litter in paws, anyone tried shredded paper?

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Noah & me (GA)

Noah & me (GA)

Member Since 2016
I really hate disturbing poor Noah. It's medically impossible that he's even here and he's just plain nervous. Yesterday I absolutely scraped the litter boxes so of course today he has litter stuck between his pads, again. I'm freaked about a cat swallowing something meant to absorb moisture, thank God he doesn't pick at his pads. He's the only one of six cats with long hair between his pads.
Has anyone ever tried padding the top of the litter with shredded paper? I've asked the UPS store for some and they looked at me like I was nuts. I know there's a litter called Yesterday's News made from newsprint.
We have six cats so getting some high priced litter just won't work and I can't spend hours a day cutting newspaper into strips. Ideas anyone? I can deal as long as he leaves it alone and it doesn't seem to bother him.
 
My long-haired guy doesn't ever seem to get litter stuck between his paws, so I really can't help +you there. However, I have used paper litters before, and do not like them. I had to scoop them several times a day as they stay soggy when kitties urinate, and I ended up going through A LOT of litter. Also didn't seem to be very good at odor control. Just my opinion - you might try one and love it!
 
My boy had that issue with his toe tufts too, and his hocks. If it gets caked on, especially when we first started and his sugar was high, I filled a decent sized (big meatloaf size maybe? lol) tupperware container with an inch or so of warm water mixed with dawn. Dipped his back paws (one at a time), gently massaged the litter off, thoroughly rinsed in another container, and towel dried his paws. :)
 
Pine litter might be less expensive than yesterday's news.

I use dr elsley's litter for my 7 (now 6 :() cats.... It has bigger grains than many other brands. Maybe it won't stick as much. And I always put at least 5 inches of litter.
 
The old man let me pick through his paws last night and clean them, major breakthrough! Hard to explain how fussy/nervous Noah is. Spent the first 5 years of his life living in our walk-in closet, wouldn't even look out a window. He was 1 of a litter of 4 and was never picked on or chased by the dog, hard to figure. Just happy that he comes down here with us now. Thanks all.
 
One thing you might want to try is a litter box mat. I have one under mine, so every time they step out of the box they cross this mat that sort of "grabs" at stuff - it's a rough, scratchy material that catches things. That helps pull some stuff off their feet as they leave. They don't seem to mind the mat at all (even though it annoys me when I have to kneel on it to clean the box, lol).
 
Shenandoah said:
even though it annoys me when I have to kneel on it to clean the box, lol).
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What annoys me is keeping the big metal putty knife handy, otherwise known as the poo/puke/whatever scraper. No wonder my wife doesn't go in the basement. How did we ever do this in a one bedroom apartment?
 
Noah & me said:
The old man let me pick through his paws last night and clean them, major breakthrough! Hard to explain how fussy/nervous Noah is. Spent the first 5 years of his life living in our walk-in closet, wouldn't even look out a window. He was 1 of a litter of 4 and was never picked on or chased by the dog, hard to figure. Just happy that he comes down here with us now. Thanks all.
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I understand. I have one that hid for half a year and up until about 2 years ago was shy of letting us do much touching. She's 7 and now sleeps on the pillow above our heads. Some cats are just anxious. I have another one who is two that doesn't like to be touched. Her littermate is a love bug. If she ever needs medical care we are screwed.
 
When I had my Maine Coon for 21 years... as she got older I trimmed the longer hairs that extended passed the bottom of her paws for her. And yes, the mat in front of the litter box is helpful as well.
 
JanetNJ said:
If she ever needs medical care we are screwed.
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We stopped getting the "Vaccination reminder" postcards for Noah years ago. If he has to go we call ahead to see if they're running on time, wrap him in piddle pads and a big towel, take our planned evacuation route (no school zones) and hope he doesn't have a cardiac on the way.
Janet, you should be curled up with some cats and a book, flipping the pillow to the cool side. Doctors orders!
 
Shenandoah said:
One thing you might want to try is a litter box mat. I have one under mine, so every time they step out of the box they cross this mat that sort of "grabs" at stuff - it's a rough, scratchy material that catches things. That helps pull some stuff off their feet as they leave. They don't seem to mind the mat at all (even though it annoys me when I have to kneel on it to clean the box, lol).
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We use a mat, but when Snicky is done with her litter box, she bails out completely missing the mat on purpose. Litter all over tile floor then.
 
Djamila said:
It isn't perfect, but it does a pretty good job of getting the litter to drop off their feet as they walk over it.
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Your avatar reminds me of my next project,
Sam the cat who came to our door,
Sam the cat who sleeps in the sink,
Sam the cat, he poops in the tub.
 
Noah & me said:
We have six cats so getting some high priced litter just won't work and I can't spend hours a day cutting newspaper into strips. Ideas anyone? I can deal as long as he leaves it alone and it doesn't seem to bother him.
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I have one litter box partially filled with fine sand, that's the one my long-hair Mia uses. So she doesn't get anything on her paws. Sand in bags is about five dollars, but heavy. It scoops not too badly, although urine makes it relatively soggy so it has to be about two inches or more deep. I dump the sand every two to four weeks on a gravel path in my garden. The rain washes away the smell pretty quickly, and by the end of the winter when the snow melts it's taken care of the smell of cat urine. If it's hot, I'll hose the sand down. The rest of the boxes are all clay based litter, with the exception of the sand one, which all three of my cats use the most.
 
Annie&Charlie said:
I have one litter box partially filled with fine sand, that's the one my long-hair Mia uses. So she doesn't get anything on her paws. Sand in bags is about five dollars, but heavy. It scoops not too badly, although urine makes it relatively soggy so it has to be about two inches or more deep. I dump the sand every two to four weeks on a gravel path in my garden. The rain washes away the smell pretty quickly, and by the end of the winter when the snow melts it's taken care of the smell of cat urine. If it's hot, I'll hose the sand down. The rest of the boxes are all clay based litter, with the exception of the sand one, which all three of my cats use the most.
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Sand would be great, but I know you're not kidding about heavy. I remember once upon a time lugging many a bags into my back yard to go under a pool for my daughter and for a sandbox. UGH!!  :arghh:Getting too old for the weight lifting, lol! ;)
 
Djamila said:
I use this mat:

https://www.amazon.com/Moonshuttle-Blackhole-Rectangular-Litter-23-Inch/dp/B00G67FD6W/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1491152095&sr=8-13&keywords=litter box mat

It isn't perfect, but it does a pretty good job of getting the litter to drop off their feet as they walk over it.
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We're litter mat buddies! lol! I got mine from Walmart for like $10. It doesn't "squish" at the sides to easily yet, I think it will work better when it's broken in more. Sometimes Maury just likes to lay on it :cat:
 
Try World's Best Litter. It really is the best. It costs more per bag, but it lasts and lasts. And it is gentle on the paws. And it never smells. Rusty is an only cat with lots of hair between his Maine Coon toes. He never gets World's Best litter in his paws. We get a month out of one bag (with occasional refreshing when pee balls get picked out). World's Best also has a formula for multiple-cat households.

Good luck!
 
Yong said:
We're litter mat buddies! lol! I got mine from Walmart for like $10. It doesn't "squish" at the sides to easily yet, I think it will work better when it's broken in more. Sometimes Maury just likes to lay on it :cat:
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Seriously? Is it the extra large size? I may have to get over my aversion to Walmart -- I've been thinking of getting a different color.
 
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