How Often Should You Replace Cat Litter?

It probably has happened to you before: you come home one day, only to find out that your cat is totally not using the litter box. Cats pooping and peeing in places other than the location that they should and could mean a variety of problems.

Sometimes it’s health issues, but a common reason why cats do this is that their litter box needs to be changed. If the litter isn’t changed enough, cats will go to the bathroom in other places, and that’s how you get cat poop in the bathtub and other strange places.

But, how picky are cats? Well, here we’ll discuss how often should you replace cat litter and other important tidbits that you can use in order to help keep your furry friend happy along with a great cat litter to help with the issues.

What is Cat Litter?

Litter is essentially a combination of different materials, of varying degrees of particle shapes and sizes. There are different types of litter on the market, and they are as follows:

• Traditional clay litter
• Scooping and clumping litter
• Crystal based and silica gel litter
• Biodegradable litter

Litter serves a variety of purposes, and they are as follows:

• Traps the fecal matter so it’s easy to clean
• Helps to absorb the pee, making it cleaner for the cat
• Is good for cats because it’s soft
• Typically gives a better small to where they go to the bathroom

Cats tend to prefer a litter that is softer, but also those that are high in quality and don’t contain dust are pretty good for kitties as well.

You need kitty litter because that’s essentially the toilet that cats use. Cat’s aren’t like us, so obviously they need a place to go to the bathroom.

Why your Cat Refuses to use the Litter box

There are a few reasons why a cat may not go to the bathroom and sometime’s it’s due to pure pickiness and their dislike of the cat litter.

Some ways cats can be picky with litter are as follows:

• They don’t like the smell
• They don’t like the feel of it on their butt
• They may prefer dirt, especially if they’re outdoor cats
• They may not like the feel and scent of commercial litter, which means you need sand
• They don’t like the way that the air fresheners or scented litter smells

Cats are finicky, and you might find this a bit strange, but look at humans. Do you want to go to the bathroom in a toilet that’s gross and unkempt, or would you rather have a bathroom that’s nice and doesn’t smell like death?

The Three-Step Process

When changing a litter box, you have three steps, and according to “The Cat Fanciers’ Association Complete Cat Book,” it involves the following:

• Dumping the current litter out of the box
• Scrubbing it with a mile soap that’s unscented and doesn’t contain irritants
• (Optional) putting some bleach and water in there to scrub it down, not too much of course
• Filling up the litter box, not to the brim, but less than two inches of course

So that’s really the process to change out the litter box, and it’s important that you know how to do this.

When it comes to cleaning up droppings, you need to do this every single day in order to get the cat to use the litter box, and that involves the following:

• Going to the box
• Putting the scooper in there to check for droppings
• Pulling it out, and then tossing it in the trash
• Don’t flush it down the toilet, it can clog it up, and that’s not fun

Always clean up the litter box, and make sure that you do it whenever you can.

So How Often?

You might wonder how many times you need to replace the cat litter or clean it up. We mentioned how many times a day you should scoop the droppings out, but what about the process of cleaning out the box period?

The general guidelines are as follows:

• Do this twice a week as a general guideline
• Some cats aren’t as finicky though and are cool with replacing the litter once a week
• Some cats are a bit more prima donna though, and they might want this every day
• If you clean the box on the daily, you might only need to change this every 2–3 weeks
• If you notice that there is a small, or the litter is clumped and wet, change this
• Don’t ever use ammonia, citrus, or some cleaning products, they can either deter a cat from using it or even be toxic to kitties
• Some like box liners, but cats love to shred those to bits when scratching, especially if they bury the waste

Keep all of these in mind when you’re choosing how many times a week you should change the litter, and when it comes to cleaning the box as well.

Litter Training?

No, litter training isn’t possible for cats, in the same way, that dogs need to get house trained to go to the bathroom outside. Why is that? Well, cats tend to do the following:

• They generally let instinct take over
• If they find a box that is acceptable for them to go to the bathroom, they’ll have at it
• You don’t need to show them the litter box via tactile motions, but, if you move to a new place they might need some help

That’s one of the best things about cats, that they are hyper-independent, and typically, they know about where they should be going to the bathroom. However, sometimes cats might have some litter box problems, and it’s important to realize it’s not just the cat’s fault if they don’t go to the bathroom in the right place but it may be the litter box.

If you have Problems

When you have problems, there are a few things that you should do, especially if you notice that a cat isn’t going to the bathroom in the place where they should be.

To handle problems, you should do the following:

• Call the vet and have the cat examined
• If there are any behavior problems, do resolve them
• If you moved to a new place, realize it may be anxiety, so give them some time to adjust
• Never punish a cat for using the bathroom in the wrong place
• Never send them outside or banish them outside either
• If there are long-standing or other issues, do contact a behavioral specialist that can help with cats to alleviate the problem

Remember, sometimes it may not just the cat, and as a pet owner, you are responsible for the cat’s overall health and wellness.

Two’s a Crowd

Sometimes, the problem isn’t even the litter itself, but another cat. Another cat can sometimes create litter box issues because of the following:

• The cat will want its own box
• There is a chance that the first cat won’t allow the second cat to use the same box
• This can also be a problem if they are too close to one another

So as a pet owner, what should you do? The answer, is simple and that’s to do the following:

• Get two boxes to start
• Put them in separate rooms
• Keep the cats in each litter box so that there aren’t any fights
• Scoop each box once a day no matter what kind of litter you use

The problem can be something as simple as the cat just doesn’t like the fact that the second cat uses their litter box. Cats are like people, in that they have different personalities so sometimes some cats might be a little more territorial than others.

Skip the Changes, and use PrettyLitter!

If you don’t like changing the litter frequently, there is a solution and that’s PrettyLitter! PrettyLitter has many amazing features, and they are as follows:

• Super dry silica granules that trap the odor
• It absorbs the urine and odor from faces
• It will trap the urine as water and it will make only the solid excretions the waste that you pick up
• You don’t have to replace the box once a week, but instead replace the litter once a month

It’s s subscription service that’s perfect for cat owners that don’t want to deal with the stress of changing out litter.

Works for Every Cat household

The benefits of PrettyLitter are the fact that they are so versatile, you can use this litter in pretty much any cat household. Some of the benefits are the following:

• Cats take to this pretty quickly
• The lack of smell usually helps them transition
• If you do have transitioning issues, take some poop and a urine clump, and fill it with PrettyLitter to help with the smell
• You can also mix the litter for the first month, so they get used to it
• PrettyLitter will also send you litter packages based on how many cats you have, so it’s never too much
• It can be used with self-automated or self-cleaning litter boxes with ease

Cats love to use this, and even if you have multiple cats, PrettyLitter takes that into consideration, and they make the litter fitting for everyone!

Can Tell You your Cat’s Health too!

When it comes to cat litter, usually most companies don’t take into mind showing the owner’s the cat’s overall health through their fecal and urine matter. But you can learn a lot about a cat through their excretions!

Some things you can learn are the following:

• Any illnesses that might be there
• Any bladder and kidney stones that might happen
• Any alkalinity issues
• Any acidity that might be in the body as well, which can cause kidney and bladder stones

PrettyLitter understands the importance of knowing about a cat’s health through the use of the litter, and some of the ways they help with this include the following:

• Olive/Green coloring that indicates that it’s normal
• Red litter which can mean blood, or any UTIs, might be there
• Blue or Dark green, which means alkalinity issues
• Orange, which is a sign of metabolic acidosis, which means there is a chance there are bladder and kidney stones in the cat’s body

Being on top of your cat’s health is important, and PrettyLiter gets that, hence why they provide all of these indications for owners to use.

Reviews that Prove it’s Good!

PrettyLitter is one of the best types of cat litter out there, and people are loving it. Here are just a few testimonials of what others say!

• We have been using PrettyLitter for over a year now and absolutely love it!!! No clumping, no smell, and no tracking of litter all over my home!! I’ll never go back to clumping litter again.. I donated all of my “back stock ” of regular litter to a local rescue. I keep two trays of litter, one for each cat…and I get about a month and a half use out of an order! We have had no problems making the switch at all…. absolutely give PrettyLitter a try…. You’ll never go back to clumping litter again!
• I’ve been using this for a few months. The first advantage is that I don’t have to drag cat litter up and down the stairs. It’s delivered to my door. The second is that even if I miss a scoop, it never smells. My kitties are happy and I am happy that I am able to see if they’re sick. BEST KITTY LITTER EVER:-)

Kitty litter has never been easier to get, and PrettyLitter will change you and your cat’s life!

Try it Today!

If you’re ready to get the best litter that minimizes odors, then try out PrettyLitter today. Check here for more information on this, and get your first month of PrettyLitter today.

You can eliminate the time-consuming activity of cleaning the litter box every single week with this litter but always keep on top of cleaning so your furry friend is happy.

Originally published at purrpetrators.com on April 1, 2019.