Litter box question

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Charlottefern

Charlottefern

Member Since 2015
Hello there! My cat Niccolo is newly diagnosed. He is on 2 units of Lantus and I have Zobaline on order as he has very weak back legs. My question for everyone is regarding his litter situation. Since he is so weak he is having to sit down to urinate resulting in his feet, legs, and tummy becoming caked in wet clay litter. Does anyone out there have a solution to this problem? I have been looking into a pellet litter but hate to make the change for him to only resist it. Any advice is welcomed. Thanks!
 
Zobaline is very good for diabetic neuropathy in cats. A lot of members have reported success with it. I hope your order arrives very soon.
I am tagging a few members who know about Zobaline. We have members who can help give you suggestions for the urinating issues.

@Tucker&Me @BJM @Critter Mom can you please help?
 
The breeze system is the one I have been looking into. I would love to hear if any one has had success with their older cat transitioning to it before spending the $$. Thanks!
 
I can really relate to the problem of cleaning dried clay litter out of fur! YUCK!:arghh:I have a long haired old guy so I've had to deal with that horrible mess. And I agree changing litter especially when Broham is not feeling top notch may be problematic.

Have you considered getting a 2nd litter box and trying a more forgiving litter in it while the old litter is still available. Sometimes the choice between two peeks their curiosity and they'll at least try it. This would alleviate the possibility of unwanted behaviour should he not like your new choice.
 
Why not start a separate thread entitled: "Advice needed: Tidycat Breeze System - Have You Used It?"

It may get you some more specific responses and reviews.



Mogs
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An afterthought. Why not look at wood-based clumping litter. I'm in the UK and I use a product called OKO Plus Cat's Best Litter. It's brilliant: low/no odour; clumps really well, and clumps are easy to remove from box; biodegradable; and economical in use. When it gets west it gets a little gel-like. It would certainly be easier to clean off fur than clay-based litters. The granular wood-based litters are better: the pellets turn into a sodden lump if you barely look at them, never mind coping with the peeing needs of a diabetic kitty.


Mogs
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That Tidycat Breeze system looks wonderful. I wonder however if it wouldn't make it difficult to track urine output. A pad is not going to allow any determination of how often kitty is peeing and whether it's in large or very small quantities. That could make it difficult to pick up early signs of a UTI etc. You'd really only know whether they are peeing a lot or not. With a cat potentially spilling glucose this is something we all pay attention to. Not sure I'd view that system as ideal for a newly diagnosed cat when these observations are key.
 
@mrworfmens mom - maybe you could weigh the box? Also maybe change the pad daily? Perhaps you could put a plastic bag into the pad section to collect a sample for glucose and ketone testing?
 
@Critter Mom I never thought of putting plastic underneath to catch a sample.:facepalm: That would be a blessing! Changing the pad daily could get a little pricey (almost $12.00US/wk.) but it might be worth it. I guess you could even just weigh the pad. Maybe it's something to consider! :D Certainly looks very convenient for the housekeeper!:)
 
Hey @Cat Ma @Charlottefern Sorry so late to the discussion. And very sorry to hear about your sweet baby going through this. If anything tears me up the worst, it is the neuropathy.
Tidy Breeze System looks AWESOME and as soon as po$$ible, I intend to try at least one at our house.
But for NOW I have to use pee pads! On the floor near the litter boxes. The weakness in the hinds wouldn't allow either of my two sugar cats to negotiate the sides of the litter box.
Tucker can now use it though!! As a result of the ZOBALINE!!
It's a bit of maintenance and extra cleaning, etc but it was my answer, as they were peeing on the floor there anyhoo :( I picked up some thick 100% cotton bathroom rugs (old school kind - no rubber backing!) at a thrift store, so I lay the pee pads on top. If I'm out of them :banghead:..they just use the easily laundered rug! No worries.
I hope this helps. And I know FOR SURE the ZOBALINE is going to get you your miracle. :cat:
 
I'm going to chime in having gone down the litter trail... I used to use the standard clay clumping litter (Arm & Hammer), but always unscented. However, some boxes of "fragrance free" are not so, and the chemicals and dust gave Scribbles respiratory issues and Tiggy a constantly dirty nose. So I started trying other things. I loved the corn based Worlds Best. It's light, scent free and not sticky. However diabetic fussy pants M, didn't like the texture change. So then we went to vegetable based Ecolife which had a slightly heavier texture. However, M decided the floor was better. Never got better. So we're back to clay in one box and now they don't use the others... and Scribbles is sneezing. Personally I am very wary of these chemical concocted litters and prefer natural and unscented considering feline noses are so much better than ours. So my search continues...
So do try other litters but watch for signs of rejecting it as well as medical issues. Even if they don't eat it they breath it and clean it off their paws.
 
Shiloh & Rhonda said:
I would love to try the Breeze system, but unfortunately for me, I have dogs which occasionally get treats from the litter box. This, PLUS this!
Click to expand...
OMG!! THAT'S AWFUL!
One of the posters on Amazon gave a couple pretty benign sounding alternatives to the pellets, which I might consider using: pine bedding material, in bulk, purchased at feed store. ( If it isn't treated w anything) and the glass decorative stones.
Have to think it through though, and imagine any possible negatives that could arise.
God knows, I'm sick of cat litter!!
 
Stormy had bad neuropathy in his legs when he was first diagnosed - we just kept his back legs clean when he got out of the box. Unfortunately, though, half the time he couldn't make it to the box because he was so weak, so we had other things to clean instead of his legs...

It is possible the neuropathy will get better. I've read it's unlikely, but I know for a fact it happens, as Stormy's legs got stronger again after only a month on Lantus.

It might not hurt to try putting out a disposable baking dish for Niccolo as a lower lipped litter box - might be easier for him to just back up to instead of trying to get all the way in it.
 
CatLoverDeb said:
However, some boxes of "fragrance free" are not so, and the chemicals and dust gave Scribbles respiratory issues and Tiggy a constantly dirty nose.

So do try other litters but watch for signs of rejecting it as well as medical issues. Even if they don't eat it they breath it and clean it off their paws.
Click to expand...

The best unscented cat litter I've had success with so far has been Precious Cat Litter. It is unscented, clumps well, and less dusty than many other cat litters. Anything scented or dusty triggers sneezing attacks and itching in both of my cats. I haven't had these issues since switching to Precious Cat Litter.

Good point about the possibility of a medical issue involved for rejecting the litter box.
 
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If you're near a Tractor Supply Company or similar, you can pick up large bag of chicken scratch and use that as litter. It is less costly than World's Best Cat Litter (corn based) bought that way.
 
I've been through a year of litters with Mikey. Sometime last summer, he became adverse to using the litter box more than once, meaning every night between 2-5 am, he would pee on my bed because the litter boxes (all three!) were already used by that time even though I scooped it every night.

The Breeze system saved my sanity because it meant he would pee in the litter box more than once. In addition to two Breeze Systems, I also have a litter box with feline pine and another one with Boxie Cat clay (although I just got rid of the clay because I think my non-diabetic, Henry, might be allergic to it).

Feline Pine is my favorite. I started using it with my previous two cats when one of them developed breathing issues from clay litter. It smells the best, it dries out their poop so you don't end up with smears or messes, it's easy to clean with no dust, and it can handle Mikey's copious amount of pee.

With the Breeze, they don't use it for #2 when they have other options, thankfully. It's smelly when that happens because they can't cover it. I keep a box of clorox wipes next to it to clean it, as well. For the pads, if you just remove the pad, the tray will collect free urine and it makes it much easier to do ketone testing or get urine samples. In fact, if you don't change the pad fast enough, you can end up with quite a liquidy mess. :blackeye:

My least favorite is the clay. It starts to smell quickly, it's dusty and messy, it's super expensive, and it was no match for Mikey's volumes of pee. It definitely was his favorite, though. The Arm & Hammer seemed to be the least smelly clay and least dusty I tried and my favorite of the bunch. The Boxie Cat is 100% clay but Henry started developing a rash on his belly and I caught him eating it so I've removed it from the rotation for a while to rule it out.

ETA: I just read online that you can use the Feline Pine pellets instead of the Breeze pellets in the Breeze System so I'm going to try this out! It would solve all my problems at once.
 
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