New cat litter to try????

rita-rabbit

Fridaycat wrote: »

Not sure how long the offer is on for with Z+ so I stocked up today on some OKO as I don't particularly rate Tigerino either.

But in answer to your final question, it's not hygienic at all. You should completely empty all old cat litter at the longest fortnightly and fully disinfect the tray. Not sure how happy I would be using a toilet that was never cleaned, even with the waste being taken away. With cats, you increase the risk of diseases such as FIP if you don't follow robust but basic hygiene standards.

I disagree - I only disinfect my two cats litterboxes ocassionally - say monthly & even less rarely completely change the litter. I do however scoop daily. Cats are completely fine. I do feel quality food makes a difference as the solids are v easy to identify & remove & using clumping litter so are the liquids

Fridaycat

rita-rabbit wrote: »

I disagree - I only disinfect my two cats litterboxes ocassionally - say monthly & even less rarely completely change the litter. I do however scoop daily. Cats are completely fine. I do feel quality food makes a difference as the solids are v easy to identify & remove & using clumping litter so are the liquids

Fair enough. It is true that FIP is a relatively rare disease, but fatal once caught, so I'd rather reduce any risks through simple hygiene tasks that take minutes to do if I can. It's most likely transmitted through faeces in multi cat households, and FAB suggest the following:

"Faeces should be removed from litterboxes at least once daily, and litter should be completely changed as often as possible accompanied by disinfection of the trays"

But if you don't want to take such precautions, that is of course your prerogative.

Fridaycat

I actually googled this as you got me thinking whether or not I'm being too fastidious. All the answers I came across varied between weekly or two-weekly disinfection/thorough clean (with one or two saying 3 weeks). This is pretty typical:

Keeping it clean
To meet the needs of the most discriminating cat, you should scoop feces out of the litter box daily. How often you actually change (replace) the litter depends on the number of cats you have, the number of litter boxes, and the type of litter you use.

Twice a week is a general guideline for replacing clay litter, but depending on the circumstances, you may need to replace it every other day or only once a week.

If you clean the litter box daily, you might only need to change clumping litter every two to three weeks. If you notice an odor or if much of the litter is wet or clumped, it's time for a change.

Scrub the box every time you change the litter. Use mild dish detergent to clean it, as products with ammonia or citrus oils can turn a cat off, and some cleaning products are toxic to cats."

I use Safe4 disinfectant on mine which is what some vets use as it's a safe disinfectant. I'm happy with my cleaning routine.

(source of quote: http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/cats/tips/preventing_litter_box_problems.html)

gettingready

OK reporting back on BIocat - whole week today and will definitely last another week, perhaps a bit more.

So.. so far - 1 bag of Grey Master 15 days for 4 indoor cats.
Biocat - will it beat Grey Master? We shall see....

Fire_Fox

rita-rabbit wrote: »

I disagree - I only disinfect my two cats litterboxes ocassionally - say monthly & even less rarely completely change the litter. I do however scoop daily. Cats are completely fine. I do feel quality food makes a difference as the solids are v easy to identify & remove & using clumping litter so are the liquids

Agree. I deep fill a very large tray so nothing normally touches the bottom or sides, on the rare occasion it does I either empty the full tray or tip and spot clean. Lulu is bad for standing on the rim so I use a toilet wipe on that regularly. Wood is naturally antibacterial, and my solo cat is indoor only with no pets locally so low risk of incoming infection.

A friend of mine uses a small tray with only a small amount clay litter so is constantly having to scrub it out and her flat does smell of cat toilet whereas mine honestly does not (except the occasional stinker! :eek:).

Haven't yet tried Tigerino - still using up the Oko Plus - if it breaks up then I will certainly be cleaning the tray out more often. Do not want loads of tiny bits of used litter hanging around. _pale_

gettingready

2 weeks today on one bag of Biocat split between 2 trays with 4 cats. Still going. I think will last for another 2-4 days perhaps so.. value for money wise - Biocat beats Golden Grey and they are almost identical in looks/use.

Biocat is cheaper though and lasts longer so.. I got a winner - for my 4 cats