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Cats are naturally very clean animals and appreciate a tidy litter tray. If the cat litter doesn’t suit your cat or isn’t changed often enough, problems can arise: your feline may hold it in or do their business somewhere they prefer – and that could even be your bed. This article answers the five most important questions about handling cat litter correctly.
Cats are true individuals not only when it comes to food – they also have very specific likes and dislikes about their litter tray. Many cats are used to a particular product and may react to a change in litter type by holding it in or becoming unclean.
Clumping Litter
Clumping litter is made from clay granules that form solid clumps when they come into contact with cat urine. These urine clumps are removed from the tray using a slotted scoop. This keeps the remaining litter clean for longer and means it doesn’t need changing as often.
Non-Clumping Litter
Non-clumping cat litter absorbs urine without forming clumps. It is based either on clay minerals or silica gel (silica litter). If you use non-clumping litter, you simply need to remove the cat’s faeces daily.
Important: Never use clumping litter for kittens. If kittens nibble at the litter, it can form life-threatening clumps in their stomachs!
You can find a detailed explanation of the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of cat litter in the article: All types of cat litter compared.
To handle cat litter properly, it’s important to know when it needs changing. Cats with normal digestion pass faeces once or twice a day, urine around four to five times a day. If you use clumping litter, you should remove faeces and urine clumps at least once a day using the litter scoop – otherwise unpleasant odours will quickly develop.
Top tip: Urine clumps often stick stubbornly to the sides or corners of the litter tray. Carefully scrape them off with the scoop. If you’re too heavy-handed, the clump will crumble into lots of small pieces that are difficult to remove.
How Much Litter Should I Top Up?
Add roughly the same amount of fresh litter as you have removed. To allow your cat to bury their waste properly, there should always be enough litter in the tray. A depth of seven to ten centimetres is ideal.
You should completely replace the clumping litter filling every two to four weeks. Take this opportunity to clean the tray thoroughly with water and detergent. Non-clumping litter should be replaced once a week.
How Many Litter Trays Does My Cat Need?
How often you need to change the litter entirely also depends on the number of trays. As a rule of thumb: one tray per cat plus one extra. Some house cats are perfectly happy with just one tray, while others need more.
Individual habits also play a role when it comes to managing cat litter. Some cats use one tray for solid waste and another for urine. If your cat has diarrhoea or a bladder infection, you’ll need to change the litter more often.
How Should You Dispose of Cat Litter?
Even if it seems convenient: Used cat litter must never be tipped into the toilet. Clumping litter in particular can cause serious blockages in your pipes. When disposing of cat litter properly, always put it in your household waste. Exception: Some plant-fibre cat litters can be disposed of in the food and garden waste bin or even in the toilet.
If you’d rather not put cat faeces and urine straight into your bin, you can use dog waste bags instead. These are even available in biodegradable versions.
Alternatively, you can opt for a cat litter disposal system. These special bins seal tightly so that neither germs nor odours can escape.
What Can You Do if Your Feline Friend Doesn’t Use the Litter Tray?
Is your cat going everywhere except the litter tray? There can be many reasons for a cat’s inappropriate toileting. Sometimes health problems or stress are behind it, but in other cases it’s simply due to incorrect litter management or choosing the wrong type of litter.
Even if you personally prefer baby powder-scented litter, your cat may find the smell unpleasant. In this case, it’s better to choose an unscented variety.
Cats with sensitive paws often dislike silica litter because the granules are relatively sharp-edged. It also rustles quite loudly when they try to bury their waste, so it’s no longer much of a quiet spot. This alone can put some cats off using the tray.
Cat Spreading Litter All Over the House: What Helps?
Not particularly pleasant, but quite common: your house cat spreads litter throughout the home. Certain types are more likely to stick to paws or fur, such as very lightweight plant-fibre litter.
Special mats can help by catching the granules and simply need shaking out. These litter tray mats are available in various sizes and designs and can save you from reaching for the vacuum quite so often.
You’ll find a wide range of litter tray mats in our online shop:
This article was automatically translated using artificial intelligence.
zooplus Editorial Team
The zooplus editorial team consists of a dedicated team of experts with many years of experience in the field of animal husbandry: Luisa with her White Swiss Shepherd Elyos, Laura, Julio, and Florian. Together with a large network of animal experts, we work to make the zooplus magazine a trusted source of information for all animal owners and lovers. Our goal is to provide exciting animal knowledge and relevant information on the proper care of pets.
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