Comments on: Cleaning a cat crate

Question: Cleaning a cat crate

oflinkey — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 19:34:27 -0800

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.

By: handful of rain

handful of rain — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 19:39:58 -0800

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.

By: handful of rain

handful of rain — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 19:45:33 -0800

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

By: oflinkey

oflinkey — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 20:10:28 -0800

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.

By: tastybrains

tastybrains — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 20:25:04 -0800

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!