Get Higher Walls On Your Litter Box
Litter boxes come with a huge variety of wall heights that range from a shallow tray to higher walls. You want to get a litter box with higher walls or even a top entry litter box because this can prevent the litter from spilling out if your cat chooses to dig or kick it up when they go in.
Some litter boxes even come with snap-on attachments that increase the litter boxs wall height, and it makes them easy to clean and maintain. Look for a litter box that is higher but easy enough for your cat to get in and out of without a problem.
Why Does My Cat Spill Litter In The Litter Box
Excess Litter This is another major reason why litter is constantly spilled out of the litter box. It doesnt even matter if you have the best high sided litter box on the market today. Overfilling it with more than 5 inches of litter will be fatal for the odor control in your indoors.
Add a hood to your cats litter box. If your cat is constantly spreading litter beyond its box, you might consider giving them a covered box. A covered litter box will be completely enclosed with the exception of a door for your cat to enter through. Covered boxes can contain litter quite well, preventing your cat from pulling any outside the box.
To help stop your cat from spreading litter outside the box, make sure you are keeping up with regular cleaning of the litter box. Scoop waste out of the litter box at least once daily. Its a good idea to replace clay based litters once every two weeks.
Excess Litter This is another major reason why litter is constantly spilled out of the litter box. It doesnt even matter if you have the best high sided litter box on the market today. Overfilling it with more than 5 inches of litter will be fatal for the odor control in your indoors.
Find Your Ideal Litter Mat
When you set up your kittys designated litter station, dont forget the litter mat! These lightweight mats are designed to be placed around litter boxes, helping to keep litter contained before it has a chance to get spread all around your house. There are many different varieties of litter mats, and it may take some time to find the exact brand that works for you. Generally speaking, these mats work by trapping litter that gets stuck to paws or kicked out of the bin, so you can easily scoop the excess back in.
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Dont Overfill The Litter Box With Cat Litter
When it comes to cat litter tracking solutions, sometimes the right answer is the simplest one. Many cat parents tend to overfill their litter boxes. If the litter box has too much cat litter, cats are more likely to spill the litter while burying their business. It also means there will be excess dry litter to stick to her paws.
The next time you change the litter box, try using a little less litter until you start noticing a difference in the litter tracking. Using less litter is a win-win: not only will you reduce cat litter waste, youll also save money on the cat litter.
How To Keep Cat Litter From Tracking
This article was co-authored by Pippa Elliott, MRCVS. Dr. Elliott, BVMS, MRCVS is a veterinarian with over 30 years of experience in veterinary surgery and companion animal practice. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1987 with a degree in veterinary medicine and surgery. She has worked at the same animal clinic in her hometown for over 20 years. This article has been viewed 31,248 times.
Even though she does not mean to do it, your cat may be tracking litter all over your home after she uses her box. This can be frustrating, but there are some simple ways to stop your cat from tracking litter outside of her box. Keeping your cat from tracking litter outside of her box may be as simple as changing her box, trying a new litter, or changing the amount of litter that you use.
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Keep Your Litter Box Clean
Its essential that you routinely clean out your cats litter box so they continue to use it every day. You should scoop it at least once a day, and the amount you clean it will depend on how many cats you have that use it.
A clean litter box will help minimize the amount of digging your cat does when they go to the bathroom, and it can help to control the spray. You should empty the litter box and do a full clean at least once a month, if not every two weeks.
Easy Ways To Prevent Cat Litter Tracking In The Home
We all love our cats and want to provide them the best life and home possible.How can you not love that sweet face and soft purr? There are certain parts of cat care that can be a little challenging, however like cat litter tracked all over the house, on the floor, in the bed, on the couch ugh! All litters track to some extent, but keep reading to discover 5 easy tricks to contain litter in the box where it belongs.
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Consider The Litter Box Location
Ideally, your cats litter box should be somewhere in your house that doesnt have carpeting, fabric, or rugs for the litter to stick to. You want your cats litter box to be on a hard flooring like tile or laminate because itll help stop the litter from spreading.
You do want to slowly move your litter box to the new location, so your cat doesnt start going to the bathroom on the floor. If your cat is very sensitive to change, you may end up moving the litter box a few inches or feet at a time until you get it where you want it.
Changing The Game Completely
Now there is one other option available for those of you that wish transcend us mere mortals that still use litter on a daily basis. Cats, especially younger cats, can be trained to actually use the toilet. I have never even attempted this method, but you can find details on such methods in a couple of different places:
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Tips For Keeping Cat Litter From Tracking
Every cat lover has experienced it at some point. You step into a room and feel that familiar crunch underfoot. Theres nothing like getting up in the morning to find your feline friend has tracked cat litter all over the house. It can be frustrating, but its something we have to live with as cat people or is it? At PetSafe, weve got some tricks up our sleeves to help keep cat litter off your floors and your mind so you can enjoy more quality time with your cat.
Think Outside The Box
Wild cats exhibit the same behaviors as pet cats, but they do not have to deal with the constraints of a litterbox. I used to study feral cat behavior and observed numerous cats as they went about their business eliminating on a dairy farm. On the farm, where the cats were exposed to many litter substrates, they tended to dig in the finer substrates, such as sand and dirt, but they did not do this in grass or gravel. They were also able to fully extend their legs to rake the desired substrate, which they are usually unable to do in commercial litterboxes. Cats tend to spend more time manipulating the substrate they prefer.
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Keep The Litter Box Clean
Consistently keeping the litter box clean can be easier said than done. Aside from the obvious aromatic benefits to keeping the box tidy, cleaning the litter box regularly can keep your cat from digging in the box or going in the corners where shes more likely to kick litter over the edge. And if youre using clumping clay litter, a dirty litter box can become a muddy mess when saturated litter sticks to your cats toe beans.
Our solution: let the box do the work for you! The benefits of automatic litter boxes are plentiful, but one of the many joys they provide is that you never have to worry about scooping. A ScoopFree® Self-Cleaning Litter Box with non-clumping crystal litter will keep itself clean to stop litter tracking, prevent odors, and give your cat a consistently fresh space whenever nature calls.
Use Litter Boxes With Higher Walls Or Designed To Stop Litter Tracking
Litter boxes with higher walls can contain the litter better, and less litter gets kicked out of the litter box.
Most modern litterboxes these days have some litter tracking management features. So choosing the right litterbox plays can play a big part in minimizing or stopping litter tracking.
Many modern litter box designs look great and work very well at controlling litter scatter/tracking. A litterbox design that a lot of people use is the top-entry litter box.
As the name describes, cats can enter from the top by jumping on the lid and going into it through the opening at the top. As the litter box is surrounded from all sides, the cat can kick up as much litter and dust as they want. The ridges at the top catch whatever litter is stuck on their paws.
However, these types of litter boxes do have some downsides. If the cat is too young or if its too painful/difficult to enter the box that cat is going to look elsewhere to relieve itself. So make sure youre using this for healthy teenage/adult cats. Its also probably best for single-cat homes so that no other cat or animal can surprise them.
Most litter boxes will have small grate steps for the cat to step on so that the litter can drop off into the holes. However, it can still be a problem when cats dart right out after using the litter box!
For my recommendation of what litter box to use, keep reading!
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Help How Can I Stop My Cat From Getting Litter Everywhere
Walking about your home only to find your cats litter spread all around the household? Its time you need to know how can you stop your cat from getting litter everywhere.
Imagine having to enter the house after a long day only to walk on a carpet of cat litter! While the feeling is certainly nerve-racking, it might make you wonder why your cat does it?
Having a litter box with a cat as your pet is quite essential but what if you find the litter everywhere around your floor and carpet? How can you stop your cat from getting litter everywhere?
We help you fix the dilemma by suggesting a number of techniques you can try to stop your cat from getting litter everywhere and keeping your house and floorings clean.
Why Having A Larger Litter Box Can Prevent Litter Tracking
Some cats will track litter around the house if their litter box is too small. There is a correlation between the size of the litter box and how much litter ends up outside of it. Larger boxes can reduce tracking because your cat will generally spend less time digging to cover their waste, and more time inside, away from walking on the floor to cover it up.
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Transition To The Less Tracking Litter Type
All cat litter will track to some degree. However, the general rule is that the larger the litter types, the less it tracks.
Cat owners might also have to make compromises since each litter type also has its own odor-controlling capacity.
The key is choosing the litter type that strikes a good balance of odor control and is minimally tracking.
The litter type that I use in my small apartment is pine litter. Ever since transitioning to this litter, I have never looked back, nor have I ever want to check out other litter types.
Not only was it everything that was explained in the prior section, but it was very efficient to clean. The litter rarely has to be dumped out because it clearly separates the soiled sawdust and the fresh litter.
Therefore, dumping out a heavy litter box is a thing of the past. For more information about pine litter and how to easily transition to it, read about it here!
Managing The Litter Box
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Use A Decent Litter Mat
A litter mat sounds an obvious solution and it is but there are litter mats and litter mats. Is the litter mat you are using large enough? Does it cover enough surface area to really do a good job? Unless you are protecting the surface of the floor from the litter box, most of the litter mat should be in front and to the sides of the box and not underneath the box. Some litter mats dont really stop the spread of litter. You need the best litter mat.
This is also true of Welcome door mats we have at the front door of our home. Some work well dont they? Others just dont. Check the litter mat out to see what sort of a job it really is doing. Is it trapping the litter? How much litter is actually getting trapped on the mat? After all, that is the job of the litter mat.
The litter mats shown below are effective at trapping litter because they have been designed to solve this problem.
It is also worth running the vacuum over the mat when vacuuming the general area.
These mats are called litter trappers because there are two layers. The top layer has a honeycomb structure for the litter to fall though. To empty, pick up the mat and empty the litter back into the litter box. Voila! If any litter gets lodged in the top layer, the mat can be hosed.
This simple change to using a bigger and better litter mat can make a big difference. The litter mat below comes in two sizes, the largest being 30X24 which is large.
Get A Larger Or Corner Litter Box
Many cat parents use a corner litter box because it gives your cat an added layer of security when they use it. Also, theyre prone to kicking the litter toward the higher wall, and this is usually the corner piece.
Make sure that your litter box is large enough for your cat to comfortably turn around in once they get in, and make sure that they can get in and out without a problem. You can get away with smaller litter boxes with younger cats, but you may need to upgrade when your cat ages.
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Trim The Fur On Your Cats Feet
If you have a cat that has longer fur, it usually goes down to the bottom and under their feet. This is the perfect place for litter to get stuck when your cat uses their litter box, and itll slowly release the litter as your cat walks around.
You can solve this problem by getting a small electric trimmer and trimming your cats hair until its too short for the litter to get trapped in it. If your cats hair is very long, you may want to trim the excess away with a pair of scissors before you use the trimmer to make sure you get all of it.
How To Keep Cat Litter Off The Floor Employ Rugs And Mats To Help Stop Litter Tracking
There are plenty of rugs and mats available designed specifically to catch the litter stuck to your cats paws when he exits the litter box. You can choose from rubber mats with grooves to sisal rugs and everything in between. Even a regular throw rug or piece of carpet remnant works well to trap litter bits. Deep, shaggy bathmats are also effective.
When choosing the size of mat or carpet, consider having your cat walk the red carpet after he uses the box. Lay a carpet runner from the litter box extending out about three feet, so the litter has plenty of time to dislodge from your cats paws.
Any one of these suggestions will help reduce the amount of litter scatter and tracking in your home. But, like litter box scooping and early morning wake ups, a small amount of litter tracking is a way of life for a cat owner. But dont you think its worth it?
Tell us: What are your tips to control cat litter tracking? What sort of litter do you use? What type of litter box?
Thumbnail: Photography by Africa Studio / Shutterstock.
This piece was originally published in 2018.
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