Alternative to Litter Systems

Written on March 24, 2009 – 2:26 am | by maxine |

In the spirit of adventure and the need to save money, our people family have introduced numerous methods for us felines to make our daily and often many times daily “deposits” in places designed for ease and lack of traditional kitty litter. Think about it. If your beloved kitty lives for 17 years, the cost of kitty litter is terrible! If you have more than one cat, well, you know where this train of thought is going!! Do you REALLY want to throw all that hard-earned cash down the drain? We think not. Certainly our family has figured out better ways of spending their hard-earned cash!!

As of July 2009 we have five different alternative to litter systems. The alternative to litter is WATER!! Yes, that is correct – no cost, readily available, clean, flushable WATER!! No scraping caked on clay litter from the bottom of the pan, no smelling like you have a house full of hamsters with the smell of pine or cedar litters, no little sharp crystals underfoot from those crystal type litter beads that do get caught in your kitty’s paws, no tracked litter of any type. No clay accumulating in your cat’s tummy from when they lick their paws after leaving the litter box. Did you know that clay litter congeals like cement in their stomach – ouch – AND it is VERY expensive when you get to visit the vet over it! Did you know that additives like perfumes and other chemicals in some litters can be dangerous to the health? Why take that risk when water is SO SIMPLE!

You will want to read all about our kitty water-based toileting systems. Some of us have already written extensively about each of these systems and you will want to read those full articles which we have linked to. Oh yes, in case you are wondering, you gradually transition from using a dry litter to using water and we explain all that to you in our articles.

In no particular order of preference, here is a quick listing to whet your excitement:

1. The Litter Kwitter – a store bought system that teaches your cat to use a regular people toilet. It comes with a training video and takes only a few weeks to train some cats, and longer for others. This is particularly excellent if you travel with your cat in an RV or in and out of motels. It is handy to have a second bathroom for during the time you are in the training stage. You can also adapt this system to use with a bucket, in the event you can’t fathom sharing your toilet with your cat(s) or you don’t have an extra bathroom.

2. Richell Cat Potty – a store bought unit that has a small basin which also has a platform with holes in it. There is a larger hole surrounded by smaller holes. The idea is that the cat does their “deposit” down through the larger hole. The platform gives them a place to put stand on. Typically the Richell Cat Potty is filled with traditional litter of some sort. However, we fill it with water instead. It can be tippy for a larger cat like Chester is but if you place it securely between the wall and say a toilet base then it won’t tip. Chester likes this one, even though he is larger.

3. The Laundry Tub System – a home made system using a standard vinyl laundry tub with the legs removed. A little pot is placed under the drain hole and the other side of the tub is raised slightly so that liquid “deposits” run towards the drain hole. Some of us cats have learned to make our solid “deposits” directly down the hole. For those who have not figured that out yet, our people scoop out the solids and flush them down the toilet. You can start with litter in the tub and gradually work towards no litter – just water in the pot below. This is probably our most favourite system of all. It is nice and big and roomy and it was easy and inexpensive to make, although it does take up more room. For more information, read The Laundry Tub Toileting Solution.

4. The Bucket – another home made system using a cut down five gallon paint pail with an old toilet seat put on top that also has a round platter with holes in it secured under the toilet seat. Kitty climbs up onto the toilet seat and “deposits” onto the tray. The drain holes allow liquid to run off. Solids are scooped off and flushed away. Eventually there might be one larger hole drilled in to allow for solids to fall through but we are not ready for that yet.

5. The Storage Bins – yet another home made system using two Rubbermaid or similar under the bed storage bins. Again, liquid “deposits” drain through the drilled holes and solids are scooped out and flushed. Eventually there might be one larger hole drilled in to allow for solids to fall through but again, some of us are not ready for that yet. For more information read our article A Different Litter Box.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: When kitty urine gets into litter or onto the floor or anyplace where it dries, it SMELLS! As the liquid evaporates, the residue that is left is what contains the horrible, distinctive odour. When urine is mixed with water, you don’t get the strong urine smell. If you leave the water with urine in it, it will get a stale odour to it that can get a bit unpleasant if left for long periods of time. Our people change the water once a day because there are six of us using the systems. It can go two days without getting too bad. Even at its worst though, the odour does not get lung burning offensive like urine does.

HINT: We have found that Odor-X-it works well at managing the stale odour. It also works well on surfaces where there has been an “accident” that has a urine odor in some undesirable spot – like the floor or your favourite shoes!! Did you know that when a cat pees on your bed, they are showing they love you and are marking you as theirs?!! Just thought you would like to know. Anyways, Odor-X-it will help take that odour away. Our people have Odor-X-it in a spray bottle and spray a few spritzes of it into every water-based toileting system when they clean them, which is usually once a day.

AIR DEODORIZER: Let’s face it, just as with the odour that comes from the solid deposits of humans, if you have solid deposits from kitties sitting on a tray or in a laundry tub for a period of time, there can be an odour, depending on what type of cat food you use. When you scoop and flush, spray the area with a handy home made spray of lemon juice, baking soda, and water. In a spray bottle with two cups of water place two tablespoons of lemon juice (even lemon concentrate like “Real Lemon”) and two tablespoons of baking soda. If you happen to make your own colloidal silver, use 1 cup of silver water and one cup of regular water in place of the two cups of plain water. Spray a spritz or two into the air and voila – the offensive odours are gone!

Want to know more about the advantages of Water Based Toileting Systems? Read Water Based Toileting Systems.

Happy money saving! – Submitted by our Environmentally and Financially Frugal Cat Family