How Often Do You Wash Litter Trays?

[lazarus]

Just wondering how often you guys wash the inside of litter trays.
I use Catsan clumping litter and litter tray is emptied of clumps and poo two or three times a day, I'm sure I read somewhere (I maybe wrong) a complete change of clumping litter every two or three weeks and washing the inside of covered litterbox is sufficient , is this about correct?

[filardimarg-9]

I change & wash mine twice a week, I use a clumping litter too. Maybe I am doing it too often.

[Sniper1]

I complete change once a week as I think you get more smell if longer and wash at least twice a week more if needed a tray is a toilet after all no one likes a dirty one

[Kay]

I use ultra fine clumping litter and only chuck it all out about every 3 months, though I do swap trays every couple of weeks so I can clean them

Perhaps I have a wonky sense of smell, but I find if the litter clumps really well and the clumps are removed as soon as they've formed, the rest of the litter is untouched. I do fill the large tray much deeper than recommended, to around 18cms, so perhaps that means less contamination

[Ruth B]

I also use Catsan Clumping litter and fully change and wash and disinfect the trays approximately every two weeks. The trays are generally checked and any clumps and solids removed twice a day.

As I have large trays I use between 1 1/2 and 2 bags of the clumping litter to refill each one, so I want to try and make it last as long as is reasonable. Catsan is expensive but it is far better at odour control than any other I have found, when i'm in it isn't a problem any smellies can be removed straight off, but we don't really want to get up in a morning or come in at night to a house that stinks of cat poo.

[fjm]

I haven't needed to use trays for donkey's years until the last couple of weeks while Pippin is confined after radio-iodine treatment. I have to say I am very impressed at how little smell there is with the Cats Best litter the Centre provided - it may partly be his diet, but there is none of the pervasive whiff I recall, even first thing in the morning before it has been scooped. I have given him two trays, partly because the first seemed rather high sided and I didn't want him struggling, and partly because after a lifetime of going out and choosing his own spot I feared he might be very pernickity about using the same tray before it had been cleaned up! And the trays can't be washed until 6 weeks after his treatment date, in another 2 weeks. If we had to use trays permanently I think I would rotate them, moving unused litter to a clean tray and washing the used one at least once a week, but it really depends how many cats, how often the trays are used, and just how well their digestive systems are working!

[lilynmitz]

I find catsan stinks, I wouldn't use it. I use Worlds Best, which really reduces the pong. (Friends who previously used catsan changed to this and it made a huge difference to the smell of their house!)

With Worlds Best, assuming the cats use it every day, I have two trays for two cats, and scoop two or three times a day and give the soiled area a wipe down with just soapy water (I keep a spray of dilute washing up liquid by the tray and use on a bit of paper towel), then a full clean out and change every 2 weeks. My house doesn't smell of cats, but if anyone has some suggestions about how to mask the smell of dried cat food I'd be very grateful!

[Catfan5]

I use Greenwood’s clumping litter and wash my seven litter trays out every 4-6 weeks. I wipe the trays round with pah antibacterial wipe in the meantime if needed.

[Antonio]

I do fill the large tray much deeper than recommended, to around 18cms, so perhaps that means less contamination

How can a tray be deeper than 20 cm? How can a cat step over the edge and get into the tray?

[Antonio]

I use Cat's Best Sensitive Natural clumping litter. It is made from chipped wood, has a pleasant smell of wood and clumps rather well.
I scoop the litter two-three times a day and remove every clump or solid waste.

A pack of litter is enough for two refills. When the second refill is close to a low level I discard it all and wash the tray and its cover with a detergent containing Benzalkonium Chloride (I'm sure that every country has its own brand name for it), rinse the tray and the cover thoroughly, wipe them dry and refill with a new thick layer of litter.
This happens every 2 or 3 weeks.

[Kay]

I do fill the large tray much deeper than recommended, to around 18cms, so perhaps that means less contamination

How can a tray be deeper than 20 cm? How can a cat step over the edge and get into the tray?

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_ ... ilet/98035

I tip the tray to keep the litter towards the back, which also has the merit of revealing the clumps, and keeping the worst of the digging at the back of the tray

[Red wine lady]

I washed and changed daily when Oscar was an indoor cat... he pees like a horse!

[Janey]

I have one cat and she uses the litter tray usually about once or twice a day. I think she goes outside as well. I empty it every day if she’s been, and clean it thoroughly once a fortnight. We used to use Thomas cat litter, then changed to Pets at Home because it was similar but cheaper. The trouble was all the dust when emptying it! so I started to use Cat’s Best OKO. It’s not cheap but I was very surprised how long a small amount lasted! but the downside is it doesn’t mask any odour very well at all and trails more, so I’m back on a search.

[Antonio]

I started to use Cat’s Best OKO. It’s not cheap but I was very surprised how long a small amount lasted! but the downside is it doesn’t mask any odour very well at all and trails more, so I’m back on a search.

I used to use the same litter, then I switched to Cat's Best Sensitive (formerly known as Green Power) and I think it is much better.

[Antonio]

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_ ... ilet/98035

I tip the tray to keep the litter towards the back, which also has the merit of revealing the clumps, and keeping the worst of the digging at the back of the tray

Interesting!
But I soon thought about my Rainbow Bridge Cat Lola, who suffered from arthritis and pain in her back legs. She would have never stepped into that tray with so high borders.

[MarySkater]

So far I haven't had to deal with a cat with mobility issues getting in and out of a litter tray. But I have wondered if it would help to provide a "step" - maybe a block of wood or a brick, half the height of the tray edge, so that the cat can take two steps to get into the tray. And, if needed, another step on the inside of the tray to help with getting out again.

[Jan]

Blackie was 'bought up' on the white Catsan for the first 10 years of his life but I changed it to the Catsan clumping litter. I was expecting him to be sniffy about the change in colour, but he took to it straight away. He will use his trays at night/early morning but during the day will do his toilet outdoors.

I usually wash his trays once a week. He'd soon let me know if they aren't clean enough for His Majesty

[vanilla]

I use a clumping litter. When the litter gets low, I filter it through a sieve into another tray and top it up. The used tray then gets washed. It depends how often he uses it, not so much now that the weather is better. So hardly washing it, but I do it once a month if it's only been touched a few times just to keep it clean for him.

[Mayday21]

Hummm I’ve 4 trays atm all uncovered; 2 medium sized in my bathroom, 1 normal in Pebbles’s room & same in my ensuite. All trays are scooped out re solids & the two in the bathroom rotated every day which means a tray is washed out with antibacterial mix every day. The other 2 trays every 2nd day. I use Breeders Choice as well as a rice husk litter with added shredded paper. Litter costs me about $24 a week. Which I think is a bit costly. I’m seriously thinking of buying a couple medium sized covered trays & moving to Aldi’s clumping litter. Covered trays would eleviate sweeping up scatters. My lot don’t go outside. Comments greatly appreciated. Vivian

[JulieJulie]

A word of warning about Worlds/cats best cat litter if your cat has calichi virus - one of my cats developed sores on his paws after we used this for a few months. His paws were red raw with open sores, it was awful.
After some research I discovered other cat owners reporting similar issues from the combination of the calichi and this type of cat litter.

Took the research to my vet who was very interested in in although he tried a couple of other things before giving me the correct antibiotic, and only after THREE months on this, his paws got better.

We now use catsan, not the clumping sort and all is well. That's my treat, as it's so expensive, but it's the only one I've used since that doesn't greet me with it's odour when I get home!

Our trays get completely cleaned and disinfected every weekend. My cats go in or out, as they please but in at night, always. Nasty people out there....)-:
Little **** do come in from the garden and go into the litter tray too!!

We have one deep litter tray, covered, with catsan, that gets skipped out daily, full clean at weekends. Then 2 more trays lined with newspaper and with a few scoops of cheapy tescos litter which both can then get emptied out daily completely, and a quick rinse - this is a very good cheap way of providing more litter trays as I have an endless supply of free papers from London! Picked this up from the catshelter, it's what they do. Only thing I would say, if you have kittens, they need more litter otherwise they don't learn properly to cover it up, I noted this from my foster kittens.

Never use clumping litter for small kittens either as they tend to go through a phase of eating it which can be fatal.