Content
- The importance of the litter box for cats
- Types of litter for cats
- How often do I change cat litter?
- How to Clean the Cat's Litter Box
THE sandbox or litter for cats is an instrument essential for daily hygiene of our cats. We must ensure that the cleaning performed is adequate, in order to prevent health problems and even behavioral disorders related to poor hygiene. As for this very important aspect, it is common that doubts arise from caregivers when choosing the sand, the sandbox itself, what is the best place to install it or how and when to clean it.
You may wonder how often to change sand or binder, how much sand is recommended, or how often to change sand completely. Therefore, in this article by Animal Expert we will focus on explaining when should we change our cat's sand. We will also see the importance of maintaining the hygiene of the litter box and how to preserve it in the best conditions.
The importance of the litter box for cats
From an early age, kittens learn to use the litter box and, unless they have behavioral disorders or specific illnesses, they continue to use it. all your life. Therefore, before the cat arrives home, it is important to dedicate some time and study how it will be, where we will locate it and what sand we will use, as we will comment throughout the article. Whichever you choose, keeping the sand clean is essential!
Also, checking the sandbox daily provides us with valuable informationTherefore, we immediately notice if the cat urinates more or less or has diarrhea, for example. There is also a parasitic disease, toxoplasmosis, in which the cat eliminates certain forms of the parasite through the feces that, when remaining in the environment for more than 24 hours, can cause infestations, hence the importance of regular cleaning.
Likewise, keeping the litter box clean favors the cat to use it at all times, as some cats refuse to use it if they consider the litter to be too dirty. In the next section, we'll look at how often you should change your cat's litter, which will depend on several factors.
Types of litter for cats
To determine when to change the cat's litter, we have to consider some factors, such as the number of cats we have and their sandboxes. The recommendation is to provide the same number of boxes as cats, plus an extra one, and even with a single cat, it is advisable to offer a couple of litter boxes. In these cases, we can observe how one box is destined for urine and another for feces, which also influences the sand change interval, since the amount of urine always stain more sand, therefore, is more frequent than solid debris.
The type of sand will also determine the frequency of change. In the market we can basically find the following types of sand
- Sanitary absorbent sand: we find it in any supermarket at a cheaper price. It is generally well accepted by cats, however, as it has no binding effect, it stains more, urine penetrates the litter box, is more difficult to clean and maintains bad odors. In this sand, we will have to remove feces and urine daily, one or more times a day. There are fragrant versions.
- agglomerating sand: this type of sand is a little more expensive than the previous one and has the great advantage of compressing the waste, so that cleaning is facilitated, as we can collect urine in "cakes" making the sandbox become keep more pure. In agglomerating cat litter, odors are not eliminated and it also requires daily cleaning.
- Sand granules or crystals: composed of silica. It is more expensive, but has the advantage of staining less, with the feces and urine being highly absorbed and compacted, which, as stated above, makes cleaning easier. In addition, this white sand stains yellow in contact with urine, which also helps to clean easily. The best thing about this sand is the elimination of odors when extracting the waste and it can be a long time without being changed, but this will depend, as we have already mentioned, on the number of cats that use the litter box. Some cats reject it.
- ecological sand: maybe it's the newest and most expensive option. It is composed of wood fibers and also has a binding effect as an advantage. Its odor can cause rejection in some cats and, in addition, because it weighs less, it can be trapped in the fur and paws.
What is the best cat litter? Based on these characteristics and vital circumstances, we should choose the sand that suits us best. If our cat likes it and uses it without problems, we don't have to change it. On the other hand, if the cat doesn't accept the sand we've chosen, we can try to replace it with another type. See our full article on what is the best cat litter.
How to change the type of cat litter? We can directly place a litter box with the new option and observe if the cat approves or, go replacing the old one with the new one in the same litter box, according to the degree of acceptance of our cat.
It is important to consider that when cleaning the sand, two basic actions are distinguished, which are the daily collection of solid and liquid waste and the complete sand change that we will do, as we will see in the next section, in addition to the frequency that will determine the animal and the type of sand chosen.
How often do I change cat litter?
From what has already been explained, we see that you can't give a single answer when it comes to changing our cat's sand, because several factors will affect its level of dirt. What we recommend is Collect the debris every day.
Once this is done, we will have practically clean sand, so we will follow the two following methods:
- Every time we remove the dirty part it can be completed with more clean sand. This is more common when using sand absorbents or binders, since they are completely compromised more often, about 1 to 3 times a week, as they do not prevent the emission of odors. It will also be more appropriate to add a small amount of sand. How much sand is put for the cat? On this subject, we recommend filling the litter box with a layer that is enough for the cat to bury its feces, but we shouldn't overdo it. If the litter box is open, the cat could paw a large amount of sand out.
- You can collect the faeces and leave the rest of the sand for as long as it is clean, 1 to 4 weeks, depending on the type we use, at which time we will throw it away completely and fill the litter box. This method is commonly used with silica sand in which all or almost the entire pack is used per litter box and is not replaced until after about 4 weeks, depending also on the number of cats that use the toilet.
In some cases, even with regular sand changes, it may have a bad odor. In these situations, we recommend that you visit our article and learn some tricks for the bad smell of cat litter. In addition, you can also find out how to switch the place of the sandbox.
How to Clean the Cat's Litter Box
After seeing how often our cat's sand should be changed, there remains one last and important step, which is cleaning the utensil where the sand is deposited, which can be an open or closed sandbox, tupperware or any similar plastic container.
As already mentioned, absorbent sand does not agglomerate, so liquids pass through to the sandbox itself, permeating the urine, even if we remove the sand. So every time we do a complete change, it's good to wash the litter box with warm water and some soap. For this cleaning, the use of cleaners such as bleach is controversial, as although some cats are attracted by the smell that encourages them to use the litter box, others repel them. You can test the cat's sensitivity by holding a bottle of bleach or an impregnated object near it to observe its reaction before using it in your litter box.
Finally, litter boxes deteriorate over time and the effect of our cat's scratches and debris, so, it is advisable to renew them when we notice signs of deterioration.
Now that you know how to wash your cat's litter box, put it into practice right away because there's nothing your feline likes better than a freshly cleaned toilet!