Cleaning a cat crate

July 28, 2006 7:34 PM

Help me figure out a way to clean kitty's crate...

After much deliberation and research, we decided to crate one of our four cats because she is eliminating outside of our 5 litter boxes. Our newest kitty seems to be antagonizing Babs to the point where she is under stress and is not using the box.

My issue is that we need a good way to clean her Great Dane-sized crate while she is in there. Along with a blanket and toys and a litter pan, we put in a cat condo which looks like this (middle) but with smaller, offset holes. I am trying to figure out a way to clean the crate without her getting out. Any ideas?

**Before anyone asks, yes, we took her to the vet-- clean bill of health.

We tried separating the cats, but we live in a smaller apartment (and before I am told I should not have so many cats in my space, please know that 2/4 are rescues who would not be taken in otherwise).

We thought about a bell for the agressor, but Pinky Pie sneaking up on Babs is not the issue.

We tried Feliway for 3 months.

We moved the food, phased in a new and vet-recommended litter, covered some litters and not others, we scoop every 6 hours when we are awake, we adjusted the wet-food feeding time, gave her treats when we saw her doing the right thing in the box, the list goes on. Sufficed to say, the vet told us before a behavioral vet was called and steroids administered, we should crate her for 2-3 weeks to get her back into the box habit.

posted by oflinkey to pets & animals (4 comments total)

Could you clarify what you mean by "cleaning the crate"? Do you mean scooping litter, or actually washing the crate itself? Are you concerned that in the 2-3 weeks she's in there she'll eliminate outside of the litter box, and that's why you'll need to clean it?

Sorry to be so thick-headed; just trying to understand exactly what you need.
posted by handful of rain at 7:39 PM on July 28, 2006

Would it defeat the purpose if you moved her into a smaller travel crate/carrier when you cleaned? Even if you did the transfer inside of the larger crate
posted by handful of rain at 7:45 PM on July 28, 2006

I do mean that I need to clean anything that could get on the blankets or the bottom of the crate-- for instance, she upset her food and water bowls and that needs to be cleaned.

Babs does not react well to the cat carrier-- I doubt I could get her in there while crawling around in the crate.
posted by oflinkey at 8:10 PM on July 28, 2006

We had to crate my cat for 4 months while he recovered from a broken leg. I lined the bottom of the crate with blankets, and placed a towel or two underneath the water & food dishes, and at the entrance to the litterbox (to catch stray pieces of litter). I found it easy to remove the food/water dishes, replace the towels with a clean one, and throw the dirty towels in the washing machine. I scooped the litterbox twice daily since it was such a small space.

I do recommend moving the cat out of the crate at least once a week (I put my cat in the bathroom for this), to remove everything, give the crate a wipe down, and replace the blanket with a clean one.

Good luck!
posted by tastybrains at 8:25 PM on July 28, 2006