A Litter Help

​A Litter Help

Cats are responsible for many things, such as making you happy when they snuggle up to you, making you cheer when they rid your house of a mouse, and giving you something to do with the camera app on your smartphone. They do a lot to bring people happiness, but they also need quite a bit of attention at the same time.

Besides feeding them, taking them to the occasional veterinarian visit, clipping their claws, and generally making them happy, you have something unpleasant to deal with: The litter box.

Unless you have a fancy one that is self-cleaning, you have to do the scooping because your cat isn’t going to do it for you. And more than just scooping is involved with the chore. Here are a few tips to give you a “litter help” with the cat box (pun intended).

The first thing to consider is a schedule. Don’t just clean the litter box when you smell it or the cat(s) start kicking out some gross objects. It’s good to do it every day, or every two days, so it stays hygienic and doesn’t start to smell. Make it a habit, the frequency of cleaning.

Wear rubber gloves and use a scooper meant for the task and scoop out the waste into a plastic bag. DO NOT toss it all in the toilet, as that will just plug up the plumbing and then you have another task to handle. Close the bag up and discard it into the trash can, preferably one outside. Just adding the clumps to your regular trash can in the kitchen means you will have an odiferous situation on your hands within an hour or so. Bag it, close it, toss it.

Depending on how many cats you have, completely change out the litter on a schedule as well. This should be done every 3-4 weeks. Completely empty out the pan, and carefully rinse it out, using detergent and hot water, but be careful not to make bigger mess. Remember that most cat litter clumps when wet.

Finally, placement of the litter box is important. It needs to be in an area not too close to the nose, if you know what we mean. The litter will come out, either kicked by the cat(s) or tracked out on paws. Sweeping it up is part of the job.

And once in a while, your cat(s) cause “accidents” and bad odors can become part of your carpet, furniture, and other textiles. When that happens, do the right thing, and call your favorite cleaning company. After all, it pays to call a pro! 575-937-4385