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Archive for December, 2007

Cat Products: Automatic Litter Boxes

Sunday, December 9th, 2007

Litter boxes are important to cats and are considered to be the next in importance to their food. Like people who love their toilets clean, cats don’t really love messy and smelly litter boxes. They want some place where they can move around and do their stuff. Litter boxes are available on the market and come in different size and shapes.

Be sure to buy something your cat won’t outgrow easily. Most cats, especially those below 5-6 months old can easily outgrow their litter boxes. Make sure to buy something that your cat will not out-grow or you’ll end up buying more litter boxes in a short time.

Another thing to keep in mind is that some cats don’t want to poop in the same box they pee in. Peeing is an animal’s way of marking her territory and she may not want to poop because it will erase her scent. So if your cat is like this, just buy another litter box and put it some place far away from the first one so she will not look at it as another box to pee in.

Automatic litter boxes are for people who don’t cherish the chore of cleaning litter boxes each day. These boxes are not cheap but a great idea when time is of importance.

These self-cleaning boxes use robotic trays where your cat’s waste is automatically raked into a sealable container shortly after your cat uses the litter box. These will not operate until your cat leaves the box since it uses motion detectors and a safety bar to stop the cleaning rake from harming your cat.

The best thing about these automatic litter boxes is that you’ll find that the odor is greatly reduced. Once the cat’s waste is in the container, it will automatically seal itself and cause the odor to be trapped inside. However, you must remember to empty this container once it is full or close to being full or its odor will become unbearable. Simply empty the storage container and reinsert it or purchase a replacement container.

One thing about automatic litter boxes is that they generally need electricity to run so you should place it close to a power outlet. There are some automatic litter boxes that can be operated with batteries so it is advisable to keep extra batteries on hand.

Another thing to remember is that the automatic litter box should be one-half to three-fourths full of litter. Use premium litter with it because some litter clumps will break up and cause the box not to be properly cleaned.

Most of the cat owners who have tried automatic litter boxes are happy with them and would prefer them to scooping up a mess.. Other cat owners though have a hard time adjusting to it. Automatic litter boxes, especially when the rake is in motion are not that quiet and the noise is something that needs to take time to get used to.

One good reason for using automatic litter boxes is health considerations. There are certain flu-like diseases that are caused by cat’s waste and can cause a person to have swollen glands, muscle pain, fever and headache. In some cases it can also cause brain damage and damage to your eyes and internal organs. For newly born children, this could cause mental retardation and/or hearing and sight loss. This is often caused by coming in contact with a cat’s waste and accidentally swallowing the virus in it. This can happen by touching your face after cleaning your cat’s litter box so wash your hands thoroughly after contact.

Cats will have certain problems when using non-automatic litter boxes also. Cats can have UTI (urinary tract infection) after using a dirty litter box. After using litter boxes, cats usually clean themselves up by licking their paws causing them to ingest the virus and cause them to get sick. Although not really fatal, this will cause discomfort for your pet and can only be cured by consulting a veterinarian.

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Archive for December, 2007

Cat Products: Automatic Litter Boxes

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