Page 1 of 1

Help w Senior Cat + Litter Box

Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2020 6:24 pm
by pchamberlain1
Hi everyone! Hoping for some info, recommendations and advice. My cat is 16 yo and has 3 degenerated discs in her back. She takes 2.5 mg of prednisolone 2x daily and that seems to help her pain (she's getting around fine and grooming herself etc.) Her litter box used to be in the basement, but due to her back we moved it upstairs, and due to lack of space in our house, it's in the dining room. Not ideal, but the cat comes first. Here are my questions

1. Can someone please recommend the "most clumpingest" litter ever? The steroids make her urinate extra. I currently use Arm & Hammer Double Duty or Multi Cat. In the past I tried Cat Spot and she wouldn't go near it.

2. Can someone please recommend the biggest litter box available? I currently have a jumbo 26 x 18 x 19. I think, due to her back, she has a hard time turning around and sometimes she pees out the front of the box, but I can't find anything larger. And, since it's in the dining room, it definitely needs a lid.

3. Any other advice on how to make her litter box set up better or friendlier for either the people or the cat would be most welcome.

Thank you!

Re: Help w Senior Cat + Litter Box

Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2020 6:58 pm
by alanc
They do cause us a bit of grief when they get old. Some possible help with your problems, although my experience of old cats is 10 years old now:
1) I use Pettex grey clumping cat litter, which works well for me (and my Tilly being a big cat can deliver quite a volume of pee), though I do not know how it compares with some others.
2) I have not seen a bigger litter box than the one you describe. There are some things you could do. I have built a large splash box out of plywood, covered in white vinyl in which the litter box sits. I built this many years ago when my first cat (Sally) was getting old and arthritic and it has served all the rest ever since. It catches any accidents, even when they get a bit forgetful in their old age. There are covered litter trays on the market, but they might be a bit small for an elderly cat with a bad back to turn in.
3) You could add an extra litter tray in front, which might be sufficient to catch accidents.
Hope this helps.

Re: Help w Senior Cat + Litter Box

Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2020 7:43 pm
by Mollycat
Depends where in the world you are but Pets at Home own brand Ultra Performance unscented clumping is really good.

For a litter tray I would think outside the box (!!!) and buy a shallow plastic tray that isn't necessarily a litter box.
Maybe an under-bed storage box?

Re: Help w Senior Cat + Litter Box

Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2020 11:53 am
by Kay
my mother had these problems with an elderly and very arthritic cat - I found the easiest way of coping with overhang splashes was to put those thin jiffy cloths around the tray, because they were very easy to rinse out and dried very quickly

the best clumping litter I have ever bought was Golden Grey, or Golden White, from Zooplus - it works best though if it's deeper than the usual recommended 5cm

another possibiity is to buy cheap silicate litter, and crush it up to a fine grain - (the only fine silica litter on the market, by Tigerino, is currently out of stock) you would have to change it fairly often, but it would be cheap, light to handle, and cats seem to like it as long as it's fine, and not the bigger crystals - easily the best in my experience for odour control

Re: Help w Senior Cat + Litter Box

Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2020 2:18 pm
by pandorawarlord
Kay is 101% right the Golden Gray range is very good.
May I suggest that instead of moving litter tray that you put down more than one ( she's an old girl needing help)
With regard litter trays ,if you can't get one from Zooplus check out you local garden center as some some young large plant trays are great litter trays

Re: Help w Senior Cat + Litter Box

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 10:51 am
by Hinters
Is it also a good idea to experiment with colors and shapes of litter boxes to find the right one?

Re: Help w Senior Cat + Litter Box

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 5:29 pm
by Mollycat
Shapes I would say maybe, though what's available is really only rectangle or quadrant. There is more variety when you consider full lids, half lids, edges (Molly liked this as she could perch on the edge and so keep her feet out of the tray while having a pee), different heights and so on. I've yet to hear of a cat showing a preference for any colour tray, although a friend of mine had 4 cats and 2 double feeding bowls, one pink one silver. The bowls had to be put down on the correct sides for the 4 cats in the right order, or none of the cats would eat. So it's not impossible.

Re: Help w Senior Cat + Litter Box

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 6:46 pm
by Ruth B
Quite a long time ago I was looking for a large litter tray as we had a Ragdoll cat and was larger than the standard moggies we had had before. I found one that fits in a corner and the short sides are about 20" long, the third side is even longer. It has high sides with a lower section in the long side, and a rim that can be detached for cleaning. When empty it looks more like a plastic dog's bed than a cat's litter tray. Every cat we have had has loved it, there is plenty of space to move around an chose a suitable spot. If there is a down side to it, it is that it takes about 8l of litter to refill it when it has been fully cleaned out, but I consider that a small price to pay for a tray that the cats all like. Maybe thinking outside the box again, look at plastic dog's beds instead of litter trays.

Re: Help w Senior Cat + Litter Box

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:11 am
by pchamberlain1
Just wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to advise me. I appreciate the input

Re: Help w Senior Cat + Litter Box

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2020 6:31 am
by Mollycat
pchamberlain1 wrote: Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:11 am Just wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to advise me. I appreciate the input
Has anything helped?