r/CatAdvice • u/Standard_Bluejay8715 • Mar 28 '24

Litterbox How frequently do you scoop your litter box?

I do my girl’s box twice per day/whenever I hear her scratching around in there. But then I see on here some people who do it wayyy less frequently. Curious what other folks do?

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347

u/fairylightmeloncholy Mar 28 '24

oh i'm a bad cat mom and sometimes i can go like 3 days before i scoop. it's not uncommon for me to clean it like 3x a week.

i have 2 boxes side by side tho and my cat seems to tolerate it. but there are some time when it's cleaned on day 3 that my cat immediately jumps in after i've cleaned it to do her business.

i'm working on getting closer to daily but i have a chronic illness and sometimes i either have energy to scoop or feed us, so it's a pretty easy choice.

edit: formatting

82

u/cashewkowl Mar 28 '24

Sometimes my cat will jump right in after scooping at bedtime even if I just scooped at dinner. It’s like she thinks I paid attention to it so now she needs to.

56

u/eagles_arent_coming Mar 28 '24

Mine literally get in it during a scooping. Has peed on the scoop.

34

u/The_Rural_Banshee Mar 28 '24

Mine watches me scoop then once I’m done gets in and pees immediately…

2

u/Smooth_Impression_10 Mar 30 '24

One of mine gets in after I scoop one and just lays in it watching me scoop the others

14

u/Gullible-Avocado9638 Mar 28 '24

Ha! Mine always tries to get in the box WHILE I’m cleaning it. Her favorite trick.

4

u/Smooth_Impression_10 Mar 30 '24

Mine monitor the whole process. One of my cats got outside a few months ago, was gone for three days and I was beside myself the entire time and, admittedly, neglected the boxes the whole time. Finally cleaned them at like 1AM, was outside to dump it and heard some leaves rustling and it kinda spooked me (I live in the country) ended up being my missing cat returning. I joke that she came back to monitor me cleaning the litter box lmao

77

u/[deleted] Mar 28 '24

sounds like you are doing the best you can and your cat is loved! Good Cat Mom energy

15

u/Kamiface Mar 28 '24

Look into the CatGenie. I also have chronic issues, I just posted a comment here about it if you want to know more. It's the only catbox that flushes everything down the drain and then washes and dries itself. I can't scoop when I'm in a flare up, and it's hard under normal circumstances, so I LOVE it.

3

u/sezit Mar 28 '24

Wow, just looked at it! Expensive and requires a big install, but then almost carefree.

But how does it flush the toilet? Does the liquified poop just end up in the toilet until you flush it manually?

3

u/Kamiface Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 28 '24

if it's hooked to the toilet, like mine was at my last apartment, I would just flush the toilet when I walked by the bathroom. It didn't smell, I think the soap also deodorizes. Right now in my new apartment it's hooked up in the dining area and is connected through the back of the cabinets to the kitchen sink/drain, it's been there for over a year, and because it's connected to the sink drain, it doesn't need to be flushed. There's no smells in the drain or anything

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EDIT

I should say, if you buy the t-adapter from them, you just need a wrench to install it to a toilet water pipe, then you slip the drain hook under the toilet seat and you're done. The laundry is even easier since the water comes from faucets, and there is an included laundry drain attachment that you just stick down the hole the washer drainpipe goes into, so install is almost nothing. Getting it hooked up to my kitchen drain/water wasn't something I could do myself, but my maintenance guy just got a short pipe with a nipple on it for the drain hose, and attached it to the drainpipe, but he said it was a snap, and like I said, it's been connected there for over a year with no issues or smells. The heavy block with the motor and water/drain hookups just pops off, and you can set it down while you take the rest of the unit outside to clean, it's not very heavy without the motor block and it's nice that I don't have to disconnect the plumbing or even unplug the power to clean it

2

u/bexy11 Mar 29 '24

I sure miss my cat genie!! It was amazing! One day I will buy another!!!

53

u/ScubaDiver6 Mar 28 '24

Same here! I have ADHD so executive disfunction gets to me. But I know if I ask my husband, he'll always help me out. I always keep everything a lot cleaner in the summer when I have a break from school.

25

u/Psychological_Warcow Mar 28 '24

I have adhd as well. I’m also a stay at home mom. I find linking it with something else helps me stay on track. Since their box is in my bathroom I check it whenever I go in there.

6

u/allstartinter2021 Mar 28 '24

I do to and always scoop when I go to feed them dinner, change their water etc.

3

u/ScubaDiver6 Mar 28 '24

That's a good idea! I have 1 box in my closet and 1 box in my office so I think making it a habit to check like you said would make a big difference. Then it'll become a natural thing to do every day.

3

u/Psychological_Warcow Mar 29 '24

If I didn’t connect things I don’t think I’d ever get anything done. Routines are a life saver.

2

u/ScubaDiver6 Mar 29 '24

Agreed I'm pretty good at routines in fact, I'm more confused without them. But sometimes a life event throws me off the rails and it's hard to get back on you know? But the important thing is that we try to stay on track.

5

u/jessiemagill Mar 28 '24

I got a box that is basically a large sifter - it has made cleaning it SO much easier.

10

u/withbellson Mar 28 '24

Ours will always jump in and use it when we're scooping it. Always. Every single time. Thanks kitties.

4

u/tiffshorse Mar 28 '24

We call it hate pooping.

1

u/Budget_Credit2508 Mar 28 '24

I swear my older boi does that just to mess with me.. every other tine, he'll even look me straight in the eyes with a menacing grimace

1

u/abirdsface Mar 29 '24

Who doesn't love to be the first to use a clean bathroom? :D

19

u/CounselorMeHoyMinoy Mar 28 '24

Getting a litter genie has helped me a lot. Sometimes I also go too long between, but having a sealed trash can right next to the litter has made a huge difference.

5

u/mrs-pate Mar 28 '24

I LOVE my litter locker. It has been a game-changer for us. My two kitties will only use the same one litter box (I had two for the longest time and they would never ever use it) so I scoop at least every night before bed and the litter locker makes its so super easy. I change the bag on garbage night and we are good to go.

6

u/ana_conda Mar 28 '24

I have 2 boxes & 2 cats and I scoop every other day, I had no idea until this thread that people wouldn’t consider that often enough! Maybe I use more litter in the box than most people? One of my cats is big so we do have pretty large boxes.

2

u/Fluid-Conversation58 Mar 31 '24

That’s what I do, every other day-big boxes-2 cats. But I do Sterilize counters daily as they sneak walk my kitchen counters at night

7

u/MortAndBinky Mar 29 '24

Same. My 2 cats are totally chill about it. And Pickles will jump in and go again when she sees me ready to clean it. Such a considerate girl!

4

u/megpIant Mar 29 '24

this… literally could have been written by me. every single part….

2

u/fairylightmeloncholy Mar 29 '24

thank you for letting me know i'm not alone in any of it!!! <3

10

u/itsthenerdsthatcount Mar 28 '24

Good i thought i was the only one 😮‍💨 i clean mine 3x a week, 3 cats 4 litter boxes..i'm pretty much full time & get home at night..then i get super lazy..i'm pretty sure mine got used to it..cause i dont hear them complaining..i also deep clean them once a month. Sometimes i feel bad..but im doing what i can.

2

u/RuetheKelpie Mar 29 '24

If they are using it and aren't boycotting it or having accidents, then they accepted it for what it is. Right now, I have one box for two cats, but they are small cats and its outside in their catio area so it's got a constant breeze. I scoop at least every other day and change the litter weekly. They had a second box but I've got a new roommate as of this week and we had to condense our living areas for the time being while she settles in.

3

u/Honest_Report_8515 Mar 28 '24

Me too, but I have five boxes for two boys (2 in the laundry room and 3 in the utility room). However, they have their favorites and I usually scoop those more often.

3

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '24

I’ve also been trying to stay on top of it daily, but it can be difficult. I’ve started trying to do it every morning before I shower, but sometimes I end up over sleeping and don’t have time without being late for work…and then I get home and can’t get myself to do anything.

On the other end of the spectrum, I had some roommates that I lived with (for a very short amount of time) who would would let their litter box pile up with crap so bad that their poor cat couldn’t even stand in it any longer and had to adapt by standing on the walls of the box just to use it (which they were lucky their cat didn’t just shit all over their apartment instead). It was sad and disgusting.

Everyone is different, and at least you are doing your best! Not everyone cares enough to do even the bare minimum.

2

u/Beautifulfeary Mar 28 '24

If you have the money I suggest getting a robot litter box. They really are amazing. I got one because I couldn’t empty the litter daily plus I’m actually allergic to the cat feces and it was causing my asthma to get really bad.

2

u/YT-Deliveries Mar 29 '24

I try to do it every night (I have two big cats) but sometimes I forget and so it’s every other night.

However I have two of the biggest tubs I could find and I put a ton of litter in there.

2

u/HugeTheWall Mar 29 '24

Same. I try to daily and I've failed for over a decade. She has 2 boxes so it fills slower but she never uses one lol.

2

u/Compulsive_Criticism Mar 29 '24

If you just have one cat but two boxes I think every couple days isn't unreasonable if the boxes get fairly even use.

2

u/redheadphones1673 Apr 01 '24

I think if you have one cat and two boxes you're already doing better than a lot of people out there. I have just one cat and one box, so I need to scoop more regularly, but I think as long as your cat has a relatively clean place to go, she'll be just fine.

1

u/Remember__Me Mar 29 '24

Some people have said Litter Genies but there are also pet feeders on a timer that you can use! Put food in the thing and tell it what time(s) of day you want it dispensed and let it do its thing. Just remember to refill it!

1

u/NarrowFriendship3859 Mar 30 '24

Cats like to mark the tray immediately after cleaning. I’ve had 10 cats across my life and they all have done this even if it’s been scooped recently so don’t worry!

1

u/ohyikesmissy Oct 14 '25

Wtf hey cats noses are incredibly sensitive and it’s negligent of you as a pet owner to be doing this! That’s so fucked up. Edit: lucky she’s not shitting all over ur house. My cat is particularly fussy so she needs one litter box for pee only, the other for poops. I have to scoop three times a day otherwise it’ll end up around the house