Litter Box Woes

[yve79]

Hello all you cat lovers. I thought we might discuss the bane of the human / cat relationship - the litter box. I am sure that you agree this issue is compounded living in an airstream with limited space.

I was wondering what others have done to improve the situation, as well as wanting to share our success.

Has anyone tried toilet training? My husband and I recently embarked on a program with our 5 month old chinchilla shaded Persian, called Citi Kitty. It is definitely not for the feint of heart, but is getting easier and easier. I know it will be worth it in the end if I never have to look at another litter box again or hear the crunch of litter under my feet. Truly disgusting.

Here is a link to a youtube video of our Cyrus demonstrating his Citi Kitty technique. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JETM2...e_gdata_player

[yve79]

Posted the wrong link. Here is the one you should check out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXwzG...e_gdata_player

[InsideOut]

We tried that with our last kitty...to no avail! The places she chose to go were much worse than dealing with a litter box. We tried with very slow progress over the course of several months. It was a PITA, especially because we only had one bathroom in that house...

Good for you if you have success!

Shari

[Pahaska]

I changed to a top entry litter box. It looks better and the three cats seem to like it. Along with non-tracking litter, I get a lot less litter out on the floor.

[rmk110761]

I tried putting the litter box in the shower but I still had to clean some extra litter out of the shower pan before using the shower, even with a rug in the shower pan to catch extra litter, and then I had to dry the shower walls and pan before putting the litter box back in. Now I put the litter box between the twin beds during the day, and move it to the front at bedtime. The cat watches me move the litter box, and doesn't seem to mind.

[clemdogmom]

What a clever kitty you have.
MY AIRSTREAM has rear twin beds. I found a carpenter who installed a cat door in the cabinet between the beds which leads to the rear storage compartment. The litter box stays there and i can clean it from the outside. Don't see it and don't smell it and my cat enjoys the privacy she says.

Martha

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by clemdogmom

What a clever kitty you have.
MY AIRSTREAM has rear twin beds. I found a carpenter who installed a cat door in the cabinet between the beds which leads to the rear storage compartment. The litter box stays there and i can clean it from the outside. Don't see it and don't smell it and my cat enjoys the privacy she says.

Martha

IMO, this seems to be the best way to go from the various threads on the various RV forums. Have also seen dinette bases that were so modified (but without exterior door, although that appeals for ventilation purposes with a bit more DIY). On this one the 5'er crowd has it easy.

[Pahaska]

In my former Classic 25, the only place the litter box worked was in the shower. I found that it was just about impossible to keep every bit of litter out of the drain and I sure didn't want clay in my black tank. My solution was to change to a wheat-based litter that would degrade in the tank. The grains were larger and there was almost no litter tracking.

The box was a bear to get in and out of the shower since the accordion folding door took up a lot of the opening. When we showered, we would put the box up on the seat and fit a big black trash bag over it to keep it dry.

[Tin Trekkers]

We now use the Breeze litter system and it works very well in the house.
Have not tried it in the Airstream but I think it would fit in the shower.
The system uses a combination of pads and larger pellets rather than traditional litter.
We've had it for over a year now. Our cats accepted the change and use it without a problem. Of course, nothing is perfect but we find this easier to deal with than a regular litter box.
Here is a link and a picture. Hope you find this helpful.

Cat Litter Box: Cat & Kitty Litter Boxes | BREEZE®



Happy traveling...

[Buttercup]

We put the litter box in the shower in the motorhome and bathtub in Buttercup. We kind if line either area with pittle pads because one of our cats is so large that he sort of misses when doing his business. We are currently using "The Worlds Best Kitty Litter" and it works well. Being as one of our cats is a Renal Failure patient, we have to clean the box daily. This litter is larger than the other clumping brands so is a little harder to clean but we like it all the same.

[yve79]

Thank you for all the great suggestions. I think they would all be great for a week or two of streaming but since my husband and I are full timers we needed something that really was less hassle compared to moving the litter box back and forth.

I am happy to report that our Cyrus conts to do awesome on the toilet. We have now removed enough of the center rings that he hits the bulls eye every time and there has not been any clean up for a week. So while there is still a bit of litter there has been no scooping or litter tracking. I really think he likes it better because there is no smell for him to try to cover up.

Our back up plan if this should turn out not to work is to build a pen on the outside of the trailer with access through the little door on the side where the dinette was. It would be easy to disassemble or reassemble for ease of travel.

But, I definitely recommend the Citi Kitty for anyone that has the dedication to try it.

[NicheVintage]

We use a littermaid and keep it in the bathroom. I keep a little hand broom and dustpan to keep the litter picked up. They also now make a crystal littermaid that we want to try. I am waiting for our current one to break to buy the new one.

[Ag&Au]

Since there are only two of us, we place a covered litter box against the wall under the dinette table. There is plenty of room for our feet in front of it. We clean it often. We have two cats that travel with us, and have no problems with them going anywhere else.

Also, just as you would in a house, provide plenty of designated scratching places. We have a scratching post in the bedroom, one by the sofa and one my wife built that straps onto the dinette support leg. At the first sign of any scratching on an authorized place, we discuss this with the cat and then place doubled sided clear tape on the place where they tried to scratch and leave it there for a while.

They provide us with enough company and amusement to make all this worthwhile.

Ken

[klattu]

Originally Posted by w7ts

Since there are only two of us, we place a covered litter box against the wall under the dinette table. There is plenty of room for our feet in front of it. We clean it often. We have two cats that travel with us, and have no problems with them going anywhere else.

Ken

We do the same in the MH... stop feeding helps also.

[Skater]

Originally Posted by w7ts

Since there are only two of us, we place a covered litter box against the wall under the dinette table. There is plenty of room for our feet in front of it. We clean it often. We have two cats that travel with us, and have no problems with them going anywhere else.

We do the same, except we keep it next to where the dining room table is stored (or under it, if its set up). For weekend trips we don't bother cleaning it, but we'll usually clean/change the litter once or twice during a longer trip.

We got an enclosed litter box and a mat for in front of it. He still gets litter outside the box/mat area, but not much, and it vacuums up easily.

They provide us with enough company and amusement to make all this worthwhile.

Yeah. I love traveling with our cat - he's too much fun to leave home. And he has food allergies, so we either have to kennel him or get someone to stay at our house if we're going away for more than overnight.

[Ltcinfantry]

This subject is the one probably the highest concern we have as we prepare to become full-timers. With two Chihuahuas (one who will litter box dive for nuggets) and a 17 year old Siamese cat we need a solution that keeps the AS from smelling like a little box and keeps the litter box diver out of the box.

We have a FC 25FB. Right now that plan is to commit one of the storage compartments to the little box and cut access hole between inside and the compartment with cat door on the inside. I’ll be doing this in the next few weeks and post pictures as we go along. Hoping this works as moving the cat box around the cabin is really not a good long term option. We will see...

[Edistobob]

Is there any chance that your cat would use a top entrance litter box? That would take care of your little diver. My little Chi is guilty of that at times but he's also trained to the box so I don't have the option of using the top entrance else I'd be blocking his access too.

[Paprika]

For what it's worth, my solution was to put the litter box in the shower. My 2017 International 27FB has a glass shower door that my cat can't open, so I cut an access hole in the bedroom/shower wall. The hole is six inches in diameter, and I placed a 6" plastic marine deck plate (basically a trim ring with a screw-in cover) on each side. This way my cat has easy access, but my friend's dog can't get to the pan.

Any smells stay inside the shower stall, and can be sucked out the top by its exhaust fan. In normal use I place the deck plate's cover over the drain so that no litter can go near it. I use clumping litter, and I don't want that stuff fouling my tank or dump valve.

When it's time to shower, I screw the deck plate's cover into place in the shower wall and lift out the litter pan. A small dustpan and brush take care of stray litter. (I also have a wire-mesh drain insert that catches hair and lint.)

This system has been working well for over a year. The cat likes it, and my friend with the super-sensitive nose no longer complains about smells. :-)

[Ltcinfantry]

Originally Posted by Paprika

For what it's worth, my solution was to put the litter box in the shower. My 2017 International 27FB has a glass shower door that my cat can't open, so I cut an access hole in the bedroom/shower wall. The hole is six inches in diameter, and I placed a 6" plastic marine deck plate (basically a trim ring with a screw-in cover) on each side. This way my cat has easy access, but my friend's dog can't get to the pan.

Any smells stay inside the shower stall, and can be sucked out the top by its exhaust fan. In normal use I place the deck plate's cover over the drain so that no litter can go near it. I use clumping litter, and I don't want that stuff fouling my tank or dump valve.

When it's time to shower, I screw the deck plate's cover into place in the shower wall and lift out the litter pan. A small dustpan and brush take care of stray litter. (I also have a wire-mesh drain insert that catches hair and lint.)

This system has been working well for over a year. The cat likes it, and my friend with the super-sensitive nose no longer complains about smells. :-)

Very good idea—thank you. However we have twin bed configuration so no side access to the shower low enough for that to work.

[Ltcinfantry]

Originally Posted by Paprika

For what it's worth, my solution was to put the litter box in the shower. My 2017 International 27FB has a glass shower door that my cat can't open, so I cut an access hole in the bedroom/shower wall. The hole is six inches in diameter, and I placed a 6" plastic marine deck plate (basically a trim ring with a screw-in cover) on each side. This way my cat has easy access, but my friend's dog can't get to the pan.

Any smells stay inside the shower stall, and can be sucked out the top by its exhaust fan. In normal use I place the deck plate's cover over the drain so that no litter can go near it. I use clumping litter, and I don't want that stuff fouling my tank or dump valve.

When it's time to shower, I screw the deck plate's cover into place in the shower wall and lift out the litter pan. A small dustpan and brush take care of stray litter. (I also have a wire-mesh drain insert that catches hair and lint.)

This system has been working well for over a year. The cat likes it, and my friend with the super-sensitive nose no longer complains about smells. :-)

Originally Posted by Edistobob

Is there any chance that your cat would use a top entrance litter box? That would take care of your little diver. My little Chi is guilty of that at times but he's also trained to the box so I don't have the option of using the top entrance else I'd be blocking his access too.

We had thought about a top entrance but with limited floor space we didn’t want to be tripping on a little box or smell it in anyway. When our cat poops the whole neighborhood knows it so getting it outside the living space is important to us.