Cat litter (and tray) advice

[Dave200]

Well, after a text from our cleaner complaining about finding (what is now the second) turd on the toilet floor this morning, I'm going to admit defeat on training our Battersea rescue cat (2yo girl) to use the loo (with one of those tray inserts). She isn't bothered by catnip, and we can't seem to find treats to incentivise her sufficiently to do anything (she's not a big eater aside from breakfast).

I'm going to concede defeat (this time) and revert to a litter tray in the spare bathroom, but I want to improve on the pre-training situation. We've used Catsan clumping and non-clumping litter in the past, and while it's worked OK, I would ideally like something that clumps, deals with smells better than Catsan, and that is flushable (only in small quantities). Can anyone recommend anything?

Also, the temporary litter tray in the guest bathroom was just a basic open tray due to space constraints of fitting it alongside the base of the toilet. I would ideally like to replace this with something with a lid, as she's a keen digger and I hate the crunch of litter on bare feet... Can anyone point me in the direction of where I might find odd-shaped covered trays (not just the usual corner ones). I don't mind paying a little more for something that fits.

Sorry for the ramble, but I don't usually post about pets. Guess I just got a bit carried away... Thanks in advance!

[dustystylus]

Chicken Crumb is what our cat uses.

it clumps really well, is flushable down the loo and you can buy it massive bags from Pet Shops

[digger the goat]

Can you fit a cat flap anywhere ??

[Dave200]

digger the goat said:

Can you fit a cat flap anywhere ??

A good idea, but with two flaws:
1. It's a penthouse flat
2. She's petrified of the front door

I'm in the process of renovating the roof terrace (cat-proof screen, fake grass, plants) so that she can get some fresh air in summer, provided that she learns how to use a ladder. It's baby steps at the moment.

[Dave200]

dustystylus said:

Chicken Crumb is what our cat uses.

it clumps really well, is flushable down the loo and you can buy it massive bags from Pet Shops

Never come across this before. Does it deal with the smell?

[dustystylus]

Dave200 said:

dustystylus said:

Chicken Crumb is what our cat uses.

it clumps really well, is flushable down the loo and you can buy it massive bags from Pet Shops

Never come across this before. Does it deal with the smell?

That's what our cat breeder used and recommended (being a Persian they are generally indoor cats).

I would say yes, it does deal with the smell.

[Dave200]

Thanks for this - will give it a go. Where does one buy this stuff (bearing in mind I'm in Central London), and do any brands work/suit better than others?

[dustystylus]

Dave200 said:

Thanks for this - will give it a go. Where does one buy this stuff (bearing in mind I'm in Central London), and do any brands work/suit better than others?

Any big pet stores (We use jollies).

The specific one we use is ...
http://www.dodsonandhorrellpetfood.co.uk/dodson-ho...

The 20kg bag lasts ages. I think generally there isn't much variance between brands, it's all the same stuff

[ali_kat]

dustystylus said:

Any big pet stores (We use jollies).

The specific one we use is ...
http://www.dodsonandhorrellpetfood.co.uk/dodson-ho...

The 20kg bag lasts ages. I think generally there isn't much variance between brands, it's all the same stuff

A high quality first feed for all chicks, including ducklings????

[Mobile Chicane]

Personally I think cats prefer a nice deep tray, somewhere quiet, and with a lid. You may have to re-think where the tray is sited, rather than try and get away with a small one.

For my money the best cat litter is something called 'Smart Litter'. It's made from compressed wood pellets, is highly absorbent, naturally bactericidal, and doesn't smell. You can either bag-and-bin, or compost any used litter.

It's also the cheapest at £2.78 for a 10Kg bag, although it will mean having to visit Asda as I've never seen this brand on sale anywhere else.

[ali_kat]

Google says Used as cat litter

Well I never - that's a first!!

I'll try it :thumbu;P

Dave, introduce the change gradually, they don't like a complete change all at once & this may cause your cleaner to get really upset

We have 3 of these (guideline is one for each cat & a spare)

http://www.vetgb.com/cat-litter-and-trays/covered-...

I'm liking these

http://www.scampers.co.uk/curver-petlife-rattan-co...

http://coolforcatsuk.com/http:/coolforcatsuk.com/a...

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_litter_litt...

[Dave200]

Cheers folks. She's proven pretty adaptable in general (came to my folks for a few days over Christmas with a new litter tray and no mishaps), so hopefully this shouldn't be too painful. I'm just a little bitter about failing to get her using the toilet - perhaps it's more about the incentivisation than the method.

I'll take a look at the chick feed stuff and let you know.

[BlackVanDyke]

Okoplus (add an umlaut somewhere) is flushable, seems to deal with smells well (as long as the bloody cat hasn't left a cheeky one uncovered) and is easy to come by at my local pet shop. It's a non-clumping one.

[Hilts]

My cat's pretty fussy with litter. He likes Tesco wood pellets which I think do a good job. I once bought a big bag, maybe 30L of wood pellets from Pets at Home and he wouldn't even look at the tray. I wasn't asking him to eat the stuff, just pee in it.

Fussy cat, has to be the right food, the right litter, water from the fountain etc...

[rosie11]

My VCR babies use okoplus which is clumping, brilliant stuff.

[riosyd]

Okoplus is what we use for our cat, the only slight issue is the "tracking" - we bought a special mat which reduces this (Grady Gilbert does have very hairy feet which doesn't help )

[singlecoil]

We've used the wood pellets for years, with a variety of cats, and not had a problem with it. One trick if you are getting through it quickly (as you may find with elderly cats who have a high throughput of water) is to get a garden sieve. Put the sieve in a big bin liner. Remove the No2 and put that in the toilet, tip the used litter into the sieve and give it a good shake (still inside the bag).

The pellets crumble when they soak up the urine, so when sifted the dusty stuff will pass through into the bag, and most of the still dry pellets will stay in the sieve. Tip back into the litter tray, top up with fresh litter, and save a considerable amount of money, as well as reducing the litter disposal problem.