RE: Daily litter box cleaning routine….

[fredalina]

This probably won’t work for everyone, but for me i have it down to a science! My DH is allergic so i have to change the litterbox daily, as well as vacuum out the cage and run and the room the cage and run are in. So far, he’s doing okay. i also happen to be mildly allergic to the hay. i’m using orchard grass now because i’m more than a little allergic to timothy.

i have 2 litterboxes, the medium cat litter boxes. It would be nice to be able to use a smaller one as it would certainly save some litter, but Checkers stopped using them. i take the litter box not in use off the shelf in the garage and use about 2 cups of Sunseed recycled newspaper product (i find it more absorbent and softer than YN), then i top it with about a cup of a mixture of the Soft-Sorbent plain and the Soft-Sorbent with lavendar buds added. That small amount of scent keeps it smelling nice without being overpowering for Checkers, and i think it actually helps the dog whose crate is in the room stay calm. i mix the litters together, and that amount just covers the bottom of the pan. Checkers doesn’t like it when i use litter just in one part of the pan. Then i top it with hay in one side. If i fill it too full, she will dig and throw litter and poo out of the box, but if i don’t use enough litter, it’s harder to clean. i used to put some newspaper in the bottom (the pages from free newspapers are just the right size), but she started pulling the paper out of the box, which caused a holy mess of litter and poo! Then i let the whole thing rest for about an hour so there isn’t as much hay dust flying around.

After an hour, i take a clean trash bag (kitchen size) and put it over the clean litter box and carry it up to Checkers along with her salad. i take the clean litter box out of the bag and put the dirty box in the bag and close it as much as possible. Then i go about vacuuming, and put the clean box in her run and let her out to play. Then i take the dirty litter box outside and just dump it into the bag, so that there’s less allergens flying around in the house. After i throw the poo/litter mix out in the big can outside, i clean the litter box with vinegar and water and put it back on its shelf in the garage. By having 2 litter boxes, i save time and i think i cut down on allergens, too.

That may not be that helpful to you, though. Hope it helps a little anyway.