here's an ongoing expense I'd forgotten about
Kitty Litter.
Angel is an inside cat, so I purchased a litter tray and a bag of litter. The range to choose from is quite extensive and choosing was hard. In the end I chose a bag of clay pellets and decided to try the others and see which performed best.
The clay pellets worked well, absorbing moisture and odour, but like any litter it's messy and I need to get one of those closed in trays to contain it. As soon as the budget allows.
Next I tried a softwood litter, which I gave up on pretty quickly. A clumping type and environmentally friendly, (also claims to be flushable, which I didn't try), but not as absorbent as I would have liked. Angel always came out of the tray with damp paws and I spent a lot of time wiping up paw prints with damp paper towel and disinfectant.
AND, the tiny shreds of softwood stuck to his feet and tail so got tracked all over the flat.
I still have half a bag of it and I'll empty it into the garden as mulch.
My current choice is Catsan crystals, in terms of absorbency and odour control this one is really good. There are several other brands and varieties of cat litter, but I'm not sure I'll try them all like I originally planned. The Catsan is an expensive brand, so I will try a cheaper brand of crystals to see if they are suitable.
Because I'm going to be buying this stuff for a good long while!ygah
"ygah??" That was Angel landing on the keyboard!
Angel is an inside cat, so I purchased a litter tray and a bag of litter. The range to choose from is quite extensive and choosing was hard. In the end I chose a bag of clay pellets and decided to try the others and see which performed best.
The clay pellets worked well, absorbing moisture and odour, but like any litter it's messy and I need to get one of those closed in trays to contain it. As soon as the budget allows.
Next I tried a softwood litter, which I gave up on pretty quickly. A clumping type and environmentally friendly, (also claims to be flushable, which I didn't try), but not as absorbent as I would have liked. Angel always came out of the tray with damp paws and I spent a lot of time wiping up paw prints with damp paper towel and disinfectant.
AND, the tiny shreds of softwood stuck to his feet and tail so got tracked all over the flat.
I still have half a bag of it and I'll empty it into the garden as mulch.
My current choice is Catsan crystals, in terms of absorbency and odour control this one is really good. There are several other brands and varieties of cat litter, but I'm not sure I'll try them all like I originally planned. The Catsan is an expensive brand, so I will try a cheaper brand of crystals to see if they are suitable.
Because I'm going to be buying this stuff for a good long while!ygah
"ygah??" That was Angel landing on the keyboard!
Yup. And some cats (not mentioning any names Jazz) are really, really good at throwing kitty litter across the floor. Even from a covered tray. Detruffelating the litter isn't one of my favourite chores either.
ReplyDeleteAnd worth it for the privilege of sharing life with a cat (or two).
I just use the black and gold kitty litter...and have done so for the 11 years I've had my two furry mates. They are inside cats, as well. I let them both out when I get up in the morning for a sprint around the yard doing their morning reconnaissance making sure everything is still in its rightful place; and they're back inside again within 30 mins, give or take.
ReplyDeleteI find the cheap brand as good as the more expensive brands...I can't afford the expensive brands, anyway.
Angel is a little angel who quickly stole your heart, it appears...they have a wonderful habit of doing so. :)
The little Angel man is a real kitty. Good for him.
ReplyDeleteWe did similar when we got our two, furbabies. The expensive one sounds like the one we get when we have the moula, otherwise it's a bag of cheap claylike litter. Loving your baby.
ReplyDeleteThree of my little babies are outside toilet uses but one only goes inside so I have to have a tray.
ReplyDeleteI use a clay based one because I empty it in the garden, I only emptied it in the toilet once it was blocked for a couple of hours but was ok after a while but I've never been game to do it again.fee.
merle............
You should train your cat to use the toilet bowl, then you just need to flush the toilet. Our cat does.
ReplyDeleteGoogle 'training cat to use the toilet bowl". It is worth it, saved lots of money and no more horrible job of cleaning the litter box.
What Angel did next could be a real computer/life changer.
ReplyDeleteBuy the best stuff you can afford. You will be glad you did.
We are currently having the same dilemma, when we had Jarmie and Max, Jarmie was an outside/inside cat and very rarely used the tray. Max being an inside cat only uses the tray and we used one of the clay types to good effect. Monty however, seems to be slightly allergic to the dust from the clay (lots of sneezing) so we are using a crystal one at the moment, and both Max and Monty seem to be okay with it, but it seems to smell for longer when they go. If you get my drift. So we might be trying something else in the near future.
ReplyDeleteYour little Angel, really is a cute little one and I hope you get many, many years of love and companionship together.
We used the clumping stuff when we had our cats and laced it with baking soda to help keep odours down.
ReplyDeleteI used to use the clumping stuff but since trying Catsan crystals we now just use those. They are more expensive and when budget is right I'll still sometimes get some cheapo clumping stuff but it doesn't last as long either, and always stinks.
ReplyDeleteThe only problem with the crystals is if you step on one in bare feet - ouch!
Elephant's Child; angel doesn't throw it, but a few crystals seem to make it onto the floor, probably from his feet. There are mats available that go under the tray to catch the strays before they get tracked, I'll look into the price of those. The softwood clumping stuff was the worst so I won't be buying that again. I found it from one end of the flat to the other.
ReplyDeleteLee; Angel has been here almost three weeks now and I can't remember what it was like without him. I'd like to let him out for a sprint around the garden, but we're so close to the driveway and road, with no way to fence it off.
Joanne; he is fast growing into a junior cat now, leaving kittenhood behind. :)
The Wicked Writer; I'm currently trying the store brand of crystals, they're almost as good as the expensive Catsan brand. I'll give the store brand clay litter a try too eventually.
Merle; emptying into the toilet isn't an option, not at all. spreading it in the garden is a better idea.
mm; he's so little right now, there's a risk of him falling in, so I keep the lid closed. I'll stick with the tray method.
Susan Kane; budget will dictate what I buy from week to week, thankfully the store brand of crystals seem to be almost as good as the expensive brand.
Kakka; Angel did a fair bit of sneezing his first week here, then I cleaned the dust from under the bed and couch. Now he only sneezes when I sweep. I find that stirring the litter after he wees helps to dispel the smell. Your Monty is gorgeous.
Delores; I've decided I prefer absorbent over clumping, much easier to stir it up and smooth it out.
Jackie K; when I was a checkout operator, I heard many customers saying how good the Catsan was. I had one customer who could barely afford food for himself, yet he always bought the Catsan for his three cats. Now that I've tried it I understand why. The store brand crystals are almost as good and cheaper too, but not by much. El cheapo clay might be an option when I can't afford the crystals, but I'll never buy clumping again.
We used a crystal type of litter which was great but our Henry could scatter it everywhere. Precious has not used a tray since Henry died and although she is mostly an inside cat and sleeps inside all night she always wakes us should she need to go out and not often before 6am. It's been great not having a litter tray for the last 4 years. Do you have one of those little scooper uppers as they make it so much easier. I think Phil used to put the stuff in our compost heap but you wouldn't have one of those would you?
ReplyDeleteI love the climbing thingie. Karen has one of those and I think Aimee did too. Ours wore out years ago.
Go for the Catsan crystal litter with lavender, it seems to take away the smell much better than the others. Expensive but worth it and I bought a deep tray so there's not much scatter.
ReplyDeleteMimsie; I have two scoopers, one to scoop and the other to brush crystals off the scooped matter, then I flush it. I plan on buying another climbing scratching post for the back porch, Angel likes to get out there and explore.
ReplyDeleteJahTeh; I've seen the lavender one and thought about it, I'll give it a try. This morning I bought a deeper tray with a rim that overhangs a bit so there is a lot less scatter now.
Your little angel is a cutie. My cat gave me almost 17 years of pure joy. By the way, I must try your meatloaf recipe! It looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteLiza Bean likes to throw it onto the floor. I am continuously sweeping that stuff up!
ReplyDeletePearl
Linda; it's great on sandwiches too. The meatloaf, not the cat....
ReplyDeletePearl; I only have to sweep the small area around the tray, lucky me.