Cat litter use for liveaboards

[VikingPirate]

My fiancé and I will soon be packing up the cat and moving onto the boat. I am new to this life and realize there are certain changes that need to be made for environmental purposes. Is regular clay litter used? What is proper disposal for waste?

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[zboss]

We use plain old non-clumping non-light litter (Tidy Cat brand) for our two cats. The clumping and light versions tend to track around the boat and have the danger of ending up in the bilge.

We usually keep enough on the boat for about 6 weeks. The big brands of litter is available pretty much everywhere. We always save it up in a big bag and dispose of it in the trash.

I suppose you could dump it over the side (without the bag) if you were far away from land and in deep water. Cats poop all over the world so I think its a little alarmist to believe that dumping it in 1000+ feet of water in the middle of nowhere is going to kill all living species on earth.

[VikingPirate]

Thank you!

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[FSMike]

Rumor has it that areas of Boot Key Harbor in the keys get additional holding power due to many years of accumulated kitty litter lol.

[Steve Bean]

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

[zeehag]

gatos del mar, a fb group , deals with all problems and issues cats meet in life at sea.
bubba daboatkat uses clumping litter, it is in stores everywhere, as others are not.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/277701742402893/

[Matt Johnson]

If you're (and the cat) used to clumping litter, be aware that it's uncommon in a lot of places outside the US. We keep about two months worth onboard in a Rubbermaid container.

Matt

[singlespeed]

After ten years of Eastern Caribbeann cruising, ordinary white beach sand. Use a partially covered container, wth a piece of carpet or doormat to catch the loose sand on the cat's feet. Ours is always tied to the weather rail. Very little ends up anywhere but on the carpet. The clay based cat litter clumps up far too much during the rainy season and the cat will drag it everywhere if it gets stuck to the paws.

Trying to asking for cat litter in the local bodega or market, in may of the islands of the eastern Caribbean is pointless, like wise cat food. Take lots of your cats favorite food and treats with you when you leave. Always buy lots when and if you find it.

[zeehag]

clumping litter is easily found in many larger cities along your way. it is located in walmart and other general package stores, even in mexico.
use care with beach sand as it has fleas and other lovelies in it. must be washed well before use for litter. tracks more than clumping litter does. use a rug under your litter pan so cat can wipe paws, as it were. bubba loves his rugs--all rugs on boat are his.
so far, has worked for over 10,000 tropical miles of his lil lives.

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by VikingPirate

My fiancé and I will soon be packing up the cat and moving onto the boat. I am new to this life and realize there are certain changes that need to be made for environmental purposes. Is regular clay litter used? What is proper disposal for waste?

Sent from my SM-G920V using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Viking Pirate; welcome to the forum!

We use a different system to eliminate the dust and tracking associated with clumping litter. [Cheaper in the long run too...]

An overview of our two cats adapting to life aboard, with explanations and links to recommended books, products, and other articles is on this blog post.

Best wishes with your cruising kitty...

Cheers!

Bill

PS: We can carry 2 year's worth of litter products for 2 cats in less space than 3 months of litter would require...

[bcboomer]

wrwakefield

What about odour from the pads when they are soaked?

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by bcboomer

wrwakefield

What about odour from the pads when they are soaked?

Hi BCBoomer,

Thanks for asking that question. It made me realize I need to add a comment about no odors to our blog post... [Odor control was another reason we went with the Breeze litter system... That and it is much tidier, less fuss, and saves us about 50% in costs over traditional litter...]

After almost 3 years using this litter system, we find there are no odors as long as you:

• Clean the solids out daily or per use
• Don't let the urine pads get oversaturated
  [We have found that 7 days from 1st urination is about max before odors begin... and they are ready to be changed before then unless a cat is going elsewhere part-time...]
• Keep enough pellets in litter box to completely cover the bottom

We always ask people that visit [mostly friends and fellow cruisers] if they can smell the litter boxes when they come on board. The answer is always an honest no... Even when we take them to the box locations...

Fellow cat owners are typically surprised by the lack of odor...

Likewise when we use them in someone's home when visiting friends on land...

I'm going to experiment soon by modifying a pad tray to have a drain I can position over the shower sump [isolated sump pump- flushed regularly with fresh, soapy water from our showers...] eliminating the pads when the unit is placed in a shower...

Watch our blog post for updates later this year...

Cheers!

Bill

[Sid at SailAway]

Originally Posted by wrwakefield

Hi BCBoomer,

Thanks for asking that question. It made me realize I need to add a comment about no odors to our blog post... [Odor control was another reason we went with the Breeze litter system... That and it is much tidier, less fuss, and saves us about 50% in costs over traditional litter...]

After almost 3 years using this litter system, we find there are no odors as long as you:

• Clean the solids out daily or per use
• Don't let the urine pads get oversaturated
  [We have found that 7 days from 1st urination is about max before odors begin... and they are ready to be changed before then unless a cat is going elsewhere part-time...]
• Keep enough pellets in litter box to completely cover the bottom

We always ask people that visit [mostly friends and fellow cruisers] if they can smell the litter boxes when they come on board. The answer is always an honest no... Even when we take them to the box locations...

Fellow cat owners are typically surprised by the lack of odor...

Likewise when we use them in someone's home when visiting friends on land...

I'm going to experiment soon by modifying a pad tray to have a drain I can position over the shower sump [isolated sump pump- flushed regularly with fresh, soapy water from our showers...] eliminating the pads when the unit is placed in a shower...

Watch our blog post for updates later this year...

Cheers!

Bill

I second these comments on the Breeze system. Have two cats onboard for four years now and it's so much easier. No litter in the salon, no huge bags of litter taking up space and a lot of weight lost as well. It's a great system that is well priced.

[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.

[wrwakefield]

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.

I understand... We have two that change locations fairly often...

They are about the same size as a 'typical' litter box, with the sides extended a bit higher.

These would be ideal if they were in enclosed boxes with flap doors [as we used to use for clumping litter to keep odors and dust to a minimum...] But that would make them even larger- probably not what you are looking for...

I am considering experimenting with placing a Breeze litter box inside of a large, enclosed unit as another experiment; mainly to minimize pellet spillage at sea in rough conditions or during a knock-down...

Best wishes getting things set up to your mutual liking... [kitty and his/her staff that is...]

Cheers!

Bill