The rule of catboxes: # of cats + 1

Ivy says:

I was speaking with a neighbor recently who was having problems with her cat peeing all over the house. I asked her if she had take the cat to the vet to rule out a kidney infection and she said she had. The vet had suggested she buy more litter boxes.

She thought this was a stupid suggestion. “I have one cat and one litter box, how many do I need?” I told her the general rule of cat boxes is to have one for each cat plus an extra, especially if you live in a multi-level house as she does.

You should have at least one cat box per level* even if you have 3 levels and only one cat. For some unknown reason, cats are generally very fastidious about their pottying, but they will take a dump in your freshly folded laundry quick as a wink if their litter situation is not to their exacting standards.

Some cats may not like the type of litter you’re using, or they might not think you’re cleaning the boxes fast enough to suit them. Keep trying different things and  eventually you’ll hit upon the right thing.

As for my neighbor, I saw her tonight and apparently having a second litter box on the second floor has done the trick. Go me and my advice!

*If you have certain floors the cat can’t access, naturally you don’t need a cat box on that level.

Keeping the cats out of the Christmas tree

Ivy says:

Rachel wanted to know how to keep the cats away from the Christmas tree.  I only wish this worked as well for curious toddlers as it does for cats! Cats hate the smell of citrus- particularly oranges, but lemons work as well. I spray an orange based cleaning product like Orange Clean on my tree. The cats are appalled and will steer clear. You have to reapply every couple of days, but eventually, they will probably steer clear.

Also, make sure there aren’t any ornaments dangling from bottom branches and don’t use that drapey tinsel on your tree. These prove irresistible to cats  and they’ll brave the orange scent to be able to play with those items.

The same works well for keeping cats away from any plant you want to keep in the house. Ironically, my cats would NOT stay away from my orange tree when I brought it in this winter and I sprayed the outside of the pot with Orange Clean and it keeps them away.

Keep It Down, Fido!

Ivy says:

As I was laying down to go to sleep last night, the dog in the house behind me decided to start barking. And he barked. And he barked. And he barked some more, for good measure. This happens just about every night, but with the cooler weather, it is worse for everyone that lives close to the barky dog, because we all would like to have our windows open.

I’m not one of those types of people that will condemn you for having an outside dog. I, personally, wouldn’t have an outside dog because I get so busy, it would be easy to forget about an outside dog and I might not spend enough time playing with them, socializing them, all those things dogs need.

I do know some people who are disciplined enough, and have dogs that actually prefer to live outside, so if you can do that, awesome. But if your dog is a nighttime barker, here are some tips for keeping them from barking all the time:

• Make sure there is stuff to play with out there with them. Ropes, soft stuffed animals, plastic chewies, all these things will entertain a dog. Make sure they have plenty to play with.
• Make sure they have a den. Dogs need a place to curl up and get away from the world. This is important for both outside and inside dogs. My own dog has a place in my closet that he uses as his den.  Outside dogs need a doghouse that’s small enough to be cozy, and big enough for them to stretch out in, a bit.
• Make sure you are spending enough time during the day with them. Dogs are pack animals. When they only see a member of their pack for feedings, they get to feeling bad and lonely and start barking to let their people know they’re sad and lonely. Play with your dog every day. Take him for a walk. Dogs need time and attention. Don’t get a dog if you don’t have time to deal with it.
• Consider a companion dog. This should not replace time spent with your dog. But because of the “dogs are pack animals” thing, most dogs enjoy having a buddy to live with. Make sure before you get a second dog, that you have time and money to take care of both dogs. Let the two dogs meet, preferably on neutral ground, before you commit to getting the new dog.
• If all else fails and you’re annoying your neighbors with your dog (especially if that neighbor happens to be me) take your dog inside. Really, it’s the polite thing to do. And no dog is too big to live inside- I have friends with Great Danes that insist they are inside dogs. You can teach any dog to have good manners inside.

Like I said, personally, I prefer my animals to be inside animals. But if your animals are outside animals, make sure they have good manners and aren’t waking up the neighborhood night after night.

If your dog goes missing…

Ivy says:

Recently, my dog just up and ran out my front door. I freaked out, because he only goes outside on a leash and I was scared he might run out into the street and get hit by a car. Fortunately, he apparently only needed to take a leak, because he ran out, peed on my tree, and ran back inside.

Elaine Vigneault has an awesome list of things to do if your pet goes missing. My favorite, and one I would never have thought of:

Put something really smelly on your porch. A bag of dirty laundry, a dirty litter box, anything that smells like your home. Your pet could be wandering the neighborhood, catch the scent, and find his or her way home. I know it’s gross, but if it works, it’s worth the odd looks from your neighbors.

I would have to put my dirty underwear on the front porch, my dog LOVES my dirty underwear enough to dig through the hamper for them. It’s quite disturbing.

Head on over to Elaine’s for the rest of the great tips.

Belittling the litter box

Dear Home-Ec 101,

Why is cleaning out cat boxes such an ordeal? How can I make my cat’s litter box smell better if I’m a little bit remiss about getting them scooped every day? What about the Litter Maid? Does that actually work?

Signed,

Scoopless in Saratoga

Ivy says:

Man, do I ever feel your pain. There is nothing in this whole world I hate more than scooping kitty litter boxes, except having my entire house smell like a kitty litter box, so I scoop, scoop, scoop.

When I was pregnant and was not able to scoop the catboxes due to the possibility of toxoplasmosis, I broke down and bought a Litter Maid. I can tell you with no uncertain terms that it was a total waste of money. When it actually did work, it didn’t do a very good job and I was constantly having to clean the rake thingy, and it quit working altogether after a few months. I used only the recommended brands of cat litter, and followed all their recommendations and it still sucked. Plus, one of my cats was totally afraid of the Litter Maid, so I had to keep another box around for him anyway.

The very best way to keep your cat boxes clean and sparkly is to scoop morning and night, use a great brand of cat litter and sprinkle baking soda in the box every morning. If you do this, you will never have a problem with odor in your cat boxes.

However, we can’t always be perfect about getting the cat boxes scooped. After all, we have about 8 billion other things we need to be doing rather than scooping cat boxes. So if you’re a little lazy about cleaning out the cat boxes, here are a few more tips:

• Use a VERY good clumping cat litter. I’ve tried about 8 billion brands and my 2 favorites are Arm & Hammer Multi Cat and Tidy Cat Small Spaces.
• Make sure you have at least one cat box per cat owned. Also, if you have an upstairs and a downstairs, have at least one cat box per level.
• The cheapest method of controlling cat box odor is baking soda in the boxes. Arm and Hammer and Tidy cats make cat box deodorizers, but baking soda is just as effective and is a heck of a lot cheaper.
• Do not use a covered cat box. If you use an uncovered cat box, your nose will definitely remind you of when it is time to dump the cat boxes.
• Dump cat boxes entirely every single week. I dump mine on trash day so my dumpster doesn’t get too stinky.

Sometimes I’m surprised that I am a veritable font of information having to do with cat poop.

« Previous Page — Next Page »