between scooping vs changing vs cleaning?

The answer is yes. If you manage your cats litter efficiently, heres the entire process:

Fill your litter box or tray

Scoop out any poop or soiled litter each time your cat uses the litter

Top up the box with fresh litter every 5-7 days

Stop refreshing new litter after 2-3 weeks

Completely empty old litter after 3-4 weeks, do a full clean and fill with new litter

So as you can see, scooping means removing soiled litter, changing means topping up, and cleaning means renewing the entire litter after sanitizing the litter box.

Although I refer changing to topping up, most people use the terms changing and cleaning interchangably.

I get it, this might seem like a lot, but there are a few benefits when you keep on top of this.

Saves you money in the long run because you waste less litter
Saves you time having to physically clean the litter box if you dont scoop
Less smell and more hygienic for your cat and home

The key is in the scooping, the more often you scoop, the fresher the remaining litter will stay, which prolongs the need to do a full clean.

Depending on the type of litter you use will depend on how often youll need to do a full clean.

If you dont scoop and you only do a full clean, the entire litter will be contaminated within a few days or up to a week.

This is because your cat moves the soiled litter around and will eventually run out of clean litter to use.

How Often To Change Silica Gel Litter Every 4

Silica gel litters have become more popular in recent years, yet some cat parents love it and some dont

Those who like it, appreciate that it is more expensive than the main litters. What they like about is that, you replace any litter that changes color from white to yellow.

The crystals change to this color when they can no longer absorb moisture. Cat owners then remove the yellow crystals with a scoop and replace those with fresh litter.

The average user of this type of litter, do a full change about every 4-5 weeks.

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Do You Know How Often To Change Cat Litter

ByDavid Crookespublished 17 January 22

Not quite sure how often to change cat litter? Regular maintenance and the right type of litter makes all the difference

When you’re considering how often to change cat litter, you have to take a feline’s hygiene standards into account. Get it wrong and there’s every chance that your cat’s toilet habits will be thrown into disarray and it can also lead to mounting medical problems. While the best self-cleaning cat litter boxes can certainly help make life easier, youll still want to change your kittys litter on a regular basis.

Even with the best cat litter filling their box, your feline friend will soon let you know if youre not changing it enough. One of the key ways they demonstrate their displeasure is to go to the toilet elsewhere and getting them back into the swing of using the cat litter once more could prove difficult.

As anyone who has been confronted by a puddle of pee on the carpet will know, it’s not pleasant and the strong urine smell is difficult to eliminate. In short, you’ll be making more work for yourself. Thankfully, this guide on how often to change cat litter will help you make sure your fur babys litter box lives up to their high standards!

Create A Litter Box Maintenance Routine

If your cat doesnt have a clean place to go when it needs to relieve itself, it will find somewhere else to do so. Or worse, your cat might hold it all in, leading to a variety of health problems.

If you want your cat to use its litter box religiously, then the task of making sure its clean is up to you. Creating a litter box maintenance routine means your cat gets to pee and poop in a clean and sanitary place, making your pet kitty happy, healthy, and your home clean and smelling fresh.

You can do three things for a successful litter box maintenance routine: scooping, clumping clay litter, washing the litter box, and changing the cat litter.

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Watch Out For Quirks And Clumping Cat Litter

Most types of cats make use of the litter box at least twice a day and let’s be honest, they can be a little weird about it. Some cats tip-toe into their “sandbox” while some cats are rolling in litter boxes and you are struggling to keep litter in the litter box. And still, some others think it’s necessary to start their business by digging through to the other side of the world.

What we’re getting at is that different types of cats bring different habits. So the question of how often should I change the litter? is, in part, answered by your cat’s quirky tendencies.

The mess in the litter box or around the litter box, if your cat is a messy pooper or perhaps theres cat diarrhea in the litter box tells a particular story. If the majority of the cat litter is clumping together or looking wet even after you’ve done your regular scooping this clumping cat litter may be a sign your cat has used up all its available real estate. It’s time to change your kitty litter.

If you’re using a cat litter subscription such as PrettyLitter, it will be time to change your kitty litter once all of the crystals have changed color ideally to a yellow or lime-green color, which indicates normal urine pH.

Why Its Important To Keep The Litter Box Clean

Cat Care & Behavior : Changing Cat Litter

Ever enter a public restroom, take one look around and simply turn to leave? Thats how our cats can feel when they find a litter box that hasnt been cleaned in a while. In fact, a dirty litter box is one of the most common reasons some cats stop using their litter box. Aside from unpleasant odors and unsightly messes, a dirty litter box can lead to irritation or illness for you and your cats. If you want to keep your cat happy and healthy, and to avoid accidents around the house, its best to clean your cats litter box thoroughly and regularly. Your feline friend will appreciate having a consistently tidy place to do her business.

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Clean Litter For Happy Cats

While its not the prettiest job, changing out the litter in your cats box is a vital part of cat ownership. It is important to keep your cats litter fresh and waste-free in order to encourage them to use the bathroom properly and to prevent the development of any kind of disease. Remember, clean, fresh litter makes for happy, healthy cats!

Will I Need To Change The Litter More Often If I Have Multiple Cats

The more cats you have, the less time you should wait between litter changes assuming they are all using the same litter tray, anyway. Likewise, if you have more than one litter tray, then the length of time between changes could be increased, again depending on how many cats you have!

If you do have more than one cat, look for cat litters designed for multiple-cat households, all of which are going to be of the clumping variety and packed with a greater number of odor neutralizers. Some cat owners will swear by cat litter made from ground-up walnut shells but litter for multiple cat households can use anything from biodegradable corn to wood and clay.

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How Often Should You Clean A Litter Box

As Ive mentioned, it all depends on the litter you use.

Lets looks at the different types and how often you should do a full clean of each of them.

Non Clumping litters full clean every 2-3 weeks
Clumping full clean every 3-4 weeks
Silica Gel full clean every 4-5 weeks

The reason why each type of litter should be cleaned out on different occasions is because of how contaminated the entire litter gets everytime your cat uses the litter.

Most clumping cat litter does a better job of absorbing urine and forming clumps which prevents it from spreading throughout the whole litter box.

Then if you can scoop this out on a regular basis, and top up every 5-7 days, you can keep going like this for several weeks until itll be time to empty it all and clean out the box with soap and water.

There are a few other types such as pellets, but most of cat owners will use one of the four main ones above.

Step 4 Wash The Litter Box

How Often Do you Need to Change Cat Litter

Its important to actually wash the litter box each time you change the litter, to help remove odors and bacteria.

It can be helpful to have a spare litter box so that when youre changing, cleaning, and waiting for the litter box to dry, your cat still has a place to go to the washroom.

Its also important to clean your litter scoop, the outside of the litter box, and if youre using a covered litter box, give the hood/lid a wash while youre at it .

WHAT TO USE

A simple dish scrubber will be a helpful tool to keep your hands away from the litter box while still getting into all the corners and grooves where odors and bacteria can hide. Something simple like this one.

Natural cleaners are always best when it comes to your health, your cats health, and the environment. Not to mention, cats have a good sense of smell and will be sensitive to strong-smelling cleaners or disinfectants.

Here are some good options:

VINEGAR

Once you empty the litter box and rinse it out, pour some vinegar into the box so it covers the bottom entirely , then let it sit for about 15 minutes. Use your dish scrubber and work the vinegar into the corners, grooves and up the sides. Vinegar wont disinfect, so be sure to use another method to kill bacteria and parasites here are a few ways.

BAKING SODA

MILD DISH DETERGENT

Many cat owners use hot water with a little bit of mild dish detergent, preferably unscented, to clean the litter box.

WHERE TO RINSE

DRY

DEODORIZE

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Cleaning The Litter Box

Of course, scooping out cat litter daily or changing the cat litter in a hooded litter box or open-air litter box is not enough. Odor and bacteria can stay in the litter box if you dont clean it too. So, how often should you wash the litter box?

Well, you should wash it every time you need to change the whole batch of cat litter. Because it would not make sense to pour in a new batch of fresh litter if you dont wash the litter box. Here are a few easy steps you can follow:

Should I Consider Changing Litter Brands

Cat owners do change litter brands from time to time.

Mostly this is done because cats may stop using one particular type of litter. They may start to do their business outside the litter, and that is a clear sign that something is not quite right.

More often than not though, the reason cats do that is simply because the litter is not scooped out daily.

This single change makes a huge difference to how often you will have to completely change out a cat litter.

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Why Is My Cat Litter Not Clumping

There are a few reasons why you might encounter clumping litter that has not clumped:

Oversaturated litter becomes pasty rather than clumped because the clay has reached its maximum absorbency capacity and is not able to hold any more liquid.
Not enough litter in the box to absorb the liquid.
Your cat has not covered the urine with litter so, liquid just seeps to the bottom of the box.
Litter hasnt had enough time to absorb all the liquid.

So How Regularly Should Cat Litter Be Changed

How to Change a Litter Box

The answer isn’t as straightforward as you may imagine. Given what has just been discussed, you may now be tempted to change the cat litter every day but, in truth, that isn’t convenient for you and it isn’t actually necessary either.

What you should do, however, is scoop feces out of the cat litter every day a relatively tiny task that will do three things: reduce the chance of poo smells wafting around your home, increase the time needed between total cat litter changes, and prevent cats from turning their nose up at a soiled box, causing them to head off elsewhere.

From that point on, though, you’re getting into the different types of cat litter on the market and whether they make a difference in terms of cleaning regularity. Simple answer? Yes. If you invest in clumping cat litter the more expensive type that quickly absorbs liquid to make it easily removable then you’re in luck: it may only need to be cleaned every two or three weeks, depending on your standard of daily maintenance.

So what else is out there? Well, corn-based litter may last 30 days while wood pellets will need changing in half that time. One of the best litters, however, are those made from liquid-absorbing silica gel which could last as long as two months between changes. Again, though, you shouldn’t just put the litter in the box and leave it. Regular monitoring will always give you a better indication of how regularly the cat litter should be changed.

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The Importance Of Maintaining The Litter Box Properly

Keeping a litter box clean is important for the health and comfort of the people in an apartment. It also helps keep unpleasant odors hidden from other living spaces. The way you maintain your cats litter box will depend on which kind of litter you use, how often you scoop, and if your cat digs in the litter or not.

How often to scoop is something that most people dont want to do more than once a day. But some cats are big diggers who will quickly turn their litter box into a nasty mess every time they go. If this is your situation, then you should scoop after each visit. If you have more than one cat, then its best to have two litter boxes in different locations this will give both cats enough privacy.