Help me contain my cat's huge pees!

June 19, 2009 8:04 AM

What is the best kitty litter for my big, large-volume-output, refuses-to-cover cat?

There are tons of cat-litter questions but none seem to address the volume issue. I have a 17-pound (not fat but tall and big, stands almost knee-height), adult-shelter-rescue, front-declawed, indoor-only cat named Charlie. Charlie is a delightful cat and has very good and easygoing litter manners. The problem is not one of his behavior (well, mostly); it's one of logistics.

Charlie, being a big cat, has a correspondingly big bladder, and I have despaired of finding a cat litter solution that will help me deal with the sheer quantity of his output. (Note: this is not abnormal, he-might-be-diabetic pee, just big-cat-thus-more-volume pee.) Charlie seems to be willing to use whatever kind of litter I buy, and I feel like I've tried just about everything.

(Charlie's one issue is that he digs but doesn't bury anything. If anyone has suggestions for that, I'd love to hear them, btw.)

So here is what I've tried and what happened:
Grain-based litter - WBCL and Swheat Scoop - I like these because of their lower weight and better environmental footprint, but they resulted in giant wet sawdust clumps that had to be scraped off the bottom of the box like stucco.

Regular clay clumping (Fresh Step et al) - same thing.

Crystal or pellet - pee runs in between the pellets and puddles on the bottom of the pan, apparently in too much quantity to be absorbed in time to not make the pan bottom nasty. A sludge of pee-sodden crystals must be cleared, like the world's most revolting snow-salt on your steps.

My only former cat was a five-pound lady who made, and buried, dainty little pee-clumps the size of maybe a ping-pong or golf ball. I am at a loss how to deal with Charlie's softballs! I feel like it must be a combination of technique and type that I have not hit on yet. I'm hoping someone out there will have dealt with this before...

posted by oblique red to pets & animals (22 comments total)

You need a deeper box with more litter. Maybe a Rubbermaid type container that you can put 6 to 8 inches of clumping litter in. This will give the litter more opportunity to absorb his volume, and keep it from reaching the bottom of the box.
posted by kimdog at 8:19 AM on June 19

I have a cat that pees small lakes (perfectly healthy with a very large bladder) and I use Tidy Cats Crystal Blend. Make sure you put 3-4 inches in the box (I use a rubbermaid tote with a hole cut out of the top, so no litter flinging, either).
posted by bolognius maximus at 8:20 AM on June 19

I used to have a 17-pounder as well and currently have two 14-pound lugs. I use regular clay clumping litter in large quantities--enough to fill their boxes to 5 or 6 inches deep. Keep adding more litter when you scoop, so the litter level stays high. As long as I keep on top of scooping it daily, they don't dig down deep enough for their urine clods to get stuck to the bottom.

I have not figured out what to do about the non-burying, unfortunately. I read somewhere that cats do this when they feel very comfortable and secure, so at least you can feel good about that.
posted by magicbus at 8:21 AM on June 19

My cat is big, poops big, pees a good amount, and pretends to bury his crap by scratching the side of the litter bin.

Here's what I did: I use Feline Pine. I made my own "sifter bin" out of 2 Sterlite bins and a 7/32 drill bit, but there's a company that makes them here.

When Feline Pine pellets are peed on, they dissolve. The bin is designed to keep the litter pellets on top, and the cat litter cat-pee-litter-dust below. The top bin has holes in it that are big enough to sift dust, but small enough not to let the litter pass through. Sift the dissolved litter to the bottom bin, add more litter to the top. I put a bag in the lower bin to catch the litter dust. (Note, you have to put some starter-litter into the bottom bin to absorb anything that will pass through the grate.)

This contains all of the pee in the lined bin below, and is easily cleaned up. Feline Pine is the most smell-friendly litters on the market, and it has a good environmental footprint (except for the plastic liner - which is optional if you don't mind hosing out the bottom bin every so often).
posted by jabberjaw at 8:23 AM on June 19 [6 favorites]

Seconding Tidy Cat. I've found that it tends to clump together better.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:25 AM on June 19

I also have a large, muscular cat (mine is 19-pounds). His pee is epic and he too neglects to bury it; however, he does bury his (enormous) poo. I use Fresh Step Multiple Cat Strength and a lot of it. Yes, sometimes I must scrape solidified urine off the bottom of the box, but scooping and scraping daily, coupled with thoroughly cleaning the entire box weekly, keeps my home from smelling. I suggest purchasing a bigger box and using more litter. (I have two large litter boxes and my cat likes to pee in one and poo in the other. Aren't cats neat?)
posted by Houyhnhnm at 8:27 AM on June 19

A long time ago we had a cat that regular cat boxes just didn't work for. My partner made a litter box out of a cut-down plastic garbage can, keeping the sides pretty high with one cut-down area for the cat to enter. The higher sides allowed for deeper litter, similar to the suggestions above about using a rubbermaid tub or something similar.
posted by not that girl at 8:31 AM on June 19

i'm in the process of trying to get my cats switched over to the tidy cat breeze system. so far they're very suspicious, but it hasn't dissuaded me. i think if i can convince them to give it a try, it will be MUCH easier for me.
posted by msconduct at 9:03 AM on June 19

I have one big cat, one small cat - neither covers their stuff. Both of them urinate more than normal because they both have FUS, and the food they eat makes them thirsty.

I use a large (very deep) litter box + Feline Pine + Baking Soda. FP masks odors very well but I add the baking soda to help keep the bottom of the bins extra clean. Eventually I want to try a litter box like jabberjaw mentioned above, but for now I just have a scooper with medium size holes that sift out the dust from the unused pellets.

(FP does break down into a sawdust like composition after they urinate on it, but I haven't had the clumping to the bottom of the bin problem yet. (That may be because I clean the pans at least 3 times a day...)
posted by pghjezebel at 9:04 AM on June 19

I've tried every brand on the market, and committed lifelong to "Nature's Miracle" brand cat litter. Clumps fast. Lightweight. Smells good. Soft. Cats like it.
posted by Thistledown at 9:12 AM on June 19

Would he use a CleverCat? One caveat: my biggest guy (23 lbs.) doesn't fit through the opening, so you may want to make your own version using a bigger rubbermaid container. It's deep so you could use more litter, which would hopefully absorb the larger than average volume better.
posted by crankylex at 9:25 AM on June 19

I have a big cat too (15 lbs) whose urine could only be matched by the clay-based clumping litter. I'm in Canda so I'm sure the brand names are different than your area but look for brands for "multiple cats" or "maximum odour control" or "made for small apartments." Even if these situations don't apply to you, the litter is more hardcore in some way that makes the smell/absorption less of an issue.

Re: the burying problem... You may have to cover the pee/poo for your cat. Maybe he could watch and learn?

Re: size of deposits... I'm sure your cat does have a large output but he may also like to pee in the same corner of the box. My cat does and I rotate the pan to try and avoid this.

Finally: Charlie is adorable :)
posted by cranberrymonger at 9:28 AM on June 19

nthing a deeper box. I use Swheat Scoop and find it works best when I have at least 5" of litter in the box so the puddle doesn't stick to the bottom. My cat also won't cover (digs on the opposite side of the box or just scratches on the plastic of the box). But frequent cleaning + a deep box helps with the pee issue.
posted by BlooPen at 9:55 AM on June 19

Feline Pine.
posted by ohyouknow at 10:16 AM on June 19

I'm not sure if you mean the silica gel types of cat litter when you say crystal or pellet, but I've found for a big cat (one of mine is a hefty built monster) that the silica gel crystals work a treat.

The trick is that you have to mix up the pee with the rest of the litter so everything gets absorbed. If I don't mix it up, for about an hour after the pee, it's wet, but after that it seems to dry out totally. Big cats need big litter boxes and the litter for this guy needs to be deep to suck up that tsunami of pee.

I'm in the UK and the brand I use is Bob Martins Ultimate Odour Control. The crystal pellets are rounded and very small so they do pick up most of the pee. Rounded pellets comfier for paws too. I don't know where you are located but you might be able to find something similar if not that brand. The odour control is brilliant, it lasts, and it also dessicates the poop.

He might not be covering up his mess because he just doesn't like the litter or the tray, or he's had a fright on a litter tray in the past. This is a frequent cause of leaving mess uncovered - the cat can't wait to get off the tray and away to safety. Position of litter box is important - most cats need privacy and high human traffic areas are a no no. You can, if he's calmish and still on the tray, just after he's finished a dump, take one paw and gently use it to scrape some litter over the poop, followed by lots of praise as a reward, maybe a piece of kibble. I've seen this work well with young cats and kittens. If he's tense or resists then don't try that again as it could cause him to avoid the tray. He also might not be covering his mess because the tray needs cleaning out more often. Clearing out the poop and mixing it all up at least twice a day is the minimum.

Cats are good visual learners so you could try just letting him see you cover the poop with the litter. Try to do what a tidy cat would do with its paw.
posted by Arqa at 12:36 PM on June 19

Cat Pan Solution # 1 - buy the large size cement mixing pan from Home Depot or Lowe's ($11 - $15). It has no corners, the surface is very slick (once you get the label off) and it cleans easily. It's also very sturdy and can take quite a beating. My cat likes to perch on the edge of the box so the wider ledge gives him better leverage.

Cat Pan Solution # 2 - Lowe's has these big round totes with white rope handles (costs between $5-8). It will not solve the covering up problem but if you fill it half way, there should be plenty of litter to soak up the pee. The tote is about 2 feet deep so your cat might have problems getting in - I keep a spare litter container next to mine as a step. (solution via bitchypoo.com)
posted by jaimystery at 1:01 PM on June 19

Pretty good answers so far, but I think we may need a few more pictures of your cat to give you any definitive information.
posted by qvtqht at 4:14 PM on June 19

our cats are many and large (7, 6 of which are ragdolls running 12 to 16 pounds) we have tried everything we could find, and nothing affordable is as good as Tidy cat. For us. 7 litter boxes emptied every other day. Man Of Experience
posted by Redhush at 9:44 PM on June 19

another vote for feline pine. I still manually sift the dust daily, but I have a friend who swears by the self sifting litterbox made just for this litter. My large kitties also don't bother to cover the waste, but there is no odor at all (except the poop which I flush down the toilet.)
posted by kittieJen at 10:25 PM on June 19

jabberjaw is a genius. I find that Feline Pine and Rescue Clean Scoop UltraLite Cat Litter are good at soaking up stink.

However, if you can train your cat to use the toilet, that's the best bet. You don't have to use a product. Just buy a bunch of oval foil turkey pans. In my experience, it either takes about a month, or else the cat just won't learn. (I have one cat who just won't learn. She's cute, but also "special.")
posted by Lesser Shrew at 12:11 PM on June 20

Many, many thanks to all who have responded so far. I am currently trying out the Nature's Miracle in a deeper-than-previously-used layer and will update when I see how he is taking to it.
posted by oblique red at 8:11 AM on June 23

Many good suggestions; the key missing piece seems to be that he is going multiple times in the same spot, so the huuuuuuge clumps I was getting are the result of more than one visit. A deeper litter layer combined with WBCL combined with more frequent scooping to clear out the first visit before he could make another one have rendered the problem much more manageable. Thanks, MeFites!
posted by oblique red at 7:42 AM on August 6