Pet Lovers

[noodleann]

I'll throw this in about litter. I use Scoop Away, which used to put "Never Change the Box Again" or something like that on the side of the box. That meant never dump used litter out and start fresh. They've dropped that because there's no way to avoid dumping the box eventually because cats will step on a fresh #1 that's still hardening into a clump on their way to digging a hole for #2, and that will break the #1 into smelly little litter bits that won't clump so they can't be scooped.

But even with that problem, I've been able to go 3 months between dumping the boxes. However, I subscribe to the box-for-every-cat-and-one-to-spare belief. Right now I have 2 cats at large in the house, formerly 3, and have 5 litter boxes, 2 in the basement, 1 on the 1st floor, and 2 upstairs. I have one cat who's separated in her own room and she has her own box, for which I used World's Best Cat Litter, Lavender. It's corn-based but too expensive to use for all of them.

The best price I can find on Scoop Away is at WalMart, 38 lb. for just under $15. I don't have any odor problem with Scoop Away.

[grandkidsrgreat]

Bless your hearts! I'm so sorry for the loss of your brother (mine passed in October). I think one of the greatest fears of a pet-lover is what will happen to their dear pets if we don't outlive them. You are kind and thoughtful people and I just want to thank you for taking on the challenge and privilege of caring for these kitties. The most I've ever had was 5 cats and 3 dogs and a ferret. Right now I have 3 older kitties, 2 recently added to the household simply because they needed homes and I couldn't say no. I have 4 litter boxes, 2 with World's Best litter and 2 with scoopable, dust-free, lightweight (think it's Tidycat). Different cats prefer different litters and different litter boxes. I rarely change the whole box - just scoop diligently to keep them clean. For the first time in my life, I have a litter box right by my front door. One of my recent kitties taught me that there should be a box there (because he was going to go there whether there was a litter box or not). I've always been lucky and my dogs and cats got along great but good luck with yours. Hopefully, they will become great friends. Again ... thank you for accepting this challenge.

[Calgal2too]

7 cats???  Wowza, that's a lot, all at one time!  Good for you!

Perhaps this has been suggested already (I didn't read all the posts).  I used to volunteer at my local Humane Society, and they recommended rubbing a towel or small blanket on the cat's cheeks, and then putting the item underneath the existing animal's food bowl, so they would associate the new smell  with something good.

Good luck!!!