Improve Your Cat’s Health With A Clean Litter Box

Wipe, scoop, and spray towards a healthier environment for your cat!

Being a cat parent is worth it — the snuggles and the fun in getting to know the unique personalities of cats — and then there is the dirty and less rewarding job of cleaning the litter box.

You have to admit, tending to your cat’s litter box isn’t your favorite household chore, but it’s one that is integral to the health and wellness of your cat’s health — even when it stinks!

The Vet Set in Carroll Gardens knows how important taking preventative measures is for your cat’s health and wellness. Dive into the importance of keeping the litter box clean in today’s post.

 

Why A Litter Box?

A litter box is essential in waste management for indoor domesticated cats — it provides a safe space for them to use, while keeping your home clean and free from cat waste. The litter box maintains natural instincts and behaviors that cats would otherwise do outside and in the wild.

Cats are very particular about burying their urine and feces for a variety of reasons. First, to keep their presence hidden from larger predators in the wild, a cat will take measures to keep their scent hidden. Secondly, cats are also predators, and in order to keep their presence unknown, they must bury their waste to stay incognito during a hunt.

While this doesn’t pertain to our domesticated cats, they instinctively bury their waste which makes a litter box essential, and perhaps even easier for us to clean.

Why Clean The Litter Box?

A clean litter box is important on so many different levels, not only does it keep your home from smelling, but it’s essential to your cat’s health.

If you were a cat, would you want to use a dirty litter box? Pawing at old feces and clumps of urine is just not enticing, and you’re doing yourself a disservice as well. When your cat uses a dirty litter box, there’s a large chance they’re tracking the remnants all over your house.

Chances are, if you let the litter box get too dirty, your cat will begin to use another area of your home or go right outside the litter box, which is completely understandable — no one likes to use a dirty bathroom!

At the end of the day, you keep the litter box nice and tidy because you care for your cat and want a clean area for them. It’s also the hygienic thing to do.
If your cat is beginning to use other areas and the litter box is clean, you may want to investigate further in case they have an underlying health condition such as a UTI.

What Entails A Clean Litter Box?

If you have more than one cat, there should be a litter box for each cat in the house. Scooping each litter box at least once a day is the minimum requirement for keeping a clean litter box, twice a day is recommended.

It’s also integral to wash out the litter box with soap and water at least once a week while disinfecting areas outside and around it a couple of times a week. Depending on how deep your cat buries its waste, you may have excess cat litter on the outside which needs to be vacuumed up.

Depending on the material of your litter box (most are plastic) you’ll want to replace them yearly, as they develop scratches in the plastic that can harbor bacteria and begin to smell.

Improving Your Cat’s Health With A Clean Litter Box

A clean litter box will undoubtedly keep your cat healthier and better prevent a myriad of health concerns — as a vet in the Carroll Gardens area, we often see medical issues arise from an unkempt litter box. When the litter box is clean, it can help minimize cat urinary tract infections (UTIs) and feline urethral obstruction (FUO).

Cats know when their litter box is dirty, so they’ll opt to go in other areas or they may decrease how much they urinate each day to avoid accidents or from using the litter box, and these behaviors can then lead to UTIs and FUO because their urine becomes more concentrated in red blood cells and their pH may change, leading to bacterial overgrowth.

 

An unclean litter box harbors bacteria and can not only lead to chronic urinary health issues for your cat, but the bacteria can spread from inside the litter box to other areas (or other cats) in the house.

The easiest way to remedy this is to do your part as a cat owner and keep a clean litter box.

Keep Your Litter Box Clean

Litter box cleanliness is all about maintenance and consistency — get into the habit of scooping your litter box at least once per day and washing out the litter box once per week to improve and prevent urinary health concerns for your cat.

It’s also crucial to have one litter box per cat to reduce the spread of bacteria and because cats can be quite territorial. Ensure you’re changing out the litter often and topping it off regularly so your cat can properly bury its waste.

Bring Your Cat Into The Vet Set!

Prevention begins with you and your local veterinarian! Learn more about litter box best practices and helpful tips and tricks in caring for your cat. Schedule a wellness visit for your cat at our Carroll Gardens vet clinic today!