Litter Boxes: From Basic to High Tech

To scoop or not to scoop, that is the question. Litter boxes are the bane of every cat owner’s existence. Persnickety kitties like a clean litter box and cat servants (yes, that’s us) are tasked with providing our charges a clean place to do their business. Luckily for cat parents, there are many brilliant inventions to ease litter box woes. Yes, there really are people out there trying to make this rather unpleasant chore a little more tolerable.

Cat boxes literally come in many shapes and sizes. Some come with lids, some are round, and some actually have textured ramps to clean the kitty litter off your furry friend’s feet as they exit the box. Kind souls have invented special scoops, kitty mats for spills, and wall coverings in case kitty gets a little boisterous in their digging. All to add to your cat’s bathroom experience.

Back to basics on cat litter

Many cat owners choose a simple rectangular box for their cat. Some have higher sides to prevent kitties from heaving great big piles of litter onto the floor. Just about any kind of litter can be used in this type of box, including shredded newspaper. Yes, there are people who shred newspaper for their cat litter boxes.

Throw a lid on the top and you’ve got slight variation of the plain rectangular box. The lid has a square opening in the front for kitty entrance and exit. The benefit of a litter box with a lid is that kitty cannot fling litter willy-nilly about the room. The lid keeps everything inside the box and lessens the smell.

Just a little fancy

Hop up one step in the luxury department and you’ll find the Booda Dome kitty box. Circular in shape, this box features a textured ramp that leads to the kitty litter box area inside. There’s lots of privacy for those shy kitties and the added benefit of a completely covered box to prevent messes. The Booda also has a replaceable filter on the top of the dome to aid in reducing litter box odor.

The litter box bench is actually a piece of furniture in which to house your kitty’s toilet. Some are actual cabinets while others are completely covered with carpet so kitty has a place to sharpen their claws. There is even a kitty climbing tower replete with a bottom cubby for a litter box. These types of litter box covers disguise the unsightly litter boxes and provide kitty with a little privacy too.

High-tech litter boxes

Remember to scoop or not to scoop? Well, it is possible not to scoop your cat’s litter box. Enter the LitterMaid™ automated cat box which literally cleans itself. After kitty does his business, the machine waits 10 minutes to begin a cleaning cycle. Once it powers up, a rake travels the length of the box, picking up clumps of waste. These clumps are dumped into a sealed disposable waste receptacle and discarded later. No fuss, no muss. LitterMaid also has safety features to prevent cats from being injured.

Litter-Robot is another automated litter box. Dome-shaped, this litter box maintains itself. The patented litter sifting process completely removes waste from the litter, leaving it clean for your feline friend. Litter-Robot can sift all kinds of litter without jamming. No special waste disposal bags are required so plain plastic grocery bags can be used. Just dispose of the bags containing waste.

CatGenie® is the ultimate in kitty waste management. This is an automated system that uses ceramic washable granules rather than disposable litter. It is hooked up to your plumbing, collects and disposes of all cat waste, and washes and dries the ceramic granules. It has an automatic detector for cat safety.

Litter box nuances

A few things to note about litter box maintenance. Cat boxes need to be changed frequently and clumps should be scooped daily. If owners ignore the litter box, you just might have a cat eliminating on the floor. In multiple-cat homes, there should be one litter box per cat. Just think, do you like sharing your toilet with just anyone?

Litter choices are just as diverse as litter box choices. Litter comes as clay, non-clumping, litter pearls, small and light wheat-based litter, scoopable clumping litter, scented, and unscented. It might take a few tries to find which brand of litter your cat prefers. To reduce odors, try sprinkling Arm & Hammer baking soda deodorizer on the litter. And for those pieces of litter that get stuck between furry toes, try a textured cat mat to remove annoying litter granules from delicate kitty paws.