Well, I had all three of my cats trained to ring the bells on the door to go outside. Now three times I have woke up to cat poo in my plants.
I have to say, I laughed at the comment "I guess the cats do not like the rain"
Putting black pepper in the dirt around your potted plants will keep the cats from using them for a litter box
If you have an extra bathtub, put the box in there~~~ Of course,
remove it when you want to bathe!!! It's always a dilemma
when guests come to visit! How bout the laundry room???
One thing that is often a problem when you have dogs and cats, unfortunately, is that the dogs like to eat kitty poop! For that reason we had to put our litter box in the basement and put a kitty door on the basment door, so that the dogs can't get to the cat box. It also keeps the smell down in the basement.
The bad thing is that you have to go down to the basement to clean the box, and it easily gets forgotten!
I was going to suggest getting the auto-matic cat box. But then I remembered that my ex got that for our cats. And they peed on the little cleaning arm, and it didn't work. So that might not be such a hot idea. We get cheap CHEAP litter, and just dump the box and re-fill. I've tried the scooping thing, but it never works out for us. And cat pan liners (little plastic bags) always get shredded because Domino has all of her claws. Man, now that I think about it, she's really a pain in the @$$. Roxy, my girls each have their own litter box. They're the covered ones and I have a rug placed in front of the boxes to catch the litter as they exit from the box. As to the litter, I tried all kinds. My Marisa won't use most of them and I started to buy potting soil to place in her box. However, it would get so smelly that I was changing it every other day. So, one day in the pet store, I saw the silca gel litter. Hummm, wonder if this stuff works, it's on sale, guess I'll try it. I love it and so do the girls. There's no more smelly litter box!!!! All I do now is scoop out the poop and stir the litter. Once a month, I have to change the litter and if both girls are using the same box, than it's once every two weeks. Sure beats having smelly boxes.
I placed the litter boxes in the kitchen, under a table that's used for storage. They're out of the way and the girls like it that way as they are hidden when doing their duty.
If my girls make a stinky mess in the box, they will come and get me, sit down in front of the box and keep meowing until I clean it.
Roxy, whatever you decide to do, just keep in mind that your cats WILL make the choice for you!
MarisaHow expensive is that litter? And what brand is it, I don't think I've ever seen it before. I'm up for anything new.
Hi Roxy,
I'm not sure how helpful I can be as I am in good old UK and not sure stuff's the same here! But I used to have an enclosed litter tray with carbon filter to stop the smell escaping. I use recycled paper litter. Now I have a cat door (with infrared lock so only my cat can get in) and I have an enclosed outdoor tray (with an overhanging entry so rain doesn't get in) that stops her "fertilising" my lawn and plants!
Good Luck!
KT
Wow. What great ideas you have. I put the cat box in Kelsey's bathroom.
So I bought all these groceries for good meals and you know what Kelsey and I decided on for dinner. A big plate of mashed potatoes and gravy. Wish I had peas to put in the middle of the volcano but I am broke. I went through all my clothes and purses and came up with .50. Went to the store, needed envelopes, cat litter, toilet paper and freezer bags for all the meat we bought. It came to 14.48. Thank God Oregon has no sales tax. wow! cats trained to ring a bell to poo.. now I havent heard that one before
Hey roxy, I just thought of something. Your cats are trained to ring a bell...sooo how hard would they be to re-train? You know you can train cats to use the toilet, right? Getting them to flush it is nearly impossible, but I've seen MANY use it at least. There's actually a KIT you can get too. It's a suspended litter box that hangs over the seat, they get the hang of that, and then you just take it away. Violia. Potty trained Kitty.
To me cats are definitely love/hate relationships. My dogs never defy me and do all they can to please me.
The cats are - DOH - You didn't provide good enough accomodations so I have to make do. YOU clean it up - it IS your fault. Now go buy me some of that expensive catfood and after I eat, as soon as you sit down, I will definitely let you know to let me in the house. There is a chilly breeze in the carport and you don't REALLY expect ME to go out in the rain. This new house has plenty of new corners I have not used and that tree in the corner - clear out some of those roots and it will make a fine place for me to go until the weather is nice this spring
I like the OTHER side of cats. The one that goes:
OMG is that a leaf? A LEAF KILL IT KILL IT! LEAF LEAF LEAF! oh wow pretty shiney thing. What's that? Can I eat it? I'm gonna eat it. I'm eating it! PURR PURR Oh god, it's coming back up! NOOOO *ralph* Oh WHAT'S THAT!?!? Is that my PUKE? YUMMY! *scarf* LOOK A WINDOW! *90 mph into the window* HOLY CRAP WHERE'D THIS WINDOW COME FROM!?!? Oh look, BIRDIE!! *smack window 8,000 times* OH LOOK A BIRDIE! *smack window 8,000 more times* I'm thirsty! Water! *90mph into the bathroom* WOW Shower curtian has WATER! *lick shower curtain for 20 minutes* Sooo sleeepppyyy.. *pass out right in bathroom doorway for 12 hours inhibiting ANYONE from getting quickly to the toilet. This works best when someone in the house is ill*
That's my cat in a nutshell...she's highly entertaining...
Katie - THAT WAS GREAT. Yes, that is the side that makes me keep all three. They are highly entertaining and when they feel like it, super cuddly. Your description was perfect !!!Domino has started "chase" with me. She cries, and when I try to pick her up, she bolts. So I chase her. So she runs faster. And lays on the floor at bats at me until I'm close, and then runs again. After a while, I'll call her name, and then "run" from her, and hide around a corner. When she gets to me I jump out and softly yell "ooga booga" to which she runs faster and meows at me. But she LOVES it. She'll pester me for hours sometimes until I play with her. She's the coolest.That is hilarious. My cats think they are dogs. They ride in the car, one swims and one of mine was found in the barn with no mother, almost dead and she nurses on my neck. Drives Brett crazy - lol.AAAWWWW!!!! I love the ones that still try to nurse! Domino does that to her "blankie" - but she was with her mom until 8 weeks. So she's just cracked out or something. I've NEVER seen a dog nurse though!! That has to be adorable. What kind of dog is she?My in-laws have a deaf white cat whose mother abandoned
She likes a good petting, and likes to cuddle, but she also likes to go curl up under the big chair or under the computer desk sometimes...if I pick her up and bring her to the couch so I can pet her she will jump down, give her back a few licks...kinda like wiping off a kiss...and goes back to her spot under the chair.
She is so cat-like for a little pointy eared dog!
Hi Roxy,
Have you heard of pine litter? It's all I use now. I get it at the grocery or Wal-Mart. It's actually flushable although I haven't tried that. I just scoop out the poop and throw it away. The pine smells good and I never have that "kitty litter" smell in the house.
I've enjoyed reading all of these stories. The cat litter that I use is the chrystal kind. It does come in a blended mixture, clay litter mix with the chrystals. I get mind at Petsmart, their brand. A 8lb. jug is . It's expensive but well worth it.