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Covers one, but not the other - what gives?

phoozles
March 20th, 2008, 03:52 PM
I'm getting a little frustrated with my little devil angel Alley.
Ever since we got her, I noticed that if I leave the litter box for more than a day (yes, I forget sometimes :o) it has turned into a thick clay-like paste. So I figured that one of them wasn't covering their pee.

I actually suspected Jake at first, even though he's always been good, because I could have sworn I saw Alley cover her stuff.

Turns out I did. She'll cover the poo, but not the pee. I've seen her completely walk away after she urinates (right after I clean out the box, of course :frustrated:), and then shortly after, deficate, but cover it up.

What's up with that? I've tried to show her to cover the pee, but does anyone have any tips to make it a reality? Because she doesn't cover the pee, the litter turns to sludge after just a couple of hours :yuck:, unfortunately and it's driving me nuts! :yell:

meg4050
March 20th, 2008, 03:55 PM
Please let me know if you figure it out! :laughing: Peaches changes from day to day... some days he covers both, other says he won't cover either! :yuck: Gets stinky if I'm not home to clean it right away!

chico2
March 20th, 2008, 04:27 PM
I think you have to remember to pick out their gifts every day,I have 3 cats and do it a couple of times a day.
I believe,especially if the boxes are dirty,they'll quickly go in and do their business and rush out of there as fast as they can,never mind covering up and getting their paws dirty:cat::laughing:

phoozles
March 20th, 2008, 04:42 PM
Well, that wasn't the quick fix answer I was looking for! :laughing:

Just kidding, I knew it was probably a lost cause - it's weird, because she'll pee and leave it uncovered RIGHT AFTER I CLEAN IT.. I know it's not pristine, but c'mon kitten, give me a break and throw a little sand over it. If she had to cover one thing, I kind of wish it was the pee instead. *sigh*

I know I'll have to be a little more diligent - that's the problem with the boxes being in a side room - it tends to be out of sight, out of mind. Plus lately I haven't been able to smell a thing, so that makes things even more difficult!

duttypaws
March 20th, 2008, 04:43 PM
lol yep my cat back in the uk one is a neat freak i.e. spends at least 5 mins covering the lot as for buffy well she mews , bangs the box cover makes a scene (i think she thinks we think she is covering it) then just leaves it uncovered.... it smells.... :yuck:

chico2
March 21st, 2008, 06:37 AM
Honestly,to me it does not really matter if they cover their business or not,it's not like I am going to have my dinner beside the box:laughing:
My boxes are downstairs,the only time the smell reaches upstairs is extra smelly poop and it will quickly be removed.
Having had animals most of my life,very little grosses me out:laughing:

ancientgirl
March 21st, 2008, 08:15 AM
I've noticed that Kiska and Maks sometimes don't cover their pee, especially when they're in a hurry to go chase one another. I don't however have a problem with the litter being all sludgy though if they don't cover it. :shrug:

Jim Hall
March 21st, 2008, 08:50 AM
sludgy? what kind of litter are u using?

growler~GateKeeper
March 22nd, 2008, 10:15 PM
I recommend you switch to all natural pine cat litter Feline Fresh (http://www.planetwiseproducts.com/feline.htm) it is available either as pellets (what I buy :D) or as clumping litter. As the litter is used it becomes sawdust which dries nice & clean, and it is naturally odour eliminating so the only smell is from really really stinky poop. :D

No clay-like sludge, and it dries whether they cover it or not :thumbs up

And they have a rebate form on their website for a free first bag :D

chico2
March 23rd, 2008, 06:00 AM
I was wondering what the poster means by"sludge"??if there is enough litter in the box,there should be no"sludge",but just clumps.

growler~GateKeeper
March 24th, 2008, 12:38 AM
Chico - when I was still using clay litter (before switching to Feline Fresh Pine Pellets :thumbs up) I noticed if the litter was extra dusty even with enough volume in the box if it was or wasn't covered it would go a bit sludge-y :yuck: It probably also depends on what kind of clay they use in the litter formula.

The last bag I bought was super super dusty even though they claim to be 99% dust free - that one was about 90% dust :frustrated: :shrug: I switched no more sludge, no more dust, no more smell :thumbs up

chico2
March 24th, 2008, 05:58 AM
Growler,I am still using clay litter,I tried Sweat-Scoop once,other than beeing very expensive,the cats did not seem comfortable with it.
I never tried the pine-litter,which would probably be better for the cats and the environment,but having 2 HUGE boxes and a smaller one,it would just be too darn expensive.
I have good ventilation where the boxes are and I change all of the litter every 2 weeks,it is possible it smells,but I cannot smell anything,probably just because I am used to it:confused:
I also go downstairs and pick it clean a couple of times a day.

growler~GateKeeper
March 24th, 2008, 07:53 PM
Chico - A 20lbs bag of Feline Pine pellets costs me $11.19 incl taxes lasts approx 1-1.5 months with 1 cat. Pine litter does not need a full change every 2 weeks, I do it once a month providing there's no diarreah of course. :)

ancientgirl
March 24th, 2008, 08:38 PM
I may have to order this. I like the Swheat Scoop, but I'm always looking for something better. I once tried Feline Pine, but it didn't control the odor well. I can't find anywhere here where they sell the Feline Fresh, so I may order a bag to try it.

growler~GateKeeper
March 24th, 2008, 10:07 PM
Ancientgirl - a large part of the odour of poop depends on the quality of the food you are feeding. For example when Duffy was eating :yuck: RC :yuck: as soon as I walked in the front door to the apt I could smell that she had gone (litterbox in the bathroom down the hall). When I switched her to Evo then Wellness and she's now on rawfood I can only smell it while I am scooping. The smell is completely controlled if she covers her poop, which doesn't always happen :shrug: If Duffy poops in the litterbox regardless of whether she covers it or not I could walk past the bathroom & unless I look, I would not know by smell alone that she went.

ancientgirl
March 25th, 2008, 09:26 AM
Makes sense. I'm trying to switch them to EVO. Their still fighting me but I'm going to keep at it. Hopefully I can get them to eat it and their poop won't be so smelly.:yuck:

phoozles
March 26th, 2008, 12:07 PM
I'm using a rather generic brand, but for a purpose - before I got Alley, it was the only brand that clumped quick enough for the Littermaid to neatly clean it up.

Since I've had her, though, I've had the sludge problem. If it's not because she's not covering, then I don't know what it is - but all signs point to that being the case..

Smell has never been the problem, because with my sinusitis, I can't smell anything anyway!

I guess I'll shop around for different litters.

Hollygirl
March 28th, 2008, 02:39 PM
Hi Phoozle, Do you only use 1 litter box for 2 cats? It might be that with both of them going in the same box the litter is not able to control it. I have 2 cats and use 3 litter pans.

phoozles
March 28th, 2008, 04:03 PM
I have two boxes for two cats. I considered getting another box, but they seem to use both equally, so I think another box isn't going to make much of a difference.

Alley just won't cover her pee - it's odd, and annoying. I think the reason why it's turning into wet 'sludgy' clay is because of my Littermaid. If she doesn't cover it, the Littermaid still tries to grab the wet stuff and move it along, and let me tell you - the outcome is not pretty :yuck:

I've since turned the Littermaid off, turning it into a regular box, but I think I'll still need a new litter - in the 'regular' box, Alley still doesn't cover, and while it's not sludgy, because her urine takes over a large area without covering, the clumps are MASSIVE, making it a waste of litter and a pain to scoop! :frustrated:

phoozles
April 2nd, 2008, 12:15 PM
Growler I took your advice and picked up a bag of Feline Fresh (they only had the scoopable, not the pellets). Anyway, I completely cleaned out one of the boxes (broke a scoop doing it - stupid clay paste :frustrated:), and put in a layer of the pine stuff. Of course, Alley had to come right over and pee in it the moment I had it in, but the good news is...

She covered it! :party: :pawprint:

I have no idea why she was cool with covering it with the new litter, but I don't care! My boyfriend and I did a little pee covering dance for Alley - I think she thought we were :crazy: :laughing:

Anyway, hopefully this keeps up, and paste will be a thing of the past! :fingerscr

growler~GateKeeper
April 2nd, 2008, 11:31 PM
Great News Phoozles :highfive:

Has Jake checked it out yet? :goodvibes:

phoozles
April 3rd, 2008, 11:17 AM
I can only assume that Jake has used it too - I left the other box with the majority of the old litter in it - just in case - and both boxes were used. Jake's always been able to adapt quickly to litter changes, so I'm :fingerscr that things will be less messy from now on..

I'm also setting up a routine for myself to clean out the boxes right when I get home from work - it won't eliminate the paste problem if it returns, but there'll be less of it.. :yuck:

Any idea if the Feline Fresh would work in the Littermaid system? Right now I have the Littermaid turned off, but it would be nice to have it back on, so I can just dump the piney clumps into the toilet each day..

growler~GateKeeper
April 4th, 2008, 12:41 AM
Have no idea how it would work w/Littermaid :shrug: I just have a regular box.

Here is the contact page for Feline Fresh, just fill out the form, ask your question, they will email you their response. When I used this form to ask a different question they responded fairly quickly :thumbs up

http://www.planetwiseproducts.com/contact.htm

and here's a mail in rebate for the First small size 6lbs Scoopable or 7lbs Pellet bag - this promo is available in Canada - I asked :D http://www.planetwiseproducts.com/breeder_coupon_2008.pdf

and a frequent buyer mail in coupon for a free bag when you buy 6 http://www.planetwiseproducts.com/freqbuyform.pdf

phoozles
April 4th, 2008, 10:01 AM
Awesome - thanks!

I was wondering if you could use it in Canada - too bad the first bag I bought was a big one! But if I get a free small one, I'm all over that! :thumbs up

phoozles
April 4th, 2008, 02:57 PM
They got back to me super fast, but said that I shouldn't use the Littermaid because the litter is so lightweight.. :sad:

It's what I expected, but a little disappointing - Oh well :)

growler~GateKeeper
April 4th, 2008, 10:33 PM
Awesome - thanks!

I was wondering if you could use it in Canada - too bad the first bag I bought was a big one! But if I get a free small one, I'm all over that! :thumbs up

Keep the UPC code from the first bag & you can use that toward the buy 6 get one free offer :)

otter
April 5th, 2008, 11:53 AM
Growler recommended Feline Pine to me too :D (cause I was having trouble with mice munching on the wheat stuff) and I love it. When I read your OP that's immediately what I thought "Feline Pine would solve this problem!) :thumbs up

Growler.... are you getting kick backs from the company :laughing: You should!

Oooops, did I mention that I love Feline Pine!

growler~GateKeeper
April 5th, 2008, 10:07 PM
Growler recommended Feline Pine to me too :D (cause I was having trouble with mice munching on the wheat stuff) and I love it.

Growler.... are you getting kick backs from the company :laughing: You should!

I'm glad it's working great for you Otter :highfive:

:laughing: and no I'm not getting any kickbacks from the company :laughing: would be nice though :laughing:

phoozles
April 8th, 2008, 12:21 PM
So, I might have spoken too soon (what a shock when it comes to Alley :rolleyes: :evil:)

Turns out that covering I saw her do was pretty much a one time thing. I now clean out the box once a day when I get home from work, and I've come home to see an actual puddle in the middle of the box because she hasn't covered it.

The good news is that with the Feline Fresh, all I have to do is lightly cover it myself and it clumps almost immediately. The bad news is that since she's not doing it herself, it makes the litter box pretty gross until I clean it..

I might have to clean the boxes twice a day now - I don't have enough grocery bags for that though!

I'm wondering if maybe she's drinking too much water (is that possible?) I feed her 4 times a day, and add enough water to cover the bottom of her bowl at each feeding.. Maybe it's too much.. ? :shrug: The only reason why I'm hesitant to reduce the amount is because adding water slows her eating down (she's a little piggy)..

krdahmer
April 8th, 2008, 01:53 PM
I have to ask, not sure if anyone did I was skimming :o... how much litter is in your boxes? Do they have at least 3 inches deep? I just can't see how a clumping litter would get puddles? Or is she digging right down to the bottom? Maybe putting the litter higher will make it harder for her to get to the bottom?

All of my guys are notorious 'drop and runners'.... but the pee is always clumped even when they don't cover it. Mainly they do a 'poop and run'... then zoomies right after like they feel lighter... :laughing:

Oh and some of them are now digging and burying... ever since I added the two long rubbermaids... they use those the most as it gives them plenty of room to find a non-used spot. And I only scoop once a day. With the Swwheat Scoop multicat, which so far really does clump harder and faster for us.

phoozles
April 8th, 2008, 03:10 PM
I have to ask, not sure if anyone did I was skimming :o... how much litter is in your boxes? Do they have at least 3 inches deep? I just can't see how a clumping litter would get puddles? Or is she digging right down to the bottom? Maybe putting the litter higher will make it harder for her to get to the bottom?

All of my guys are notorious 'drop and runners'.... but the pee is always clumped even when they don't cover it. Mainly they do a 'poop and run'... then zoomies right after like they feel lighter... :laughing:

Oh and some of them are now digging and burying... ever since I added the two long rubbermaids... they use those the most as it gives them plenty of room to find a non-used spot. And I only scoop once a day. With the Swwheat Scoop multicat, which so far really does clump harder and faster for us.

When I had the clay stuff, their boxes were about 3.5 inches deep. With the Feline Fresh, it's only about 2 inches, as per the directions on the bag.

Because I've only come home to the puddles (and not seen them happen firsthand), I don't know if she's dug that far or if it just sort of happened. :shrug: Jake could have done it.. because there was definitely a "well" of sorts - unused litter was piled up around it..

I added a bit more litter yesterday - hopefully when I get home tonight it'll be puddle free! :fingerscr