Cat litter use for liveaboards

[Sid at SailAway]

Originally Posted by bcboomer

Sounds like a really good idea. Now I just need to find a place to put it. Currently the litter box sits on the floor of the head in front of the toilet. No room there for the system.

The Breeze system is really no larger then a normal litter box..

[bcboomer]

"Miss Kitty" has to make do with an 11 x 15 rubbermaid container with heightened sides on 3 sides.
The admiral is now looking at relocating her shoes so it may work out yet.
I'd love to get rid of the bits of litter we have to sweep up a couple of times a day so that they don't track throughout the boat.
Another possibility would be to make a custom tray and container under the settee. Have to think about that for when the more pressing projects are done but it would be the best solution.

[zboss]

Our box is just one of those rubbermaid containers with a hole cut in the top. We place contractor cleanup bags (that available in most major stores) in the box then fill with an appropriate amount of litter. We probably have enough bags for 9 months of changes.

We like this box because its enclosed and one of our cats gets pretty excited after she is done doing her business! If we didn't have an enclosed box there would be litter everywhere.

[duefocena]

Originally Posted by Steve Bean

Cats cab be trained to use the head. Try YouTube.

Yeah but they play hell trying to pump the handle up and down.....

[mrohr]

Many years back,while cruising on a shoestring,I would gather up some loose sand or maybe some sweepings from a handy gutter( complete with cigarette butts,bottle caps etc.),we called it City Litter ;the cat didn't mind and we sailed on.
Those were the days my friends.

............................luv you all.................................mike.......... ..............................

[zboss]

We were told by a cruising vet to absolutely not use sand - the cats can get parasites. You would have to sterilize all the sand in the oven.

[windwalkr]

Thanks for the Post about the Breeze. I didn't know anything like that existed.

While reading the reviews for it, one owner uses Airsoft pellets instead. Airsoft Pellets are washable and sounds like that would reduce complexity of purchasing kitty litter in some locations. Of course stepping on a airsoft BB with bare feet would not be comfortable.

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by windwalkr

Thanks for the Post about the Breeze. I didn't know anything like that existed.

While reading the reviews for it, one owner uses Airsoft pellets instead. Airsoft Pellets are washable and sounds like that would reduce complexity of purchasing kitty litter in some locations. Of course stepping on a airsoft BB with bare feet would not be comfortable.

Thanks, Windwalker,

Airsoft pellets would be an interesting experiment.

The ceramic Breeze pellets actually last 4-6 months between change-outs for us if typical feline stools are firm and not runny. [e.g., 8 of the 7lb bags of pellets represents a 2+ year supply for us with 2 cats and 2 litter boxes... We wash/disinfect them if needed using a Breeze litter box as a colander... [low pressure water rinse, then an enzyme soak for a couple of days...]

The ceramic pellets are very hard so as you mentioned with the Airsoft pellets, stepping on them is not a good idea. [They might also damage a wood sole if crunched really hard...]

My thoughts about the Airsoft balls include:

They are lighter weight than the ceramic pellets. Will there be a tendency for the cats to scatter more about the place? [Less weight for long term supplies too...]

And they will roll even better than a cylinder once on the floor...

Neither balls nor pellets are desirable to have scattered about from a spill [e.g., knockdown, etc.] so both need to be contained/restricted from primary traffic areas.

I wonder if the balls float or sink. [e.g., Can they be easily washed? What happens if they get into the bilge? Probably inconsequential...]

Being spherical and low friction, how well can the cats walk on them if kept ~2 inches deep? [I suspect the cats will sink in like mud, and the balls will not allow excavation of holes in the litter box, frustrating the cats- which can have consequences...]

Thanks again. We may have to try the Airsoft balls sometime.

Cheers!

Bill

[Cheeky Monkey]

Originally Posted by Steve Bean

Cats cab be trained to use the head. Try YouTube.

We have two cats on board and I was SO KEEN to train them to use the heads with this...Litter Kwitter - The Original Cat Toilet Training Kit

The only problem is the process uses a kind of toilet-seat litter tray where at first you have a full tray of litter on the toilet, then you move to a ring with litter in it, to get the cats to still pee in the toilet but have the comfort of a little litter to guide them to it. Then you eventually get to take the tray away completely...in theory.

But the process leading up to no tray meant the cats were constantly kicking up and tracking litter into our very delicate macerator and I was getting very worried that the litter would destroy or cause problems for our head. Not to mention the soggy, disgusting littler mess all over the floor of our head!

So in the end, I gave up and went back to using a traditional litter box.

I really wish I could make that thing work though. Maybe if you start the cats when they're kittens? Our cats are pretty old and set in their ways :-)

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by Cheeky Monkey

We have two cats on board and I was SO KEEN to train them to use the heads with this...Litter Kwitter - The Original Cat Toilet Training Kit

The only problem is the process uses a kind of toilet-seat litter tray where at first you have a full tray of litter on the toilet, then you move to a ring with litter in it, to get the cats to still pee in the toilet but have the comfort of a little litter to guide them to it. Then you eventually get to take the tray away completely...in theory.

But the process leading up to no tray meant the cats were constantly kicking up and tracking litter into our very delicate macerator and I was getting very worried that the litter would destroy or cause problems for our head. Not to mention the soggy, disgusting littler mess all over the floor of our head!

So in the end, I gave up and went back to using a traditional litter box.

I really wish I could make that thing work though. Maybe if you start the cats when they're kittens? Our cats are pretty old and set in their ways :-)

Hi Cheeky,

I tried that the same way years ago with a cat I raised onboard from a small kitten. He would have none of it. I was afraid I was going to cause his kidneys to shut down he was so stubborn...

The Breeze litter system makes all the difference for us these days with our cats of unknown origin who adopted us as adults, or young adults [both we and the cats of course...]

Cheers!

Bill

[AD28]

we use pine cobble. Pine cobble is like pine pellets, only not compressed into the pellets.

works rather well both for us and the cat. We use it in our composting head, and kitteh has her box.

[cruiseaddict28]

Originally Posted by AD28

we use pine cobble. Pine cobble is like pine pellets, only not compressed into the pellets.

works rather well both for us and the cat. We use it in our composting head, and kitteh has her box.

Same. We have had good experience with the Healthy Pet Okocat Pine. After the litter is finished we simply throw it in with the compost. It seems to last quite a while as well.

This site seems to say it is pretty good so maybe try stocking up on some if you find it on sale.

http://www.catlitterhelp.com/healthy...litter-review/