Thorough Research for the Best Cat Litter

When a cat lives in your home, it needs all the conditions to feel good, and you must provide it with everything necessary for both its comfort and yours. For this, a must-have product is cat litter, which you can also buy from online stores, where you will find many options. You may be wondering how to choose the best model, regardless of whether you have just adopted your first cat or have already reached your third cat. Well, there are some elements that you should keep in mind before you start shopping.

Buyers generally start from the idea that the litter box is intended exclusively for cats, but there are also litter boxes for dogs on the market. They look and are used differently: the model for cats with the primary purpose of providing you with a sufficiently generous container for the sand in which cats always dig before defecating, and the model for dogs to keep the absorbent pads perfectly stretched and the collection of excess liquid that could accidentally reach the house.

The Typology of a Litter Box

There are two main categories of litter boxes for cats: the open, tray-type ones and the covered ones. Tray-type litter boxes can have different shapes, but they are usually rectangular. One of the essential elements you must follow in their case is the appearance of the edges: the higher they are, possibly slightly rounded inwards, the less the sand the cat will scatter around. This type of cat litter has a lower area near the entrance for easier access.

In front of it, you can place a rubber mat that, thanks to its natural adhesion, will collect the grains of sand that stick to the paws. If you don't want to invest a lot but prefer an option that is easy to clean, you can opt for an open cat litter with a sieve; in this case, you almost don't need the spatula anymore, as it is easier to separate the clean sand from the used one, and the disinfection and washing of the dish can even be done daily because the containers can rotate and alternate comfortably for everyone.

Covered litter boxes are recommended by very diligent cat owners and those who care a lot about eliminating any traces of unpleasant odors. They have a cover that closes them thoroughly, one of the sides being provided with a hinged door for feline access. In the upper part, there is a carbon filter in the more modern models, which is also very effective for capturing and eliminating odors. Cats are spotless animals and don't like sand in which there is already urine or feces.

The Perfect Dimension for a Litter Box

The size of the litter box must correspond to the cat that will use it. A 4-5-week-old puppy can learn to use the cat litter, but it must be able to get into it, which can prove difficult in the case of models with too high edges. An adult cat must have room to adopt the physiological position inside the covered litter box. If you have several cats and work all day so you can clean the litter box once a day, it is essential to use several such containers or opt for a slightly larger model.

Where the litter box will be positioned depends significantly on the available space and your preferences. Some owners, for example, put the litter box on the balcony, thinking that they don't mind any possible smell or the sand that the cat can accidentally scatter. Others choose to place it in the bathroom. The place where the cat litter is placed must be relatively quiet. Also, if you have new kittens or cats, try to find a very accessible location for the litter box until the cat learns by heart the space in which it lives.

Buy All the Accessories You Need

Some cheap litter boxes are sold as such; others are offered as a kit containing everything you need. The shovel for collecting excrement and sand balls is an accessory that cat owners will notice. Some litter boxes are equipped with a unique space for its storage. Some litter boxes with lids are fitted with an active carbon filter; choose these because the price difference is not always significant, but such an accessory saves you from a good part of the unpleasant smell that could spread in the house.

No litter box can be used except in combination with your and your cat's favorite litter. Of course, it is not offered as a package with the cat litter, but its importance is at least as excellent. The most commonly available variants are bentonite, sawdust pellets, and silicate. To these are added others, generally more expensive and less accessible, but which can present particular advantages, such as throwing directly into the toilet bowl. Depending on the particularities of each type of sand, the manufacturer gives you precise indications about how much sand to put in the litter box.

How Long Does It Take to Change the Sand?

Again, it depends on the type of substrate used. If you use classic sand, the litter box will be cleaned daily or several times daily. Thus, the sand is consumed gradually and, in general, is slowly replenished. Other users prefer to add a more generous layer at the beginning of the week to remove progressively the sand as it gets dirty, without adding more. Because the litter box must be completely emptied and disinfected once a week, the cat's owner can choose to throw away the rest of the sand or keep it in another container and reuse it after sanitizing.

If you use silicate, the packaging generally specifies how long and how many cats it can be used for. The daily elimination of feces will continue with the help of the special spatula, but the actual sand can be changed once a month (if you have only one cat), once every two weeks (if you have two cats), or as indicated on the product packaging. It is good to know that you will soon realize how much to postpone and when it is time to change the substrate, depending on the appearance of the cat litter.