Hi all!

Wanted to get the scoop (lol) on if anybody had used anything BESIDES clay clumping litter in their auto litter box. For reference I live in a shoebox apartment so I've fallen victim to the bits, and I'm looking for something that might keep the smell more manageable.

My cats are pretty loosey goosey, they've used pine just fine in the past and that seems to be the hardest to adjust to, but no matter what they kick the crap (double lol) out of the dusty clay stuff.

I've done research on chick starter and walnut litter, and those seem to be potential contenders, but wanted to double check to see if anyone has tried it since I haven't found much online.

Thanks! :)

Edit: Should specify I'd also love "hacks" like getting bulk at Tractor Supply that's made of the same stuff for CHEAP, but will also splurge if it is something that someone swears by.

I usually wake up at 6 for work. For the longest time, my cat would wake me up at like 5:45, which was fine because it was close enough to when I'd normally get up.

Recently, though, he's been waking me up around 3, 3:30 each morning. Not sure how to get him to stop.

I'll usually open my door, he'll run out, and then as soon as I close my door to go back to sleep, he'll use his super cat skills to break open my door.

I'm assuming he wants to eat, but not sure why he suddenly wants to eat 3 hours earlier than usual.

Hello-
Before you come for me, please note, my dog is reactive to other dogs and neighborhood cats, but lived with a cat for 2 yrs peacefully (before she passed away). I have been so distraught and finally decided to adopt a kitty pair (a daughter and her blind momma).

Does anyone have any advice on introducing my dog to the kitties?
For reference, we’ve had them in the house, separated for 8 days now. The kitties have met my dog 2 times, both controlled (he was in the crate and 2nd time, they were in their crates). He’s mainly curious and when they hiss or move, he gets reactive. We are starting from square one and doing scent swapping.
I just need some advice on anyone who’s had a positive experience and outcome doing this.

Thank you so much. Just a stressed fur parent right meow.

Hello!

Me and my partner just found two kittens (two males, ~2-3 Months old we think) in a park near our house. We think someone dumped them after no longer being able to take care of them or not being able to sell them. Either way we decided to take them in. They both seem healthy and are playful, eating, drinking, and using the litter box. We plan to take them to the vet on Friday just to make sure everything is good. They are the cutest kittens ever and seem to be twins, or at least look the exact same. We don't want to give them up anywhere because we want to keep them together as they seem bonded (and we love them). We know we can take great care of them.

The only problem with this is that we already have FIVE other cats (4 males, 1 Female), so this would bring our total to 7. We are very concerned about introducing 2 new kittens into the mix, especially since one of the cats is more sensitive to new cats and new spaces. Also on top of everything we just moved decently far away.

I don't want to mess anything up with our current cats as they are already behaviorally very good, and are healthy. For now we have kept them in separate rooms and I make sure to play with all of them lots throughout the day. We planned on getting the sensitive male neutered this Friday aswell, but now we are not sure if it's such a great idea adding EVEN MORE stress to him. Although we are also wondering if neutering him will make him less mad / territorial.

After 2 days of having the kittens I have tried to get the cats (especially the more sensitive one) to smell the kitten toys and their litter box and stuff to get used to the scent of the new cats. I have also started to give them a few treats in front of the bedroom door, and when they are sniffing the kitten stuff. I know it's good to get them to associate the kittens smell to treats and play, but sometimes they will just hiss and sometimes growl, and not interact with the toys or treats.

I was wondering if anyone had any tips on introducing groups of cats to each other? Especially introducing adult cats to kittens.

Thank you!

My orange boy is usually very demanding when it comes to dinner time at 7, like will start meowing loudly well before it’s time to be fed (and driving us crazy lol) but today up until dinner he was just sleeping didn’t sit there and scream for an hour like usual. He did eat his dinner like normal and meowed when I opened the can but it was kind of quieter then normal. I feel crazy worrying about him behaving better but just wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this??

My cat originally had a very small plastic one (adopted her so this was the one the foster parent used) the kind that is closed with a handle on top.

Then I got her a stainless steel open air one, but it just really doesn't work in my place.

I would love to reclaim my second bedroom from my cat and maybe make it a tv room for movies and video games (dont currently have a tv and dont really want one in living room. TV room feels like a vibe to me)

I am thinking of going back to closed, this one has really good reviews and some people say the cat even prefers it to their closed one.

One thing about my cat, she seems really adaptable with litter boxes. When I first got her I tried about 4 diff spots for the litter box and she always adjusted with absolutely no problem.

I would still use a stainless steel round one because plastic is gross, but yes the outside of this is all plastic.

Here's the link with the full specs : https://www.amazon.ca/Lifewit-Enclosure-Control-Bedroom-Bathroom/dp/B0D1T6XD2H/ref=sr_1_11?crid=VC7SOQ3VI9OI&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.eBqiuUA6wTkuchjyA_vyp_r6VKUMJRoHjffF0s1lFmEbrZccIX802pXWWbqoURNdeVEiE3Yqns_kjJ1j4bDYlJ2r--Y1jxrrohrVVyGftDyBfsonlcCsHyeG6ymW-8kr-Iblvp7CBgJzhhzMxM2PlJI5Dmb8Qz3PXzE0mxLrl_NRnBdP8vlRCEvTFi0NvpxYTlTpmYR95Rfr1Bdrvv7HZ45orVEYZgpMv1_m82Rm4Zf1oWKIPpA-BEq3D12QxNaeoA_H6xL3wZv6aBqwkFeBAe9xvCjERrA0CFyngvfgQdA.nTzWyGsSF1xpphSX6OYDBz-QkFAbzNBtVN2FG8DpCT8&dib_tag=se&keywords=litter%2Bbox%2Bplanter&qid=1788304351&sprefix=litter%2Bbox%2Bplant%2Caps%2C150&sr=8-11&th=1

Thanks for any input!

I want to start off by saying I love him, he’s really sweet and doesn’t have much behavioral issues. I’ve had him for a month now and it’s just been an absolute battle with him and the litter. I have a female cat as well and had her for a few months before him, she had the occasional stinky poop but I never had issues with her. Him on the other hand, he’s disgusting. I’ve tried many different sized litter boxes and placements, he started off by flipping his smaller litter boxes but he broke the habit/ the one I have now is too big and heavy for that. He tracks like crazy, and my entire apartment was covered in litter. It was also always stuck in a gooey mess in his paws, both things I never had issues with my female cat. That was fine enough, I slowly switched to a different litter and have had less issues with tracking. Although the closet their potty closet and the surrounding hall always has litter on the floor. I have three layers of rug but that does nothing.

All of that is forgiveable, but he is also just plain gross. He pees and poops right outside of the box and when he does go in the box (which is most of the time) he somehow kicks poop out of the box because there are always poop splatters on the walls surrounding the boxes. I’m telling you I’ve tried a hundred different litter box set ups especially because one of the ones I have is adjustable with optional lids and high walls. No matter what I try he gets poop outside of the box, google told me to take one of the lids off the box so it could ventilate better but that could be why he gets poop outside of the box. The box is one of the larger ones on the market too and he is very small for his age so it’s not a matter of not having enough space. I’m constantly deep cleaning and I’m TIRED. My apartment constantly smells like shit I am so frustrated. Somehow my stainless steel litter box STILL smells like PISS after a deep clean and sitting in the sun (the lid is plastic)

I am moving in two weeks and quite frankly I cannot keep him if this continues because I moving to a high rise building and it will be so hard to constantly clean his litter box. I won’t even be able to do it outside and I just know that place is going to smell rancid. Please I am desperate for advice, I really love him but god this smell is unbearable. He is so dirty. I can handle regular scooping and cleaning but this is just ridiculous. Has anyone dealt with this before and how did you fix it?

FYI he is neutered

We had been feeding a stray cat at our rural home for a few months when she had one kitten. We set up a little outdoor home for them on our porch, and the mama cat is extremely chill, never gave our 2 and 4 year old kids any trouble even though they’re chaotic sometimes. We decided to bring them inside and get them vet visits, vaccines etc.

We did that when the kitten was about 5 weeks old. It’s been about 3 weeks, so kitten is about 8 weeks old now. We just had the mom spayed yesterday, she’s recovering well.

The main concern we have is that our 4 year old is EXTREMELY eager to be best friends with the kitten especially, and is just having the absolute hardest time overriding her urge to pick the kitten up/play with her when the kitten clearly wants to get away. We’ve talked to her about it so many times, like multiple times every day. We try and keep it positive as much as possible, acknowledging how much we can see she loves the cats, and that to be a good friend we have to pay attention to what they are telling us. They don’t have words, so we have to pay attention to what their body language is saying. We tried watching “inside the mind of a cat” but she got fixated on the cats that do tricks 😑

Honestly it’s getting really stressful. We can see the kitten is getting scared and stressed. I’m worried she’ll end up being super skittish. The mom is still super chill. Once or twice she’s given her a very gentle warning “nip,” not even a bite just kind of a head gesture.

At what point do we seriously consider re-homing the cats? We love them so much. We have considered putting a cat door on one of our bedrooms and a little eye hook latch on the outside so the girls can’t go in, so the cats have somewhere quiet to hide. My daughter would for sure be able to figure out how to unlatch it, but maybe it would slow her down enough to start to learn and practice some distance?

Anyone else been through this with a little kid? How did you get through to them?

Hello! I’m looking for an automatic litter box for an elderly relative. I want it to be easy to clean and not rely on an app. It will be for one cat. I have the litter robot for myself, but it is difficult to deep clean and expensive. I think the budget would be $200 ideally but flexible. Thanks!

hi friends :)

i live in a very small apartment and have two cats. their boxes are in my bathroom. i’m very on top of cleaning them, poops are cleaned as soon as they are in there and i clean the pee pad about once a week (i have the breeze system). i fully change the pellets about once a month. i never noticed an odor until recently, especially in the warmer months, and im like desperate to get on top of it. i really only notice the odor when im standing right next to the boxes but who knows if im nose blind. i am wanting a small air purifier just for the bathroom by their boxes- like something that could fit on a table top preferably. there’s so much mixed advice when it comes to air purifiers and if they work or not and what works and what doesn’t so im having a hard time picking one out. im hoping to spend between 50 and 75, but will save a little more if that budget is unrealistic.

also being that the boxes are a little bit older and plastic i’m wondering if replacing them would be key here as well? they do have some staining on them but i scrub them hardcore when i change the litter. if anyone else has the breeze system have you ever replaced your box entirely?

thanks in advance :-)

My 2 kittens, about 4 months old just tested positive for Giardia, and after reading about people’s experiences with trying to get rid of it, I’m super nervous! Any advice or tips on getting rid of it for good would be greatly appreciated!!! 🙏

I adopted my cat from a shelter (4 year old lady) a few weeks ago and I love her to the ends of the earth. Im wondering if some wise cat people here could give me tips on next steps with her?

For context its been a few weeks and she only comes out of her spot in the night or late evening. She comes and peeks at me when Im in bed or on the couch late for a few seconds/ a minute and then backs away. I feel like she really wants to come closer but is to scared. I give her space, dont try to invade her boundaries and just want her to be comfortable.

Hasnt shown interest in toys and does not seem food driven. Uses her scratching post.

She was found abandoned in the wild a year ago and we dont know her history before the shelter, she is not agressive at all, barely hisses and never scratches at me (was the same at the shelter). She only backs away and looks scared.

Does someone have tips that I can use to boost my tiny angels confidence and feel calm?

I have two cats at home and my boyfriend has one cat at his home. When I sat down in his bed his cat came to say hi which he always does, he knows me and he always enjoys sitting with me. But this time around he was acting different. He started aggressively rubbing his face on the blanket I just sat on and then started doing it to me. And then he started biting me and attacking my arm, like bunny kicking. I had a sweater on thank god because he has very long claws and he would’ve cut me bad otherwise. But I had to push him off and by pure luck he didn’t try attacking me any further. I’m worried now that after I leave he’s going to still smell me. Is there anything I can do? Any precautions my bf can take? It’s a one cat house, so he doesn’t have any other cats he’ll be freaked out by or attack. But I don’t want him to attack any family in the house.

I put on a pair of pants that were covered in cat fur earlier, and I lint rolled them heavily. I thought it would be okay cause this is not my first time going over smelling like my cats, and I didn’t see any visible patches of fur. Little stragglers, but again, I’ve been with my bf for 3 years and this is not my first time coming over with fur on me. But im guessing my scent passed the threshold of cat smell, and it was too strong this time around. This is purely all speculation but I believe this was a reaction to my cats. Any advice would be appreciated. I feel really guilty. I’m scared he’s gonna have behavioral issues and I just messed my boyfriend’s cat up ☹️.

I’ll definitely make sure to do laundry and only wear clean clothes for the future..

We just brought my kitten home and she’s in a spay suit but seems to have trouble walking, falling over, etc. I know she is still loopy too. But will she be able to use the bathroom and eat/drink properly? It needs to be on her for at least 3 days.

Hi guys, im making this post in advice/help of a new 2 months old male cat owner. According to the owner hes already litter trained, just needs vaccinations and castrating.
-What should i do to make this a smooth ride for the cat and myself. do i need to train him for other things, buy him toys? Which one are the most fun for them?

Any help would be appreciated.

I have to bring my cats to a hotel for ten nights. We’re moving back to the US and we have to be out of our current apartment ten days before the flight, so we have to get a hotel for those nights. Already made a reservation at a pet friendly hotel. Has anyone had their cats in hotels and if so do you have any tips? I know they may be a bit off since it’s an unfamiliar place but I’m wondering if there’s anything we can do to make them more comfortable and less scared especially as they’re going to be coming on an international flight with us afterwards. Honestly I was thinking they might not be terrible with adjusting as even at the vet they’re pretty happy, one of them even climbs on the vets shoulders lol. Thank you!

You live with your mummy daddy and brother. You and your brother are ~4 years old. You have only ever lived in 2 bedroom houses with an upstairs and a downstairs.

Mummy and daddy are moving to Japan in a few months for 2 years. You can either stay in your current 2 bedroom house which you have lived in for the past year with your brother but be looked after by mummy and daddy’s friend who you have never met until mummy and daddy return in 2 years. Or come to Japan and live in a much smaller 25-35 m^2 studio apartment with your brother, mummy and daddy for the 2 years.

Whah would you want?

Before anyone gets the wrong idea, let me explain.

I have three cats of my own. They are very peaceful with one another and have lived with me for years. I recently moved, and they adjusted wonderfully. I was worried they might try to leave the house because it is very open and difficult to completely cat-proof, but they have shown no interest whatsoever in exploring the neighborhood.

The problem is that the house had been vacant for a few weeks before I moved in, and I believe some stray cats had started treating it as their home. There are about three of them that keep coming inside.

They make my cats extremely uncomfortable and urinate all over the house. I am tired of constantly washing the carpet. I had to raise my bookshelves off the floor, and I have already thrown away several books because they were soaked in urine. They have even urinated on the dining table and the kitchen counter.

I have tried chasing them away and using commercial cat repellents. Even our dog, who chases unfamiliar cats, has not managed to deter them.

It has become so overwhelming that I am genuinely starting to feel depressed from constantly seeing my belongings ruined, smelling cat urine throughout the house, and watching my own cats remain stressed in their own home.

The only thing that has worked so far is keeping everything shut, but I do not want to live like a prisoner or restrict my own cats’ and dog’s access to the house.

I have moved my cats’ food into my office and started feeding them only at set times, but the intruding cats are large, intimidating, and aggressive. I do not know how I could safely catch them and find homes for them. I also live in a small town with no animal rescue organizations or services that could handle the situation.

Has anyone dealt with something similar? How can I keep these cats out without hurting them or severely restricting my own pets?

And everyday, no matter how much or how little I leave, she wants constant affection and pets. I play with her with a feather toy 2-3 times a day for 10/15 minutes (usually until she’s uninterested or tired) and we play fetch with her toys where she will run up and down a long hallway until she’s tired. I give her wet food mixed with water in the morning on a sensory plate and she gets greenie treat puzzles every day. I play a game called “100 pets” where I literally just count each pet out loud until I get to 100. I also brush her a good amount because she loves it a lot to the point of drooling. These are almost all day every day things! Unless I leave for work or a weekend backpacking trip. If I’m gone more than a day or two I have a cat sitter for her mostly just to give her affection. Is this normal?? I feel like maybe I’m not doing enough for her environment / she’s not getting enough enrichment? Why does she constantly need affection, I can’t even work from home without her attacking my plants until I pet her and focus on her. I try to plop her in my lap and pet her while working and sometimes she’s okay with that. The only way I can get her to calm down (I found out accidentally) is by putting a little sweater on her. Is she anxious? Should I ask my vet to evaluate her for anxiety?

Hey everyone, I really need advice or a sanity check because my 10 month old kitten is driving me up the wall.

She’s a Ragdoll cross, already spayed, and has a completely clean bill of health from the vet. She gets plenty of food (we use an automatic feeder), has a resident cat sibling, heaps of toys, regular play, and goes on outings with me. She is definitely not neglected!

Her main issue is an absolute obsession with food and non-stop vocalizing. She inhales her meals super fast, so I switched to slow feeders hoping it would help her digest and feel full, but she is still desperate for food 24/7.

If I try the "ignore her" approach, she doesn't give up after a few minutes, she will literally stand there meowing for over an hour. It’s so intense that she tricks other people in the house into feeding her because she acts completely starved. She’ll try to snatch anything edible in sight.

My patience is paper-thin and I am losing my mind. Has anyone dealt with a, food-obsessed teenage kitten who is this relentlessly vocal?
Did yours eventually outgrow this, or how did you break the "vacuum eating" habit?

How do you effectively ignore a cat when their meowing marathon lasts over an hour?

Any advice on boundary setting, extreme food puzzles, or sanity-saving tips would be massively appreciated!

Hello! I have very little experience with cats, but I was planning on traveling to visit family. I have a small 4-month-old kitten and was thinking if it would be a good idea to take him with me to meet the rest of my family. He is on preventative flea medication, has no worms (fecal test confirmed), is in good health, eats well, and plays constantly. I bought a Petami backpack for walks, but wanted to see if it would be a good idea to go on this car ride with him. I plan to stop several times to allow him time outside the backpack to see if he would use the litter box (yes, I'm bringing the litter box with me). I am unsure if this is a good idea, terrible, or in between. I would like to ask for advice. I can also leave him in my current housing situation, as I have roommates who can take care of him.

Good day fellow cat homers,

I have taken Lilo to the vet several times to figure out if something is wrong with her health or if it’s just behavioral and it comes down to being behavioral because she is one healthy catto and the vet has had no advice for me which blows my mind!

Lilo is a beautiful tuxedo cat who has a habit of popping outside of the litter box for years now. I have four litter boxes for my two cats which I clean out twice a day because I read that could be the problem, but it isn’t. I was thinking it could be that the boxes are in the basement as the issue but she uses the boxes downstairs for peeing and has no problem with it. This has also been happening in the home I lived in before this as well where the litter boxes were more in a common space instead of in the basement.

This has recently became a problem for someone I live with as of recently and I need to find a solution for this because she is my child and she matters so much to me and I want to help her.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated and I would accept all ideas

Thank you all for your time

I’ve become the only owner of 3 cats. All littermates, one male and two females. 7 yrs old. Adopted at 3 months, roughly. All vaccinated etc. Indoor only. They were ‘friendly’ to each other when young, but that’s decreased a lot over time. While I used to have a full house with kids and a partner, all are gone now. It’s just me. I’m not a huge ‘cat’ person and I’ve been dealing with substantial personal stress and health issues the last year and a half related to the empty nest. It isn’t relevant to my question but it’s the background.

Originally all 3 were fine with each other and all explored the house. Now, somehow, the girls cannot stand to be around each other. One is a bully (N) and the other (S) has retreated to a bedroom on the second floor. I’ve tried to be cautious and moved around litter boxes and food and water so it’s all approachable to all without stress. That had
been working.

Until N got more confident and came up to the second floor. Previously her S had the reign up there but now she is reluctant to leave the bedroom and even more skittish than she used to be (even with me). S is very loving and loves my attention but is on edge whenever she leaves the room. I could easily move a litter box and food there but I feel she would never leave.

I cannot do a good separation/introduction with the set up of my house. Gates/screens are impossible with the open floor format and there are no doors to block. I would have to carry her downstairs and put her in a cat enclosure to keep her down there and I’m afraid it would make her more stressed.

I have tried pheromones etc. The house is open and large and I don’t think they had an effect. I try to spend time upstairs but it is only bedrooms and I’d rather coax S to come down.

Advice? Their brother (U) is a fat f&ck and goes everywhere eating everyone’s food and using all the litter boxes because he’s a fat f&ck. lol. He doesn’t give 2 craps and angles for all the attention all the time. He’s a ginger and an idiot. The girls don’t care about him.

I work full time and aren’t home for extended periods which doesn’t help. They are scared of anyone they don’t know, due to the fat f&ck’s trauma of hearing the doorbell when he was a kitten and running whenever anyone came over he didn’t know. It became contagious and now I’m the only one they like. I don’t have any family who can help anymore.

Is there a way to get the girls to be ok with each other? They had been fine, but this last year was extremely stressful for everyone, with a lot of losses in the house. One of them must have upset the other and I can’t quite do cat family therapy with everyone. I don’t want to set up S in a tent downstairs in a slow progression if there is a less stressful way.

Hello,

we have a resident cat who is 1 years old, and a new baby kitten who is 3 months. We have been doing little introductions and scent swaps and room swaps and baby gate supervised visits, my kitten does NOT care about our resident cat, he wants to be with him and play and whatnot but my resident cat is a bit stressed around him, we can’t tell if he’s being playful or not, when we have the baby gate up my resident cat often swats at the kitten but no hissing or anything, but his eyes are a little wide. He will sometimes make a trilling noise or meow at him but kitten is so little I’m nervous to do no barrier introduction in fear that our resident cat will hurt the kitten. Our kitten will meow in his room and resident cat will seemly “talk” back with him, just meowing back and forth. He seems sweet with him between the door but when face to face between a gate he gets stressed. Like right now he’s meowing for the kitten at his door like a normal nice meow, I’m just really not sure. Any tips??