Off topic: cats

roses25

I hope everyone's enjoying Mother's Dat. We've had a Mother's Day snow special, so we built snowmen and had a snowball fight. Not the way I imagined spending Mother's Day but we enjoyed it.

We have two wonderful cats with only two negatives...they chew cords and expect a clean litter box 24-7! I'm considering trying the cat genie and hooking it up to my washing machine. Does anyone have a cat genie and if so do you like it? I'd like something that can go a few days maintance free for me. Right now I scoop morning and night to keep them satisfied and from pooping right in front of the box. The diaper genie seems like the best option with two cats to me.

Carolyn

cassafras

My friend had a cat genie, and more than once she came home to a GIANT disgusting mess. It was like cat poop stew because it somehow would end up clogged and flood on her laundry room floor. Plus, while it was "flushing" it smelled bad for a good ten minutes. Ugh, it was so gross.
I highly recommend the Litter Robot. They are quite pricey, but awesome. With two cats, you could just clean out the tray once or twice a week. They last for years, and you can get replacements parts and fix it yourself if you are at all handy. My former boss has one for her 6 cats and it has been going strong for over 7 years, with only needing one repair. This is her second one. Her first one lasted many years before she decided to upgrade to the latest model when she moved into her new house. It never smells at all, and just needs a thorough cleaning/disinfecting once it a while (and new litter regularly of course).

I hope that helps!

che_arami

we have a very similar situation (2 cats who chew cords and clothes!) and i was LITERALLY just thinking about writing a post about them today out of desperation!! for us the kitty litter isn't as big of a deal, but rather the hair EVERYWHERE. it requires CONSTANT vacuuming, dusting, mopping, etc to keep it even remotely hair-free, and i'm really worried about managing to keep this up once the little one comes. it honestly feels very overwhelming.

how do other people deal with this?? i kind of wish we had a big enough house to let them have their own wing, but on the one hand we don't, and on the other hand that would be sad because then we'd never see them!

IS IT POSSIBLE to take care of a newborn and pets at the same time?? i'm already feeling guilty about keeping the house clean enough for the baby's health and he's not even here yet...

b&kmakebabies

These cord covers work well http://www.amazon.com/Cord-Protector-CritterCord-Protect-Hazardous/dp/B000EH2I5O

Also, the same company makes a spray that works too, but you have to spray it a lot (like a few times a week)!

I second the litter box robot. I've not had one but considering getting one because I've heard good things. Cat poop stew would keep me away from the Genie!

fisch

We never thought our cat would still be here! She is 15 years old, was diagnosed with cancer a few years back, but she somehow made a full recovery...also recently got into quite a scrape with an neighborhood cat, so she's on like, her 15th life. We have both a dog and a cat. I agree with babybaby - pets and babies are hard by themselves, together it's just nuts. Our pets are relatively easy, but I still have my gripes about hair, general cleanliness, vet visits, nail trims, illnesses, feedings, walking, picking up poop and scooping out litterboxes....I love them dearly, but when they go, we are waiting for the empty nest before we fill it with any 4-legged kids. To answer the original question, I will just say that I recently discovered the best cat litter - it's micro beaded litter - very, very small fine sand-like litter. It is the best I've ever used in terms of smell, and ease of cleaning. I also buy these: http://www.wag.com/cat/p/cats-rule-perfect-litter-box-liners-10-pack-182032?qid=961506311556952545&sr=1-5
Cats Rule - Perfect Litter Box Liners are also the best liners I've ever purchased. I only have to wash the plastic litter container every 6 months or so - it rarely gets dirty. The liners don't rip, tear, or fall off. I would never use anything else again.

Shanny

Thank you all for the reminder of why I am and always will be pet free. I know it isn't popular but man, I am not looking for more work than I already have!!

Kari

I let my cat become an indoor/outdoor kitty the day I brought Justin home from the hospital. I was always terrified "my baby" (the cat - at that point about 15 years old) would get hit by a car or something . . . which eventually happened a few years later. My remaining cat is a wild cat who's always been terrified of people. She's become a basement kitty with a pet door so she can come and go as she pleases. It's almost like I don't have a cat with how rarely I see her, but I feed her and clean the litter box. Yeah, pets kind of take a second seat when you have a child and start seeing the mess, parasites, etc.

As a suggestion for the original post, many cats prefer their own litter box. Mine always have, so the "accidents" stop when they have their own. They may be waiting for you to clean the litter box so the second cat can go in a clean box because they don't like the other's scent in the box. Anyway, it's a cheap alternative to try, and if it doesn't work, you're out a few bucks. This past winter a second wild cat started following my cat into the basement and all of a sudden there were tons of accidents all over the basement floor. I bought a $3 plastic dish pan, put some clean litter in it, and the accidents stopped.