Litter and Litter Boxes

I like pine pellets with an XL sifting litter box

(Links to products are at the end of this page)

Pros:

• Natural pine scent (could be a con if you don't like the smell of pine)

• Low dust (there is saw dust, but it is heavy and doesn't linger in the air like clay does)

• Doesn't make a big mess across the house like clay litter, and pellets near the box are easy to pick up

• Extremely cost efficient in the long run

• Pellets come in 40 pound bags, it lasts a LONG time.

Cons:

• Pine pellets are not a soft substrate, some cats do NOT like it.  Our kittens are litter trained on it, so they will use it when they leave our house.  But if you move them to a soft substrate, then decide to go back to pine, they might reject it.

• Requires an XL sifting litter box, and there aren't very many good ones on the market

• Pellets come in 40 pound bags, that could be a lot if you don't have much space for storing it (we dump the bag into a large storage bin in our utility room).

Why I don't use Clay Clumping Litter:
I don't like clay clumping litters - kittens and cats can and do lick their paws after using the box.  Clumping litter can stick to the fur between those precious toe beans, then gets ingested into their digestive tracks, where it can clump in their intestines.  This can lead to a visit to the ER with surgery to remove the obstruction if it can't be passed naturally.  

Also, I detest the mess that those tiny granules make on the floor - they get everywhere, all over the house!  They stick to your feet, and that drives me insane!  I get the appeal of a robot litter box (I've used them in the past), and those all use clumping litter - but not even the robots prevent those granules from getting everywhere.  Neither do mats. 

There are alternative clumping litters that are safer if ingested.  An example is  this FUKUMARU cat litter that uses tofu and plant products instead of clay.  This stuff is honestly great - it can be flushed in a toilet.  It gets wet, it clumps.  If it continues getting wet, it dissolves.   This makes it quite a bit safer for a cat that might ingest some.  This is what we use when we go to cat shows.  But this is a ridiculously expensive cat litter, it isn't something I can recommend for day-to-day use.  Also, even though it is safer than clay, it still has the annoying habit of ending up everywhere!  

Why I like Pine Pellets:
Pine pellets are completely natural - it's pine bark that has been compressed into a pellet size.  When a cat pees on it, it dissolves into sawdust.  Sifting litter boxes have 2 levels - a sifting box (where the cat goes) that sits on top of a collection pan/box.  The sawdust gets sifted into the lower level.  You still have to scoop the poop (or use doggy bags to pick it up, which is what we do).  Some people don't like the smell of pine (I love the smell of pine), and some feel that it doesn't do a good enough job of absorbing the smell (that has not been my experience, I find it does an excellent job and that's one of the reasons I love it).  The pellets don't break down immediately, it takes a few minutes, so the cats don't track sawdust if you keep up with your litter box.  They do still  knock pellets out of the box, but those stay close and they are easy to pick up and put right back in the box!  Also, pine pellets are low dust - there will be saw dust, but it is heavy, it doesn't stay in the air the way dust from clay litter does!

The Sifting Litter Box - As mentioned before, sifting litter boxes have 2 components - a collection bin at the bottom, and a sifting box that sits on top of it (that's where you put the pine pellets).  You want something that has a deep collection pan (I like 8 inches of collection, meaning the pan has to be 8 inches PLUS the depth of the  sifting box that sits on top).  Many sifting boxes have shallow pans, which means that after just one or two times using the box, you have to clean out the pan (big cats leave big pees). You also want the sifting pan to have slots that are large enough for saw dust to easily filter to the collection pan, but not so large that your pine pellets are getting stuck in the slots or are falling through.  

I have found 2 boxes that I like - one is a smaller box, which is great for litter training kittens - I won't recommend that one since they are fully litter trained by the time they leave our house and they outgrow that one within a year.  The one I will recommend is stainless steel, which is easier to clean and helps reduce smells in the long run, and XL for a Maine Coon. 

Side Note about Depth of the Collection Box:
It is incredibly hard to find a box that is deep enough, I've never found one that I consider to be deep enough.  My definition of deep enough is two-part:

• For a single adult Maine Coon male, I should not have to dump the collection bin for at least 3 days.

• The box liner/bag should be full when I remove it, or at least 3/4 full.

For most boxes, when you remove that liner there is still a LOT of empty space in it.  That is so wasteful.  So we've found a workaround to make a deeper collection pan.  I put 4 furniture risers in the collection pan (5 inch risers in a pan that has a 3 inch collection space, making a total of 8 inches of collection space), then put a litter box liner over the risers, then put the sifting box on top.  For the box we use, this is stable and gives us more collection space and allows the liner/bag to collect more sawdust before we have to replace it.

I will post a short video at the bottom of this page showing what this all looks like (it will be a link to a FB post)

For Pine Pellets - Tractor Supply Company sells 40 pound bags for appx $7 - you can't beat that deal!

With this set up, you will pay a larger up front cost because the litter box is pricey (but certainly not as pricey as a litter robot).  However, 40 pounds of pine pellets lasts a long time - even in a cattery, it lasts a long time!  That means you will pay significantly less on the cost of litter when using pine pellets, and that's the money you are spending over time (the box is a one time cost).

Here are links to the products we use:

• Stainless Steel Sifting Litter Box

• Pine Pellet (Litter)

• Litter Pan Liners (Bags)

• 5in Furniture Risers

• Doggie Poop Bags - most of the time I just grab a doggie poop bag and use it to pick up poop in the litter box.  If there is a lot of poop (rarely because I clean boxes all day long), I scoop into the doggie poop bag then tie it off and toss it.

Here is a link to a video I made showing how it all comes together