Cat Litter Disposal

[jdee]

My pick:

Teach the cats to use the potty!

I am teaching mine now and he's doing pretty good. I haven't scooped a box in months!

It's early in the morning, and I haven't had much sleep, so I don't know if anyone else will think this is funny, but I just got a mental picture of 9 cats, waiting in line to use the bathroom. Maybe even complaining because one of them is taking too long.

[Sharly]

Thanks to everyone for your great (and entertaining) responses!!

We will probably be trying some new litter because I would like something that is biodegradable, but I sure hate to mess with what is working in that department - know what I mean?

We have tried Feline Pine, though it was a long time ago. We might give that another go.

As for flushable, hubby won't hear of it - we are on a septic system, and though some of them say they will work, he won't risk it.

Thanks for the link to the sample poop bags - I will defintely try that out!

As for the potty training, that is something I would really love to do, though I know I have a couple that probably would never adjust - AND, just like jdee, said, there are NINE of them!!

I did find on-line a do-it-yourself little mini-septic system for the purpose of handling pet waste. I really liked the idea of it, as it is in the ground and you can actually make it look nice. When I mentioned it to hubby, he didn't seem too keen on the idea. He just basically wants to dig a hole away from the house, dump it there, then eventually just cover it up. (UGH)... I think I can sway him later, though. With the homemade septic system, it could be closer to the house and therefore more convenient.

Keep the ideas coming though - I love new innovations!!

[Sharly]

Oh yeah - I forgot to mention this. I saw the link for the Cat Genie and I will tell you this. We tried a "flushing" cat box several years ago. (I think at the time we had 4 or 5 cats). The concept was great, but there were things they needed to work on. We returned it and got our money back.

First of all, it took some getting used to for the cats. It had this crystal kind of "litter", and they weren't actually able to cover solid waste. Also, it was noisy when it "flushed". But, the worst thing about it was the odor. It would take a few minutes for the "flushing" to start, so in the meantime the poo is just sitting there, not covered. Then, when the water would start to swirl through to wash everthing down the drain (it was connected to the washing machine drain), the odor was just awful!! Even with the special (expensive) enzyme odor killing liquid you had to add.

Maybe they have made improvements since that time, but I can't imagine it being that great. Just my two cents worth!

We did have one of the giant automatic litters boxes, and I think they work really well for 1 or 2 cats, but our crew was working that thing to death!!

[IBAmyB]

It's early in the morning, and I haven't had much sleep, so I don't know if anyone else will think this is funny, but I just got a mental picture of 9 cats, waiting in line to use the bathroom. Maybe even complaining because one of them is taking too long.

Hee hee! Too funny!

Luckily it's just the one cat and we have 2 bathrooms, so he has his and I have mine! (Though one of us will have to share with DH when he gets back in 7 weeks!)

[knitgal]

I use "Yesterdays News" kitty litter and it's flushable too. I don't flush all of it, I simply scoop out the poop and flush that, and it usually has some little stuck to it. It's made of recycled newspapers so it's ALREADY helping the environment....maybe that's worth a try? There's two textures, soft and less soft so if won't bother kitty paws and I never have odour problems (although I only have 1 cat!).
IBAmyB how on earth did you teach your cat to do that?! I think that's the funniest/cleverest thing ever!

[Sharly]

Knitgal, thanks for your post. I know we used yesterday's news once before and there was something about it that wasn't working for us, but I cannot remember what it was. We may be giving some litters test drives, so I'll add it to the list.

Thanks again!