Pet care litter box, also known as a sandbox, litter tray, cat box, litter pan or cat pan, is a crate for indoor faeces and urine collection. While cats’ names have become synonymous with the litter box, other little animals, like the rabbits, miniature pigs, ferrets, small dogs and other smaller pets can also use it. While some of these animals can use the pet care litter box instinctively, others require extensive training for that.
As you can surmise from the above information, the litter box is meant for the animals who roam around the house but does not always leave to excrete their metabolic waste.
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How Do the Cats Automatically Know To Use The Litter Box?
Overall, cats are very tidy animals. Even when they are in the wild, they keep themselves clean, try to keep their furs knot-free and never make a mess with their faeces. In the wild, the cats move their bowels only on the soft and sandy grounds. After the excretion, they use their paws to buy the traces of excrements. The litter box for cats facilitates the wild nature of the cats.
That’s why, unlike other animals, the cats do not require any potty training. The basic instinct of the cats guides them to go to the litter box while moving their bowels.
To stimulate their instincts, even more, the pet care litter boxes are filled with about 2 inches or less of cat litter. The filter of the litter box helps to absorb the moisture and the odor of ammonia. The litter material also satisfies the basic instinct of the cats to bury their scents. Most of the litter boxes contain recycled paper pellets, clay and silica-based crystals. The owners sometimes use the natural dirt to stoke the instinct of the cats.
Are There Cats That Never learn To Use the Litter Box?
Yes. Even though it is rare, this incident can occur sometimes. If your cat does not use the litter box from the initial days or stops using it suddenly, you need to style it to your nearest pet care clinic. The veterinary practitioners can check your cat and find out if there are any behavioral or health concerns.
Is There A Reason Why Your Cat Does Not Use the Litter Box on Occasion?
Does your cat generally use the litter box but once a while moves there bowels outside of it? The chances are they have not forgotten to use it.
Poor conditions of the litter box are often the root cause of the occasional cat mishaps. As we have already mentioned, cats are very tidy animals, and they hate to use a dirty litter box. If they find the litter box too dirty to use, they will start searching for a more convenient and clean place to defecate. That can be your new fluffy carpet or a basket full of clean laundry.
Understand that the sense of smell in cats is 14 times better than yours. That means the litter box that smells clean to you is a stinking mess to your cat. To make sure that such mishaps do not happen in your household, clean the litter box for cats daily.
How Many Litter Boxes you Should Have and where to Place Them?
You should always buy one litter box for each animal and then one extra box. It is the rule of thumb of buying pet care litter boxes that can help you avoid cat mishaps. Now if you have more than three litter boxes in your home, you must be struggling to find places to station them. In such a case, keep the litter boxes side by side. In this way, the litter station can handle more than one pet at a time and make it easier for you to clean the litter as well.
Which Products You Should Use for Cleaning Litter Box?
Products for cleaning the litter boxes should depend on your personal choices. However, know that the one size fits all concept does not work in this case. Let your cats decide which one of the cleaners are good. It is the best way to decide whether your litter boxes and the relevant accessory products are working for them.
How to Clean The Litter Box?
Are you trying to avoid any fecal mishaps in your home? Follow the below steps while cleaning the litter boxes of your home.
Select and Place The Box
Does your cat have a preference for a particular box? If not, then you should always go for the regular rectangular ones. You should only buy the covered boxes if your cat prefers it or if you want to keep the litter box inconspicuous. Buy a large enough box where your cat can move around freely. It is better not to buy a cat litter box that comes with overhangs.
Keep the box as far away from the high traffic area of your home as possible. The cats enjoy privacy while moving their bowels. Also, understand the requirements of your pets. If you have a pet that bullies others, you should keep an escape route in your litter box. Being cornered in a relatively smaller litter house can frighten your pets. That can make them avoid the litter box for the unforeseeable future.
Line The Litter Box
Lining the litter box is optional for the pet owners. However, using the lining can help you throw out the litter when you need to empty the box and wash it. Liners definitely work wonders in case of the non-scooping litters.
As an absorbent, the liners soak the extra moisture from the feces and urine that generally pool in the bottom of the cat litter box. That is one of the reasons why you should change the non-scooping liners more frequently.
Pour The Cat Litter In
Read the instruction manual before pouring in the litter. Most of the manufacturing companies instruct the pet caregivers to pour two to three inches of litter. It will ensure that your cats do not dig right to the bottom of the litter box even if they are deep scratchers. Experimentation is the best way to find the right depth for your cats.
Clumping litter is perhaps the best choice for your litter boxes. It is also the most preferred litter that cats love. If you use the clumping litter, you do not even have to use the pan liners. Once you complete pouring the clumping litter, level off the upper surface so that the cats have a smooth surface for digging.
Scooping Up Waste
If you use clumping litter, scooping up becomes a hassle-free affair. The urine and the moisture of the feces help the litter to clump into solid chunks. That makes it easier for you to scoop out the poop and shift the clean litter back to the box. All that clumping creates a coat of litter around the poop stopping it from stocking with the scoop.
Scoop the litter box for pets at least twice every day. That does not mean it is a hard and fast rule. You may need to scoop the litter as many times a day as your cat requires. Also, you might need to add an extra layer of litter to replace the lost amount. Dump The Scooping.
It does not matter how you do it, but you have to dump your cat’s waste properly. Otherwise, the stinking odor can become a real issue. You can just through the scooped poop out of your house or use the smart litter bins to take care of it.
Preventing Problems With The Litter Box
Scooping out the litter and replacing it with fresh ones will keep the box smelling fresh for a long time. But, after a while, you need to empty the box and clean it thoroughly. This thorough cleaning depends on the type of litter you use. If you use the non-clumping version, you need to clean your litter box more often than the clumped version.
All in all, you do not need to train your cats to use the litter box as long as they like the one you buy for them. However, if the box is dedicated to other pets, talk to the professional pet care service providers to find out ways of training them. Saying that, if you notice something abnormal in the behavior of your cats, do not hesitate to get in touch with the professionals of pet care clinics.
