Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat General => General Cat Chat => Topic started by: angeleyes on September 23, 2009, 22:00:21 PM
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Hi
Please could you recomend a good litter tray and litter to use with a 13 week old kitten
Many thanks
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I prefer covered litter trays as they tend to keep any smells in and also reduce the amount of litter tracking. As your new foster will still only be a baby then if you do decide to go for a covered tray you could leave the lid off for the first day or so to get him/her used to it, then pop the lid on without the flap before finally putting the flap on. That worked a treat when my two were kittens.
As for litter, many of us on here use Cats Best Oko plus litter, on the face of it it seems quite expensive compared to other litters but it really is great stuff. You need to have it nice and deep but it lasts an absolute age - I scoop any wees/poos a couple of times a day, top up when it starts to run low and then change the whole tray when it runs down again. I buy the big sacks (40L) and they last my two cats (who mainly go to the toilet indoors) several months.
You can get it at places like pets at Home, Jollyes pet shop etc http://www.petsathome.com/find/keyword-is-cats+best/product-is-16900
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Thank you very much for your reply the litter looks great, i will be going to PAH before i collect her so was thinking of this tray http://www.petsathome.com/find/category-is-1+cat/category-is-1J+Litter+and+accessories/product-is-17905/pgs-is-40
Thanks for the tips i will definately start with the lid off.
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Looks ideal, if she was a teeny tiny baby it might have been a bit deep for her to get into but she will be more than capable of climbing your curtains etc so a few inches as an entrance to the litter tray will be no object to her :naughty:
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I prefer open trays, as covered ones keep the smells in - fine for us, not so good for the cat/kitten! ;) My cats are using Cats Best litter, which is wood based clumping litter, and very good at reducing odours, not so good on the tracking! :) . Everclean cat litter is pretty good too http://www.rlpetproducts.co.uk/store/cats/brands/ever-clean/
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Am I the only one who is disillusioned with oko cats best? Or do my boys produce unique bodily wastes that aren't dealt with effectively by the oko?! I am only sticking with it because it took me ages to gradually transition from the clay stuff to the oko, and because I don't know what to try next. It is probably the worst litter I have used with regard to odour control. If I sit on the floor (on level with the litter tray) I can definitely smell the tray, even though I scoop twice a day and scrub/disinfect the tray weekly. I could never smell the tray when I used the clumping clay litter, except immediately following a poo. It is working out expensive too as it goes nasty and sawdusty very quickly so I have to replace the lot every 3-4 weeks (it takes a whole 10L bag to fill the tray) whereas I only changed the whole lot every couple of months when I used the clay clumping. Tracking is a nightmare too. I will put up for it for a bit longer, but I won't be sticking with it. I'm genuinely puzzled as to why most of you seem to get on well with it but I hate it!! :-:
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its not perfect that is for sure, its the tracking that drives me crazy - I was very, very happy with chick crumb but my supplier went over to a non organic version so that is the only reason I stopped using it
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I stand by Tidy Cats which has worked great for me for 2 years now.
http://www.tidycats.com/Products/Scoop/InstantAction.aspx (http://www.tidycats.com/Products/Scoop/InstantAction.aspx)
Odour is kept minimum, also very low maintainance. The only problem is tracking, I would like to get a covered tray to reduce the problem but I would have to find an oversized one, Oliver is so enormous it would be highly uncomfortable for him, if he fits in that is... :shify:
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Everclean cat litter is pretty good too http://www.rlpetproducts.co.uk/store/cats/brands/ever-clean/
Have you tried the 'Less Track' one as it sounds good as the tracking is the one bit that drives me a bit mad with Oko and a deep red carpet! (plus I like trying new litters :evillaugh:) What does it look like as one of my friends said that Everclean is Fullers Earth so I have got visions of brown litter in my head :-: Does it really clump as well as it says?
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Everclean cat litter is pretty good too http://www.rlpetproducts.co.uk/store/cats/brands/ever-clean/
Have you tried the 'Less Track' one as it sounds good as the tracking is the one bit that drives me a bit mad with Oko and a deep red carpet! (plus I like trying new litters :evillaugh:) What does it look like as one of my friends said that Everclean is Fullers Earth so I have got visions of brown litter in my head :-: Does it really clump as well as it says?
I found the less track actually tracked more than the regular extra strength one! but it doesnt track nearly as much as Cats best deffo. It is a very fine grain litter, feels like sand through your fingers ;) its light grey and it clumps beautifully as long as you keep a good depth in the tray.
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I'm using clever cat in the tray upstairs - Rose scented!!! very very fine grain though so doesn't show up at all and clumps pretty well
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I always thought you were supposed to use non clumping litter with kittens?
World's Bests clumps, so does OKO, and most of the ones mentioned in this thread, so I am trying the recycled newspaper one at the moment, Smart Cat, not the Purina one. The recycled paper is too light for open trays which go in the pens, and can tip up too easily.
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World's Best and Oko are both safe for kittens if they try eating it when starting out litter training. I wouldn't use clay litter for tiny kittens but at 13wks they (in my experience) know that litter is for toiletting in and not eating.
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Tilly did eat worlds best but the main problem was she had bengal tum and we were trying to eleminate lots of things from her diet!
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Definitely 'Yesterday News' or Biocatolet' for me, Newspaper pellets about this same size as the wood pellets, no tracking and no odour, I would never us anything else and I am sure I must have tried them all now.
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how often do you have to do a full clean out daisymac?
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I would say a full clean out every two days, but dont forget I have 11 cats and they are all in at night. A 30lb bag of Yesterdays News costs about £9.99 and lasts me about 2 weeks. We have 4 trays. There really is no tracking at all.
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Has anyone tried Clean and Green? Supposed to be the only truly litter to comply with the Kyoto Agreement.
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Am I the only one who is disillusioned with oko cats best? Or do my boys produce unique bodily wastes that aren't dealt with effectively by the oko?! I am only sticking with it because it took me ages to gradually transition from the clay stuff to the oko, and because I don't know what to try next. It is probably the worst litter I have used with regard to odour control. If I sit on the floor (on level with the litter tray) I can definitely smell the tray, even though I scoop twice a day and scrub/disinfect the tray weekly. I could never smell the tray when I used the clumping clay litter, except immediately following a poo. It is working out expensive too as it goes nasty and sawdusty very quickly so I have to replace the lot every 3-4 weeks (it takes a whole 10L bag to fill the tray) whereas I only changed the whole lot every couple of months when I used the clay clumping. Tracking is a nightmare too. I will put up for it for a bit longer, but I won't be sticking with it. I'm genuinely puzzled as to why most of you seem to get on well with it but I hate it!! :-:
I am puzzled for you! I used to use clumping clay, I think Golden Grey and while it was good it did get whiffy very quickly and I would have to do a complete change every week, sometimes less.
I now use OKO and would be very very reluctant to change. Never smells, clumps well and lasts for ages, it does track a bit but I find a mat makes a big difference and the grains are big enough to be easy to clean, unlike fine grained clay where you have to hunt out all the grains in the nooks and crannies!
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I am puzzled too Suzanne I must admit. I use OKO and love it, I have two biggish trays and one of the smaller bags lasts me a month between two trays. I can't smell anything from it, even when I go home from work and they have both been using the same tray, and it clumps really well even though Dylan sometimes wees right at the end of the tray. It does track badly but then as Dylan digs to Australia everytime he uses the tray it doesn't matter which litter I use he always gets loads of it on the floor (and that's with trays with lips on them to try and stop it :rofl:
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Without getting purrsonal, it may be down to diet. I know when I raw feed my dogs, there is less to clear up and virtually no smell. So maybe some cats process different foods in different ways?
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I do a total clean out every three days, and go through 20l a week, is this too much? I cant stand the smell tho :sick:
I use catsan and it leves litter all over the place so have to hoover every morning :tired:
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Am I the only one who is disillusioned with oko cats best? Or do my boys produce unique bodily wastes that aren't dealt with effectively by the oko?! I am only sticking with it because it took me ages to gradually transition from the clay stuff to the oko, and because I don't know what to try next. It is probably the worst litter I have used with regard to odour control. If I sit on the floor (on level with the litter tray) I can definitely smell the tray, even though I scoop twice a day and scrub/disinfect the tray weekly. I could never smell the tray when I used the clumping clay litter, except immediately following a poo. It is working out expensive too as it goes nasty and sawdusty very quickly so I have to replace the lot every 3-4 weeks (it takes a whole 10L bag to fill the tray) whereas I only changed the whole lot every couple of months when I used the clay clumping. Tracking is a nightmare too. I will put up for it for a bit longer, but I won't be sticking with it. I'm genuinely puzzled as to why most of you seem to get on well with it but I hate it!! :-:
I am puzzled for you! I used to use clumping clay, I think Golden Grey and while it was good it did get whiffy very quickly and I would have to do a complete change every week, sometimes less.
I now use OKO and would be very very reluctant to change. Never smells, clumps well and lasts for ages, it does track a bit but I find a mat makes a big difference and the grains are big enough to be easy to clean, unlike fine grained clay where you have to hunt out all the grains in the nooks and crannies!
How odd - I couldn't smell a thing from the tray when I used golden grey! If it wasnt' for the fact that it is clay, I'd go back to that. I think I will try worlds best next although I could do with tracking down the cheaper alternative of chick crumbs before trying it, so that I have that possibility if worlds best turns out too expensive. Anyone know a supplier in the manchester area?
I still hate the way the wee pools on top of the oko and doesn't soak in properly. With a cat that doesn't cover, that is a big problem for me as I end up with nasty puddles at the edge of the tray. And I can't imagine they are too thrilled with having to use a try that has pee puddles in it :rofl: With the clay stuff, it would just soak in if they didn't cover. Jaffa tends to pee standing up against the side of the tray so it runs down forming a puddle at the edge (sorry if tmi!!). Even when I toss some litter over it before scooping, I find the clumps break up. They are better if they use the middle of the tray and cover.
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Without getting purrsonal, it may be down to diet. I know when I raw feed my dogs, there is less to clear up and virtually no smell. So maybe some cats process different foods in different ways?
I saw this site last week and it has photos of raw diet "residue" :sick: http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.catinfo.org/Raw%2520fed%2520-%2520fecal%2520consistanc%2520copy.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.catinfo.org/makingcatfood.htm&usg=__MBWSYSSIDsfPmZKePd-dHAgmKS0=&h=480&w=640&sz=306&hl=en&start=39&um=1&tbnid=5nDR-nmPEJtfnM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3Draw%2Bdiet%2Bresidue%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D20%26um%3D1 (sorry - that could have done with a tinyURL :evillaugh:)
I wonder if it brings its own problems with lack of bulk such as blocked anal glands?
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If its a complete eg with bone raw diet poop then the anal glands will empty as it passes, looks nice and firm! The bone is what bulks up, if they eat too much tho then they constipate.
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With a raw diet, it should be called raw, meaty bones, the meat needs to be in proportion, i.e. plenty of it compared to the bone. There is plenty on the net about raw feeding, but it just is not for some people, my vet said it is a lifestyle thing, in other words some people just prefer to open a packet. But those folk who have tried it, agree the results show, in coat, teeth, energy levels (more consistent) and mood.
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We tried Worlds Best and weren't that keen :shy: we've used Thomas for 20 yrs now, tried lots but always go back to that it's always been sold locally.
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I'm still using the baby chick crumbs that Madasacatter introduced us to last January and can't complain but then who'd listen to my suggestion with the peeing probs we have :evillaugh:
As an aside, I am biased I know but the 3 gorgeous beauties Madasacatter handed into our care are packet fed but honestly have the shiniest silkiest coats I've ever touched. They just glisten esp Millie :Luv2: :Luv2: :Luv2:
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This is who I use for chick crumb delivery Susanne. They are based up in Northumberland though so not useful to collect and delivery charges are not cheap. I buy 3 bags of 20kg at a time to try and keep delivery costs down a bit.
http://doorsteppetfood.co.uk/argoargobabychickcrumbs20kg-p-1082.html?cPath=62_110&osCsid=ec77b1d6424e0ec258ae3ef202268f3e