How often should I change the litter box?

One of the most frequent doubts when we have a cat in our home is to know exactly how often we should change the litter box. Because the health of the environment depends on it, of the people who live with the cat and the cat itself. Keeping the litter box in good condition is not a matter of bad smells, but can cause serious illnesses that happen to the cat and to the people who enjoy its company.

What are the risks of not changing the sanitary sand?

In addition to generating a bad smell, a litter for cats that does not receive proper maintenance can be a great risk to the health of the entire family, including the pet. Among the most frequent diseases are the following:

Cat-scratch disease

Cat scratches can cause this disease due to a bacterium called Bartonella henselae, which can easily reproduce in a dirty litter box.

Salmonella

Another bacterial disease that can be transmitted through cat feces is salmonella, because pets can be the first affected without showing symptoms.

Overexposure to ammonia

Ammonia can develop serious respiratory illnesses and some milder symptoms such as headaches. Cat urine has a high level of ammonia, so if not treated properly it can be released into the environment.

Intestinal worms

Intestinal worms can be shed in cat feces in litter boxes. Therefore, improper handling of the litter can transmit these parasites to humans. One of the parasites that is transmitted by poor treatment of cat feces is toxoplasmosis.

Make the cat sick

The cat can also get sick because of not changing the sanitary stones of its litter box in a timely manner. Since it can suffer from urinary and kidney disorders, due to the bacteria found in its litter box.

The cat decides not to use it

An alarm that we have to pay attention to quickly happens when the cat decides not to use it. At that moment, you must act, because his obsession with cleaning his fur and legs, in addition to the smell that it gives off, indicates that the state of cleanliness of his litter box is not to his liking. Of course, if he doesn't like his litter box, he'll find a nicer place in the house.

Bad smell in the environment

The smell is one of the clearest signs that the sanitary bed needs a change of stones or a general cleaning. In the following article we tell you how sanitary sands are used.

How often should I change the litter box?

To prevent or avoid the aforementioned inconveniences, proper hygiene of the sanitary bed must be carried out. The first thing we should know is that the cat expels its feces once or twice a day and urinates four or five times a day. Therefore, it is necessary to have a sanitary bed for each cat that is in the house. But you also have to know that some cats prefer to evacuate their stools in a sanitary bed and their stools in another. When clumping stones such as bentonite are used, daily cleaning consists of removing the lumps that have formed with a shovel daily. The frequency with which we must carry out the complete change of the sanitary litter depends on the types of sanitary stones chosen for your sanitary bed. If you use bentonite sand or diatomite stone, you only have to remove the dirty areas and fill again until you complete a level of 7 to 10cm in height. So that the cat can bury its feces or urine. When removing the lumps of feces or urine, it must be done carefully so as not to break them. The total change of the sanitary sand should be carried out every two or four weeks. On the other hand, when the sanitary stones used are not agglomerating, the total change must be carried out every week. Take advantage of the moment to change the sand to properly wash and disinfect the sanitary bed. To do this you must wash it with hot water and soap. Now that you know how often it is convenient to change the litter box and the tips on how to do it correctly, you can enjoy a healthy environment with your pet.

Where is the withdrawn litter disposed?

Sanitary litter should not be flushed down the toilet. Less if it is agglomerating sanitary stones such as bentonite. Because it can clog the pipes. The best place to remove all the dirt from the sanitary bed is the garbage can.

Where to buy the best litter for my cat?

The quality of the sanitary stones determines the acceptance of the cat and the frequency of cleaning. That is why we advise you to go through Omnipets and choose the most suitable litter box for your pet. There you will also find food for cats, dogs and birds, everything you need to enjoy a healthy pet.