litter issue - looking for BIG tray.liner

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Bonnie & Kyndra

Bonnie & Kyndra

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Hi all,

for some reason (not health) my NON-diabetic cat has been peeing out of the box from time to time. Behavioral? I suppose. It is intermittent, sometimes corresponding to a dirty (in HER estimation) box - I would have to sit there day and night to keep them clean enough for her - and other times it makes no sense. I thought it was the Multi-cat WBCL b/c when I first began using it she hated it and I had to put the regular in her box and the Multi in Kyndra's, but then she got used to it - or so I thought. Anyway....I am still figuring all of this out (we switched almost 2 years ago!). I have 2 cats and THREE boxes. The apt is small w/VERY limited space for their bathroom. It is tucked behind a large bookcase - nice private 4 1/2' x 4 1/2' area.

So, I have hardwood floors (and renting!!) so have had a variety of protective covers. The problem has been that sometimes I have not noticed she has peed until later in the day when I go to scoop and it has leaked under a box, onto a piece of furniture (like that lovely oak bookcase(!), or the wood table my turtle tank resides on.
I am CONSTANTLY futzing around over there grumpy_cat

I HAVE a solution - but can't find it! I want a large "tray" that will fit the area and that all three boxes will fit on (she always pees right outside the box). This way, if there is an accident, and even if I don't notice it until I pick up a box to clean/dump, it will stay completely contained. Sure, I will still need to clean it, but I will not step in it, nor will my furniture get ruined or saturated.

I have had the idea for quite sometime but had no idea what I was looking for until I was at a friend's who was using a dog kennel crate liner for her chinchilla enclosure. So I looked into them but even the largest is a bit too narrow. I have searched high and low (industrial plastic websites, etc.) and the ones that would work are VERY expensive. Then I thought of you guys and wondered if anyone already came up with this idea and found a solution - a big tray! Mine would need to be about 4x 4 or 4x 3. I don't want a carpet, pad, etc. I am trying for something fully contained. I am going away at the end of the month for a week to see my mom and my stepfather (who has cancer) for the first time in 4 years. I'd like my sitter(s) to not have to deal w/too much cleanup (none, if I can convince Lita to behave ;-) , but with me gone who knows how she will be - there will be a box in every room just in case)

Any other ideas - or solutions to similar problem? I am not looking for input on reasons for peeing, we all have these issues and need to figure them out. My cats are 11 and 12 and Lita has always been a little "fussy" (let's hope she never develops diabetes, she''ll never go for the shots and testing! Kyndra is a very tolerant kitty!)

thanks - and sorry so long, I am just in a chatty mood. :mrgreen:
 
I really don't have an idea of where you could get a tray but just wanted to let you know of a place for some info & maybe other suggestions on the peeing out of the litter box. I have a 15 yr old who actually stands when she pees so even though she was always in the litter box she pees out of it sometimes. I use a mat under mine but it does have to be washed when she pees on it. Another idea would be a mat with those puppy training pads on top of the mat. If she pees on it your sitter possibly could just replace the puppy training mat? I just recently took the advice from the link below & got a large storage box and cut an opening in the side, it is 16 or so inches tall so she can't possibly pee that high! :lol: Hopefully you can get some ideas here:

http://catinfo.org/?link=litterbox
 
Hi,

thanks to both. It is not a health issue, she has been checked for that as it was my first concern. I can get Lita to pee in an almost empty box (since it is "spotless" as far as she is concerned! lol! In fact, for a while, I tried keeping one of the boxes with minimal litter in it, but it was even MORE work!) so the black beads from the vet is any easy check. It is behavioral.

I had read about the "high" pee-ers, but she's not. I got her at 1 y.o. so know her habits. She has always done this occasionally, but it has been more frequent this summer for some reason. I have tried and tried to figure out changes and cannot come up with it. I watch her from afar to see when/why she decides to pee out of the box and other times she pees in it. Very frustrating. My last pair of cats were a torti and a gray as are these two. My gray used to do the same and Lita is a Russian Blue (gray). My other torti (her breed was a Cymric, but color was tortoise shell) was very tolerant, just like Kyndra. Maybe it is just a gray cat thing.

Being picky, she likes only low sided boxes, no hoods, will not step high to get into a box. I did see that same link and LOVED the idea of cutting the side into a storage box as sometimes Kyndra will accidentally poop off the side - (she will go in anything!) but I know from years of trial and error that Lita won't use it. It has to be low and open. One of my thoughts, whether I can find my tray or not, is to use the bottom of one of those under-the-bed storage containers for a box. This way it will be low, but huge with lots and lots of litter. But I would still like a contained "floor."

As for the pee pads the largest I saw were 30"x30" Knowing her, she would pee off the edge and I would STILL have to clean things up grr_red. Might be worth trying a small package, though. Are they like diapers - just suck up the pee? I am not a dog person, will have to find a new puppy owner to inquire.

thanks!
 
What about a kid's wading pool? They may be on end of summer clearance.

Just a thought - absence of a finding does not equal proof of no health problems.
 
I don't know how much it would cost, but you could go to a sheet metal shop and have them
custom make something.

Also, we have a place here called TAP Plastics. They sell all kinds of sheet plastic, fiberglass
supplies, and they also do custom work. They have stores in the western US. Your area
might have similar business.

I have made such trays in the past from large pieces of cardboard and duct tape.
Then line it with heavy sheet plastic. You can get large pieces of flat cardboard from
stores that sell appliances.

I like the idea of putting down puppy pads. Or you can get incontinence underpads at WalMart
that open up flat (not 'diapers'). Might be cheaper than puppy pads.
 
It may not matter what you do.... if the cat refuses to pee in the box, just provide a place near it that is suitable.
What you can use is a plastic boot tray which is longer than your litter box.

My Shadoe began to urinate outside the box and in other places shortly before her FD dx. I don't know why and I have adjusted so that we are both happy.

I have seen her go into the LB for her stool, then come out and pee on the paper in front of the LB. She is not sick and does not have issues getting in and out or with cleanliness because I have seen her wait while I clean a box and then she proceeds to pee in front of it. It's not the size either as we have 3 boxes and one is 35in x 19in from petsmart and looks more like a feeding trough, but she still will pee in front of it, then get into make her stool deposits.

I just save newspapers to lay down in front of the LB; you can get a plastic sheeting to put on top of the floor to protect it, then paper on top to absorb the urine.
 
Hmm, the re-usable or even disposable bed pads are a good suggestion. I'm a certified nursing assistant and I can tell you that they hold a lot of pee. Another suggestion would be to check out the plastic storage container section of your local Wal-mart, perhaps you could find a storage container lid that would be the right size and use it upside down, the lip where the lid would normally contact witht the container would catch any run-offs. Let us know what you find or decide :)
 
I actually use a boot tray (for winter boots etc) under one of my boxes. It's caught the overflow when their butt was hanging over a little too much a couple of times. They usually come in a variety of sizes.
 
You've already gotten some great advice so I can't add much.

For a large tray, you can go to an auto parts store and look at the oil collection trays that people place under leaky cars. I used one for years when my Sadie(GA) would go next to the litter box but not in it.

Something like this drip pan, I googled it and found it on amazon. http://www.amazon.com/DRIP-PAN-LARGE-47/dp/B0002KNV9K
 
Feed & grain store......they have all sorts of trays for feeding large animals, they might have something you could use...
 
Christmas wrap storage containers, under-bed sweater storage boxes....

Another thing to use as a plastic liner that you can find cheap is shower curtains...even the ones at the Dollar stores. You can cut them to smaller sizes if needed.

We tried the washable pads but I got to where I hated to put them in my washer. The pads at some place like Walmart ARE cheaper than the ones marked 'puppy'.

We lost our MAJOR picky, stand-up 'pee-head' years ago - went thru all sorts of tricks to keep his pee area clean.

My final solution was to move his litterbox into the rubber stoppered, curtained bathtub in the second bathroom. We never used it anyway....sure made it easier to clean!
 
Cement mixing containers.

Home Depot, Lowe's etc.

(I did not read the whole thread so this may have already been mentioned.)
 
I only have one cat but i use and under the bed storage box for shoes and get contractor bags as liners ..it is very easy to clean ..i was having a similar problem mine turned out to be he wasn't fully fitting into the reg litter boxes comfy once i made the switch a year ago we haven't had any issues

hope this helped if you haven't found the solution yet
 
Shari and Max said:
I actually use a boot tray (for winter boots etc) under one of my boxes. It's caught the overflow when their butt was hanging over a little too much a couple of times. They usually come in a variety of sizes.
Click to expand...

That's what we use as well. Works well, inexpensive and easy to clean.
 
OP here Sorry I did not reply sooner, but for some reason was not getting email notifications of responses and just now checked back :oops:

THANKS! Lots of great ideas. some I have tried, some not appropriate, others I will check out. I do like the reusable bed pad idea! i really try to avoid disposable as much as possible as there is so much we already have to throw out and pile up in this world! :cry: But I still would like to put it in a large enough tray to fill their whole area so will be looking around :)

Gayle and Shadoe - interesting about the poop in box and pee out, b/c that is just what Lita will do. Her BG is fine (whew!) Is Shadoe gray in color by chance???

thanks again to everyone!!
 
I actually picked up a few cement mixing trays from Home Depot to give to my friend who has been working with her cat hoarding neighbor.

The bigger size's handles weren't as nice as those on the modest one. Those had heavy duty handles to lift it, as well as a good size, even for a large cat (maybe not the largest Maine Coon, but I think a 20 pounder might do OK in one).
 
Oh, I have been there, and may be able to help. We have one princess who likes to hang her butt over the side and pee.

We use large under bed storage boxes for litter boxes. Underneath that, we have big blue tarps from Lowe's. Fold them double, protect the floor. On top of that we use the plastic stair runners that you can buy by the yard, also at Lowe's. I've also used plastic shower curtains as well. I have a complete back up set for when we have a major pee mess - Casper at times likes to make a holy mess and sometimes I just can't rip that room apart. Right now I am experimenting again, and have each box sitting on a piddle pad, and that really does catch most of the mess and make it much easier to clean.
 
klescinsky said:
Oh, I have been there, and may be able to help. We have one princess who likes to hang her butt over the side and pee.

We use large under bed storage boxes for litter boxes. Underneath that, we have big blue tarps from Lowe's.
Click to expand...

I don't understand going to all of this trouble when a deep storage container can be used like the one shown on my Litter Box page.

My box is 19" tall. Even the tallest elevator butt pee'er (like my Calvin) can't get over that!
 
Oh I wish, I wish that Casper would use a tall storage container with the side cut out. She doesn't like being closed in, and won't enter one, and we even tried with a clear one. (Her former housemate was extremely dominant and would pounce as others left litter box areas. She's been gone 4 years and we've moved, but the other girls still bolt out of their box.) So we use oversized Sterilite boxes and we have 6 very large boxes for 3 cats, cleaned 2x/day.

Don't want to hijack the thread, so as much work as it is, we've found a way that protects the floors. I did bookmark your litter box page and will do some reading and studying to see what else I can try.
 
klescinsky said:
(Her former housemate was extremely dominant and would pounce as others left litter box areas.
Click to expand...

Ah...that can be a huge problem.

If I ever see one of my cats 'standing guard' over another cat, I gently and quietly move him away so as not to make a big deal about it but to protect the more timid cat inside the box.
 
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