First, the litter box. I use one of two types, and find them easy to clean and the cats like them and will uses them. One type is the under-the-bed storage box. It has slightly higher sides than the normal litter box, so there is less kicked out litter.

The other type is something I found at the local home repair warehouse, and that is the small or medium size concrete mixing pans. They are made of a very durable platic that does not scratch and which is impermeable (sometimes, if a cat scratches the other plastics too hard, they break the surface coating, and then you can never get the smell out of the box, no matter how hard you try.) They are also a little deeper, even compared to the under the bed box, so way less litter kicked out.

The second tip that I SWEAR by is using baby chick food for litter. Its simply ground up corn, in the same consistency as many clay litters, and it is not only inexcpensive, but it works far better than any of the other litters I have tried. (Plus its completely biodegradeable.)

The corn coats the solid pieces and completely absorbes the urine, and it clumps, like many of the commercial litters. Even when its time to toss it, it never smells as bad as a lot of the clay litters.

Its safe for kittens, who might accidentally ingest litter. Plus, if you want, if you need to toss it, after removing the clumps and solids, you can put it out in the garden for mulch (well, not on your edible plants, but everything else.) Its disappears into the soil in just a few days.

I buy it by the 50 pound sack (but it also comes much smaller) for about $14-$17. That makes it a huge deal, at least in my neck of the woods.

One last thing; I have adopted out a few cats who insist that their new owners use it, too. Once they use baby chick food, they just won’t go back to the nasty clay litters.

It is usually called “Chick Start”, and is simply baby chick food. You must purchase it at a feed store for livestock.

I made my own covered litter box with a plastic storage bin, some indoor/outdoor carpeting (for the top), hot glue, staples, and box cutter. Apply carpeting to the lid of the bin with glue and staples – careful to make sure no staples are poking out into the underside of the lid, bend them over. Cut a hole into the lid and carpeting large enough for your cat (or your largest cat as the case may be) to fit through. And you can trim with rope or whatever you have. $10 or less for something that would cost you $30+ at the pet store. And you can make it to fit your cat and the intended space.

When cleaning, I dump everything inside. Smacking the bottom will loosen any extra clumps, but don’t smack too hard! Then I put it in the bathtub and spray a vinegar solution all over. After 10 minutes, I rinse it out with the shower head and dump the water in the toilet or outside. For anything left, I scrub it down with the toilet brush and reapply the vinegar solution, rinsing a second time. Shove it outside, let it air-dry, and the box is ready for fresh litter. No need for rags, sponges, or towels.

Personally, I haven’t found liners to be all that useful because they inevitably get litter into the box and make cleaning clumps difficult, especially the bag liners. My cats also have uncanny aim…